Hornets place second overall in season’s final homestand

Curits Grima

The Sacramento State gymnastics team placed first in vault, bars and floor and took second overall in their last home meet of the season Friday at the Hornets’ Nest.

The Hornets finished with a score of 194.550, while first place Fullerton State had 195.350. UC Davis placed third with a score of 193.025.

In her last home meet of the season, senior Binta Coleman placed first in vault with a personal best of 9.900, second on floor with 9.900 and finished with an overall score of 38.625.

Coleman was not the only gymnast to set a career high in the vault. Nirvana Zahir scored 9.875 and Melony Greer scored 9.755 setting personal records and placing second and fourth, respectively.

Jessica Hoffman finished third with a score of 9.825 helping the team tie the school record of 49.050 on the vault.

Stefanie Aeder also helped the team tie a school record on floor with a score of 9.950.

“Floor was exciting; I had a lot of fun,” Aeder said. “I just felt like I was on and it really set my spirits up. Our goal was to score 194.5 and we pulled it off even with a few falls.”

Greer and Hoffman stole the show on bars with scores of 9.925 and 9.900. This was a career high for both as they ended up finishing first and second.

However, some falls on bars led the hornets to trail Fullerton with a score of 48.475.

“We had a really nice senior presentation,” coach Kim Hughes said. “The team knows what they are capable of and don’t want to give up on their goal.”

Sac State has to look forward to their performance at the conference finals. All 12 teams advance to conference, and the Hornets’ performance will ultimately determine their fate for regionals.

Even though the Hornets fell to Fullerton, they increased their average season score. The score of 194.550 will be included when evaluating their performance for regional selection.

The Hornets are two-time defending Mountain Pacific League champions and also won the two years prior in the Western Independence League. Currently, Sacramento State is ranked ninth out of 12 teams in their league and only six of the teams are invited to regionals.