OPENING PASS

• The Sacramento State gymnastics team will compete in the first of back-to-back four-team road meets when it heads to Boise State on Friday, Jan. 30. The meet, which will also include Air Force and Utah State, will start at 6 p.m. PT from ExtraMile Arena.
• The Hornets are coming off a third-place finish in a home quad meet last Friday. Sacramento State scored a season-high 194.125 but was forced to count two falls.
• A live stream will be available on TheMW.com and live stats will also be provided. Links can be found on hornetsports.com.

OPPONENT PREVIEW

• Boise State finished in second place in a four-team meet hosted by Air Force on Friday and now stands at 2-3 on the season. The Broncos most recently score 194.050 and were led by Sydney Kho who won bars with a 9.825.  Tina Bird, who has been associated with the program for 30 years, has been the head coach or co-head coach since 2008. The Broncos lead the all-time series against the Hornets, 24-7.
• Air Force improved to 6-1 by winning the four-team meet on Friday. The Falcons are averaging 194.350 and have been led by all-arounders Maggie Slife (39.367 avg.) and Alyssa Bigler (39.092). Overall, the team has had four all-arounders this season. Jennifer Green is in her sixth season as the team's head coach. Sacramento State holds a 25-9 lead in the all-time series.
• Utah State is coming off a busy weekend which saw the team defeat San Jose State in a home duel on Friday night and then fall at Oregon State on Sunday afternoon. The Aggies are ranked 26th nationally and are a top 20 team on bars and beam. Olivia Orengo is the team's top all-arounder with an average of 39.100.USU is led by Kristin White who is in her fourth year as the head coach. Utah State holds a narrow, 15-13, lead in the all-time series.

A LOOK AT THE LAST MEET

• Sacramento State scored a season-best 194.125 in a tightly-contested four-team meet on Friday night at The Nest. The Hornets finished in third place overall but were just .65 points off of the winning score by UC Davis. The Aggies finished in first at 194.775 while Wester Michigan was second (194.525) and Wisconsin-Whitewater fourth (191.725).
•  Sacramento State had the highest team scores among the four teams on vault (48.750) and beam (49.050) but was forced to count falls on bars and floor. Individually, the Hornets accounted for six top three finishes and had eight scores of 9.8 or better.

BOUNCE BACK ON BEAM

• Sacramento State has had a roller coaster season through the first three meets on beam. The Hornets started the year with a 48.900 against Alaska Anchorage but followed with a 47.850 at Oregon State. This past Friday, the team scored its season high with a 49.050 which left it just .025 points out of the school top 10. 
• Athena Jones began the rotation with a season high 9.850 which proved to be the high mark for the team and placed her second overall in the meet. Kaela Copeland added a 9.775 before a 9.800 from Kaitlyn Driessen. The back half of the order kept up with the pace as Sarah Lutrel scored 9.775, Kara Houghton a 9.825 and Lexi Frank 9.800 on her collegiate debut in the lineup.
• Overall, Sacramento State is averaging 48.600 on beam which ties it for 40th nationally. Individually, no Hornet ranks among the top 100 in the country but five members of the team sit between 100th and 200th.

ADD IT UP

• Through the early portion of the 2026 season, Sacramento State has shown it has the ability to contend with the top tier teams in the country. Taking the top event scores in the three meets, the Hornets have the ability to score at least 195.250. This season, Sacramento State has already scored 49.750 on vault, 48.500 on bars, 49.050 on beam and 48.950 on floor.

YOUTH ON DISPLAY

• Nine of Sacramento State's 24 routines last Friday came from freshmen or sophomores. Three of those routines came from sophomore Lexi Frank who was in the lineup on vault, beam and floor. Frank has been a regular on vault since her arrival, competing in the last 13 meets. After three exhibitions on beam, she debuted in the lineup in the quad meet where she scored a career best 9.800. Frank was also in the lineup on floor.
• Other underclassmen who competed on Friday included redshirt freshman Kaela Copeland (beam and floor), true freshman Makayla Townsend (vault and bars) and sophomores Kaitlyn Driessen (beam) and Maliyah James (bars). Sacramento State also had exhibitions from sophomore Chloe Cohen (bars) and true freshman Kayla Herrera (vault).
• The team has also competed true freshman Cady Gaumont during the year but she was unavailable on Friday due to an injury.

NEWS & NOTES

• Emily Countryman's exhibition on floor in the quad meet made her the sixteenth Hornet to have competed in the lineup or performed exhibitions through the first two meets. 
• The 2026 roster features gymnasts from six states comprised of nine from California, four from Colorado, two from Arizona and one each from Florida, Illinois and Washington.