May 2, 2010

DAVIS, Calif. - Four Aggies earned Outstanding Contribution awards while juniors Stacey Nicolini and Jessica Rea were announced as 2011 team captains at the annual UC Davis women's gymnastics season banquet at Sudwerk Restaurant & Brewery Sunday afternoon.

Additionally, Christine Tao and Michelle Bobonski were honored as outgoing captains during the 2010 season. UC Davis enjoyed a banner year under their leadership, reclaiming the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, posting six of the top 10 scores in program history, setting a school record for regional-qualifying score (RQS) and qualifying three individuals to the NCAA Los Angeles Regional in early April.

Head coach John Lavallee issues Outstanding Contribution awards in lieu of the more common Most Valuable and Most Inspirational awards. This year's winners were seniors Lida Gehlen, Tanya Ho and Kendall McCann, plus freshman Katie Yamamura.

Both Nicolini and Rea have persevered through hardship in the collegiate careers. Nicolini was a three-event All-MPSF winner as a freshman then the conference co-champion on vault as a sophomore, but sat out the entire 2010 season due to injury. Rea had missed each of the 2008 and 2009 seasons due to injury, making her collegiate debut midway through the 2010 campaign. She capped her season with a 9.750 on uneven bars at the MPSF Championships, good for a tie for third in the meet.