1999 USAG Champions To Reunite On Sunday - UC Davis Official Athletic Site

1999 USAG Champions To Reunite On Sunday

Aggies celebrate 10-year anniversary of USAG Collegiate Nationals team title

	Ray Goldbar was selected as the USAG Collegiate Coach of the Year after guiding the Aggies to the 1999 team title. (Rich Schmitt Photography)

March 3, 2009

Members of the 1999 UC Davis women's gymnastics team will celebrate the 10th-year anniversary of capturing the team title at the USAG Collegiate National Championships in New Haven, Conn. The reunion will be part of Sunday's quadrangular meet with Sacramento State, Bowling Green State and New Hampshire.

In addition to the alumni gathering, the Aggies will also honor 2009 seniors Adee Schoffman, Andi Dolinsky and Kayla Koch. The team will host a reception immediately after the meet.

What follows is the official department press release from that national championship, dated April 16, 1999:

Aggie Gymnasts Win National Title
UC Davis sets or ties four school records to first title since 1981

NEW HAVEN, Conn. --- UC Davis shattered two team records with a 48.900 on balance beam and a 193.700 overall score to win the team title at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships at Southern Connecticut State Friday.

Defending champion Texas Woman's University finished second at 193.400. Sacramento State placed third with a 192.275, while Seattle Pacific was fourth at 190.825.

UC Davis' total score is well ahead of their previous season-high of 190.950 and eclipses the old school record by almost a full point. The Aggies scored a 192.725 at Sacramento State in 1997 and had not approached the mark since.

Individually, the Aggies' Ericka Ruelas tied a school record on the uneven bars with a 9.875 in only her third meet as a collegian. She also led UC Davis on the floor exercise at 9.775. Senior Jennifer Wong tied a UC Davis record with a 9.825 on the balance beam. She also matched her season-best with a 38.300 all-around score.

"I'm in awe. Texas Woman's looked unbelievable in yesterday's preliminaries," said UC Davis head coach Ray Goldbar. "Once we started hitting our routines, the pressure caused the other teams to fold.
"We've never had a meet this year in which we hit on everything. But tonight we did. I guess we picked the right night to do it."
UC Davis' Missy Keffeler, who was ranked second nationally on uneven bars, was forced to withdraw from that event when she injured her shoulder during warm-ups. But Meghan Spalding stepped in and, without the luxury of a warm-up, hit a 9.625. Keffeler would return for the final rotation and score a team-high 9.650 on vault.
The Aggies had struggled on the balance beam all season long, managing to crack the 47-point barrier just once. But the 48.900 team score breaks the previous school mark by nearly a half point. Four out of the six beam performers set career-high marks--Spalding (9.775), Wong (9.825), senior Lynn Thompson (9.775) and freshman Poppy Major (9.750)--to compile the record-breaking team score.
The national title represents the first for UC Davis since 1980 and 1981 when the Aggies won back-to-back AIAW Division III titles. However, it is the highest finish since women's athletics became sanctioned by the NCAA in 1982. UC Davis was the national runner-up in 1993.
Texas Woman's had led Thursday's national prelims with a 193.700. UC Davis had edged Radford with a 189.375 to qualify for tonight's final as the fourth seed.

Ruelas (bars, floor), Major (floor) and Keffeler (vault) will compete in Saturday's individual-event championships. Each gymnast finished among the top eight in Thursday's prelimary session and are declared All-Americans by virtue of their individual finish in that meet.

Notes: Ray Goldbar was selected as USAG Coach of the Year a day later... Freshman Ericka Ruelas (floor, bars), freshman Poppy Major (floor) and senior Missy Keffeler (vault) captured All-America honors at Saturday's national event championships.