Beam has defined Sacramento State’s season, for better and for worse. Sacramento State has experienced nearly a two-point swing on the event during what has been a true roller coaster. The Hornets peaked in Week 4 with a 49.050, highlighted by six scores of 9.775 or higher, but bottomed out just two weeks later with multiple falls and a 47.100. Last week, Sacramento State counted one low score of 9.275 but still earned a 193.625 in a win over rival UC Davis. Improving consistency will be critical, especially as the team adjusts to the loss of Rylin Zimmerman, who is out following season-ending surgery. Emily Countryman has stepped into the floor lineup, though results have varied.
William & Mary, meanwhile, has improved its team score at every meet this season despite competing exclusively on the road. The Tribe posted a season-high 192.000 last week at George Washington and enters this meet with beam as its strongest event, ranking No. 56 nationally—just three spots behind Sacramento State. That sets up a potentially decisive battle on the apparatus, where Sophia Summers is capable of delivering a 9.800 from the anchor position. Floor could also provide a boost, particularly from Michelle Ngo, a two-time All-GEC honoree on the event and a Sacramento native competing close to home.
The meet will be streamed on Overnight and scores can be found here.
This is the first ever meeting between these two schools in any sport.
William & Mary competed Friday at UC Davis (after the above preview was written). The Tribe went into the last rotation with a lead despite counting two falls on bars and a stumble out of bounds on floor, but ultimately fell to the Aggies by 0.225.
Rotation 1: Sacramento State VT, William & Mary UB
Frank (Sac) Yurchenko tuck full with a large hop back. Her tuck position is very open, so I think she could do a layout. 9.750
Laird (W&M) Straddle Tchatchev with close catch and flexed feet, a body is a bit loose on the overshot, double tuck dismount with a step back. 9.575
Townsend (Sac) Really high tuck full, another one who could be working the layout. Also has a sizable hop back. 9.775
Peebles (W&M) Nice form on the piked Tchatchev, slightly short HS on high, double layout with good chest up position, one step back. 9.625
Wilson (Sac) Yurchekno layout with pike down and a hop back, but another hit vault. 9.700
Gao (W&M) Gienger is successful, legs apart on Pak and she may have dragged her feet on the switch kip. She keeps going and gets the double tuck dismount. 9.350
Lutrell (Sac) Nice straight body on Yurchenko full. Smaller hop than her teammates. The best vault we’ve seen today. 9.700
Ngo (W&M) Short free hip, good height on Gienger, but loses rhythm on overshoot, high double tuck dismount with chest forward but a stick. 9.350
Gaumont (Sac) Yurckenko half. Her body position is close to straight, instead of being archy as is often the case with forward facing vaults. 9.750
Bare (W&M) Short 1/2 pirouette on high, bail, full pirouette is closer to vertical, one step on double tuck dismount. 9.700
Jones (Sac) Yurchenko layout with shoulder angle and a large hop back. 9.500
Vetrano (W&M) Toe HS, falls on the Maloney, but that’s the first fall tonight, so the rotation is going better than on Friday. She starts her routine from the beginning, but drags her feet after the toe HS. Jumps off. Double layout dismount with pike and a hop forward. 7.450
AFTER ONE: Sacramento State 48.625, William & Mary 47.600
Sacramento State put together a solid rotation despite going with lower start value vaults. William & Mary didn’t have the cleanest bar rotation, but it’s a big improvement over Friday’s performance that scored 46.300. Catherine Bare won bars on Friday, and she had the Tribe’s highest score again tonight. W&M lacks twisting vaults, so the deficit will likely grown in rotation 2.
Rotation 2: William & Mary VT, Sacramento State UB
Pabellon (W&M) Yurckenko layout, not shown on livestream. 9.500
Herrera (Sac) Nice HS on high, straddle Tchatchev with adequate height, short HS on high prior to full in dismount with a hop forward. 9.600
Wood (W&M) Yurchenko tucked full with good height. Leg form sloppy and a step back. 9.625
Townsend (Sac) Maloney, has to take an extra swing, arches handstand on high but pulls it back for the full pirouette, double tuck with good chest up landing and a hop back. 9.000
Bare (W&M) Yurchenko layout full. She pauses momentarily in flight to show the block off the horse, which you don’t see often. She ends a bit twisted to the side, so she didn’t full complete the rotation. 9.700
James (Sac) Straddle Jaeger is successful, as is Pak–she’s moving well through the routine. Full pirouette is late. Step back on double tuck dismount. 9.625
Burke (W&M) Yurchenko layout half with a hop forward and a bit of arch in the air. 9.725
Lastra (Sac) Gets the toe HS to vertical, Maloney has a nice straight body on back swing, hop in place on double layout dismount. Best dismount of the day. 9.700
Summers (W&M) Yurchenko full with a hop back, but no major deductions. She’s only a freshman and is already contributing consistent scores on three events. 9.650
Houghton (Sac) Good blind change to straddle Jaeger, slight leg separation on Maloney, vertical HS on high, double layout with a small hop and small leg separation. 9.775
Gao (W&M) Yurchenko full lands short and she pops forward. 9.400
Carnesi (Sac) Beautiful HS on high, good amplitude on straddle Jaeger, had trouble with the bail–arches the wrong way and almost comes off the bar but keeps going and finishes strong. 9.600, which I think is a generous score.
AFTER TWO: Sacramento State 96.925 (48.300 bars), William & Mary 95.800 (48.200 vault)
Sac State had to count some lower than desired scores, but was able to drop the 9.000 from Townsend, so they’re not that far down compared to previous team totals on bars. William & Mary threw in some extra Yurchenko fulls today and scored a season-high, beating their previous high vault total of 47.850. We’ll see if the Hornets have one of their up days or down days on beam in rotation 3.
Rotation 3: Sacramento State BB, William & Mary FX
Jones (Sac) Middle splits mount, gets through the full turn, BHS LOSO with bent legs on the BHS. Switch leap with a beautiful split position. Side aerial is well executed. RO back 1.5 with a stick. Great start, so it might be an up day. 9.825
Vetrano (W&M) Double tuck with bounce back. Low leg on switch side. Lacks full split on switch half, and legs are below horizontal on wolf full. FHS front layout to front full, landing is not controlled. She just needs to clean up the details since she had no major errors. 9.450
Copeland (Sac) She winds up for her full turn such that I think she’s going to do a double, but it’s merely the compulsory single. Front toss with wobble. Slight pause between switch leap and straddle quarter, so not sure she’ll get connection value. 9.650
Summers (W&M) Long opening choreo sequence before her first tumbling pass, which is a punch Rudi. She lands her wolf full precisely. Short on the layout on her combo pass, but she manages to avoid a fall or skid backward. 9.675
Driessen (Sac) BHS LOSO is a thing of beauty. Good split on switch leap. Front toss is solid–maybe a little low, but she stands it right up. Sticks the gainer back full off the side. Excellent routine. 9.875 – career high.
Ngo (W&M) Punch Rudi with too much power so she slides backward in her lunge. Switch side Popa to wolf full has some small deductions if the judges are picky. Back 1.5 to front full is well done. Just one mistake on the first tumbling pass. 9.650
Frank (Sac) BHS LOSO is perfectly aligned. Full turn is tentative but fine. Split jump to double stag jump with a wobble, but she regains her balance easily. Cartwheel to stuck gainer back full. Another good routine with no major errors. 9.800
Wood (W&M) Front layout front full lands upright instead of short like so many attempts at this combination. Cartwheel layout. Punch Rudi with a bit of foot movement on landing. 9.725
Lutrell (Sac) BHS LOSO with small adjustment of upper body. Split jump to split 3/4 lacks 180 degree extension on both. Switch leg aerial, an unusual skill. Slightly off balance on gainer full dismount. 9.750
Ruedy (W&M) Front layout to front full with a controlled step out. Short of split on switch half. Also does a cartwheel layout to get back tumbling credit. Wolf full has low legs and she bounces out of it. Great amplitude and tight body position on punch Rudi to finish the routine. 9.800
Houghton (Sac) BHS LOSO with a break at the waist. That’s the biggest correction we’ve seen on acro series today. Nice leg positions on switch leap to straddle quarter. Arm waver on full turn. RO to high double full dismount. Fabulous finish to that routine. 9.750
Burke (W&M) High double tuck. Low trailing leg on switch full. You can hear the crowd yell, “Let’s go Tribe!” FHS front layout front full could have better amplitude, but no problem completing the combination. 9.825
AFTER THREE: Sacramento State 145.925 (49.00 beam), William & Mary 144.475 (48.65 floor)
Beam was kind to Sacramento State today. The Hornets nearly tied their season high of 49.050. Jones’s and Driessen’s routines were highlights of the rotation. William & Mary set another season high on floor, topping their previous mark of 48.500 with competent performances up and down the lineup. We’ll see if the Tribe can keep up the momentum and finish strong on beam, where they have the potential to excel.
Rotation 4: William & Mary BB, Sacramento State FX
Penzi (W&M) BHS LOSO with an arm correction. She is working slowly and deliberately. She tries a split full, but she may not have gotten 360 degrees of rotation and could be downgraded. RO back 1.5 with a stick. Good start for the Tribe. 9.675
Copeland (Sac) Double tuck lands on her toes with her chest forward but she avoids taking a step forward to minimize the deductions. Back 1.5 to front full lands cleanly. She could add some facial expressions to her dance. Good start. 9.600
Gao (W&M) BHS LOSO–her hips are off but she’s able to keep her balance. Standing LOSO is right on. She straddles the beam on her switch half and falls. She repeats it into a beat jump in order to get credit for the dance combination. Back 1.5 dismount is short and she steps back. Judges are conferencing. 9.075
Countryman (Sac) Back 1.5 to front full is nicely done. Gets the split position on the first leap but has a low leg on the Popa. Punch Rudi bounces off to the side on landing. 9.650
Hou (W&M) BHS LOSO is solid, as is straddle 3/4. She continues well into the front toss and full turn. Straddle half doesn’t have full split but is done without a wobble. Short of rotation on back 1.5 dismount and takes a step back. 9.625
Frank (Sac) Back 1.5 to front full is done with good form. Switch ring leap doesn’t close the ring. Punch Rudi with a small jump to the side. 9.750
Summers (W&M) High switch leap to split jump. BHS BHS LOSO with a small hip adjustment. She finishes her full turn on high releve. Front aerial with good hip extension. She is also short on her back 1.5 dismount. 9.725
Jones (Sac) Gloria Estefan music to start off the mix. High double tuck with a controlled step. Her Popa to Popa is moving off the axis of rotation. Front layout to front full is also well done. She has to adjust her upper body to keep the landing of the Rudi secure. 9.750
Faulkner (W&M) Good leg form on BHS LOSO. Switch leap to split jump shows full extension. Beat jump to aerial, then a pause before her split jump so she’ll lose connection value. BHS to stuck gainer layout dismount. 9.600
Luttrell (Sac) High double pike, but it’s short of rotation. Front full to front layout has no noticeable errors. She does the moonwalk, but it’s not her forte. Double tuck to finish. This time she rotates fully and lands with her chest up. There was some leg separation in that skill. 9.650
Ruedy (W&M) Front toss lands low, so she backs up and does it again and takes it to a back tuck. Still not sure if she’s going to get the connection. High side aerial with nice straight leg form. She wobbles just doing a half turn. Front tuck full off the end of the beam with a step forward. 9.300, so it appears that she was not credited with an acro series.
Houghton (Sac) Lovely double pike. Front layout to front full and the second skill rises, as it should. That’s the first example we’ve seen of excellent execution on a combo pass. Back 1.5 to front layout is short, but she overcorrects and slides forward. 9.825
FINAL: Sacramento State 194.550 (48.625 floor), William & Mary 192.400 (47.925 beam)
VT: Townsend (Sac) 9.775
UB: Houghton (Sac) 9.750
BB: Driessen (Sac) 9.875
FX: Burke (W&M) and Houghton (Sac) 9.825
AA: No gymnast competed all around today
William & Mary finishes the meet with a new season high, eclipsing their previous mark by 0.400, to finish this West Coast road trip on a positive note. Not to be outdone, the home team also scored a season high, beating its previous total of 194.125. Congratulations to both teams.
Sacramento State will be home again next week, hosting California and San Jose State. William & Mary has next week off before competing against Fisk and Wilberforce in the HBCU Classic.
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Live blog by Jessica Needle
