Sacramento State gymnastics will compete in the West Regionals of the NCAA gymnastics tournament for the first time since 1999 on Saturday.

The Hornets made the tournament as Western Athletic Conference champions. One of the leaders on the team has seen this place for before, but only a glimpse. She’s ready to step out on stage and see what the whole thing is like.

In 2003 senior, then-freshman Kimiye Narasaki qualified to compete in the Regionals as an individual along with two other Sac State gymnasts. This year is very different. The senior Hornet is riding her strongest competitive season as a gymnast and is heading into this weekend with a lot of unfinished business.

“I’m very excited. Our coaches couldn’t be prouder of this year’s team,” Narasaki said. “I do feel like I have some unfinished business there and I want to finish what I started.” Narasaki was grounded from the Regionals in 2003 because an injury to her knee in the warm-ups before the meet.

Narasaki isn’t going to have to carry the load alone, however. The 2006 team has continued to show its depth and ability to step up to a challenge.

“This year’s team isn’t a team of superstars,” coach Kim Hughes said. “We do have superstars, but it is a matter of depth. People step up when others have issues.”

At the beginning of this season the team finished its first meet in the sixth and last slot. The Oahu Invitational was the first Division I meet of the year and was a small stepping-stone for the team. Since Jan. 3 the team scores have increased by leaps and bounds.

In the second to last meet of the year, the senior class sealed an undefeated record against the Aggies with a score of 195.325, a season high for the team. On that same night Narasaki and sophomore Melissa Genovese, also a Hornet co-captain, recorded matching scores of 9.900 on the beam.

To stay competitive at the Regional, which Stanford is hosting, the team will be implementing some skills that they have kept out of the routines in the regular season.

While most of the team is focusing on hitting their routines as clean and mistake free as possible, some unnamed gymnasts will be looking to nail down more high-risk skills.

“Some people are trying skills that we took out during the regular season to help the team score, to be more consistent,” Hughes said. “We’re adding in more difficult skills to try and move up a spot.”Since the number of judges doubles from two to four per event from the regular season to the national tournament regional, Hughes is looking to loosen some of the reins on the team. Also the level of competition is increasing dramatically.

Every event will undoubtedly bring out the Hornets best routines. Two other teams from the WAC will be at Regionals, Boise State, who took second place at the conference finals, and San Jose State.

Brad Alexander can be reached at [email protected]