Nov. 19, 2009

DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis women's gymnastics earned National Letter of Intent (NLI) commitments from three prospective student-athletes during the November signing period, it was announced by head coach John Lavallee. All three prospects are high school seniors from different parts of California, and expect to enroll at UC Davis in the fall of 2010.

Alphabetically, the future Aggies are Madeline Kennedy of Lodi, Kailyn Ono of Lakewood and Anna Shumaker of Alameda.

"This is a very talented incoming class that has accomplished a great deal in club gymnastics," said Lavallee. "Anna performed very well as a Level 9, then last year she competed in her first year as a Level 10 and had an outstanding year. Kailyn has qualified to Level 10 Junior Olympics twice. Anna will come in and have an impact on all four events, as could Kailyn. Madeline did an excellent job in her first year in Level 10. She is very dynamic on floor and vaulting. They will all bring a lot on every event for the next four years."

Kennedy, who attends Saint Mary's High School in Lodi, competes for nearby Byers Gymnastics Center. She won the individual vault and finished third in the all-around at the NorCal Championships last March, earning a berth at the regional three weeks later. Kennedy previously captured the Level 9 Region 1 title on vault and all-around in 2008, shortly after winning the vault and uneven bars title at the NorCal meet.

Ono, a Lakewood High School senior, completes her fourth year as a Level 10 gymnast for the American Gymnastics Academy (AGA) in Signal Hill, Calif. She qualified for the Junior Olympic National Championships in Puyallup, Wash. last May after scoring a 36.975 in the Senior A all-around at the regionals a month before. The trip marked her second national meet, as she had advanced to the JO's in 2007.

The Bay Area representative of the class, Shumaker hails from Alameda High School and Union City's Pacific West Gymnastics club. She made the jump to Level 10 in 2009 after capturing individual titles on uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise and the all-around at the Level 9 Region I Championships the previous year. In Shumaker's first Level 10 season, she earned a trip to the 2009 J.O. nationals. Previously in the 2009 season, Shumaker had finished second in the Senior A all-around at the state meet, then tied for second on bars and placed fourth in the all-around at regionals.

"When we look for student-athletes, we look for first for the student side. We try to find out their goals and objectives," Lavallee said. "It's all about finding the right match. These three individuals definitely match up well with the student-first philosophy at UC Davis. They are all very good students and, as well, very talented athletes. They have the ability to focus an academics, focus on athletics, and are able to appropriately find the mix between the two. Those are the things we work on throughout their four years so that when they leave UC Davis, they will be prepared for the next stage of their lives."

The Aggies finished third at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships last March. They open their 2010 season at home with Cal State Fullerton, San Jose State and Wisconsin-Whitewater on Sunday, January 10.