Although the season has gotten off to a rocky start, new inspiration has been found with the Sacramento State gymnastics team.

The Hornets will be flipping for a cure, literally, as it hosts San Jose State and Cal for its breast cancer awareness meet tonight in The Nest at 7 p.m. .

Many of the girls have family members that are diagnosed or have been previously diagnosed with breast cancer such as team captain Kaila Kilwein lost her grandmother to Sarcoma cancer when she was younger.

“Instead of just competing for ourselves we are competing for a cause,” Kilwein said. “This gives all of us even more of an incentive to have a peak performance, but as always it would be the cherry on top to defeat our conference rival San Jose State.
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San Jose State was in the Western Athletic Conference with Sac State, but branched off together to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

The Hornets have seen the Spartans twice this season; outscoring them in the season-opening meet at The Nest, but fell behind in Tuscon, Ariz. the very next week.

Sac State head coach Kim Hughes said he has been impressed with his vaulting team, averaging a score of 48.796.It is the only event the Hornets lead the conference in.

“Our vaulting team is doing exceptionally well,” Hughes said. “The team as a whole is just doing so well its really what keeps us going.”

Hughes said the Hornets have not been competing to their full potential, which has been disappointing in their quest for an appearance at regionals.

“We only have a few freshmen competing and a few sophomores, but the surprise to us is the upperclassmen that are having problems,” Hughes said. “Some of it is injury wise. Kalliah (McCartney) though, has a lower back and a shoulder problem right now, so that’s what we think is giving her the grief and her not giving us the all-around scores that we’re used to.”

Senior Kailey Hansen competed floor last week at Seattle Pacific for the first time in three meets for a third-place finish of a 9.725.

“My knee is just a previous injury flared up so it’s probably going to be something that will bug me for the rest of season,” Hansen. “As long as I keep up with my rehab regimen it should stay strong enough and be manageable enough pain wise to compete my three events (vault, beam and floor).”

Hansen also said tonight will be special because she will be competing for her grandmother she lost to breast cancer in 2006.

“Ever since then my entire family has been very proactive about supporting breast cancer and spreading awareness,” Hansen said. “We all participate in relays for life and many of my cousins along with my self have a breast cancer ribbon tattoo somewhere on our bodies.”

Looking ahead, Hughes said he hopes the last half of the season will bring out the gymnasts’ full potential, so Sac State can turn around its shot at regionals.

“We have six more meets and these six can be a season-changing time, but we’ve been saying that for the past two weeks; ‘this is it, we’re going to erase everything behind us and go into this meet,’ and we still haven’t done it.” Hughes said. “But this is another week and we’ll say it again. This is the time.”

Jillian Kweller can be reached on Twitter @JillianKweller