The Sacramento State gymnastics team sat circled together on the floor of the Southern Utah gym in Cedar City awaiting the announcement of the results. The athletes thought they had secured second place in the Western Athletic Conference Championships, but instantly when the announcer named Southern Utah, the Hornets knew they had won consecutive WAC Championships. More importantly, they had a high enough score to qualify for the NCAA West Regional.

Senior Sara Williams said when they heard they won, they crowded together in a dogpile shrieking.

“I was screaming and crying,” Williams said.

Freshman Eryn Stubblefield said the moment was indescribable. The coaches joined the team at the podium and congratulated the gymnasts.

Williams said it’s a big deal that Sac State won the WAC for the second year and received the bid for the regional.

Junior co-captain Melissa Genovese said the team is excited, and she’s proud of everyone.

“We are focused on what we have to do,” she said, “It shows the people we are good and can run with the big dogs.”

The team has decent number of juniors and freshmen, but only two seniors and one sophomore, so earning a second bid in a row to the regional meant something a bit different to each one.

Stubblefield said she was really excited about qualifying for the regional, and not nearly as nervous as she was during the WAC Championships.

“I was more nervous for the conference championships,” she said. “I just want to have fun and do the best I can.”

Coach Kim Hughes said the team won’t beef up the difficulty in the routines. He said they tried adding difficulty last year and it worked for some, but not everyone and cost them a fourth-place finish. He said the best thing to do is to stick with the consistency the Hornets have been producing.

Williams agreed with Hughes, saying that adding new skills to a routine right before a major meet would be disastrous.

“It was like going out and doing the routine for the first time,” she said. “Consistency is the best way.”

Junior co-captain Nicole Giao said things will be a little different this year at the regional.

“Last year, we let go and had fun,” she said. “After winning WAC (for the second year), it makes our team more legit. People know we are good. We have to go and compete. It’s not just for fun.”

Sac State will be up against five other teams fighting for just two spots that will advance to the NCAA Championships in Salt Lake City.

Hughes said the field will contain three teams that are somewhat unknown. The Hornets have yet to compete with Missouri and Nebraska, and have only seen Utah this season. The other two teams joining Sac State will be host UC Berkeley and Washington, which are both west teams.

Statistically, Hughes said Utah will be the Hornets’ toughest competitors. Greg Marsden has brought nine nationals to Utah during his tenure.

Hughes said one of the Hornets’ strengths is the consistency of peaking toward the end of the season.

“(It will be good) to stay at that high level of beam,” Hughes said of Sac State’s finish on the beam rotation at the WAC Championships.

Sac State broke both the school and conference records on the beam and he said going into the regional with that kind of conference will be good for the gymnasts.

Hughes doesn’t think that this team has many weaknesses, and having four freshmen competing doesn’t put additional stress on him.

“It is an unknown (for them),” he said. “The pressure of competing with nationally ranked teams.”

Genovese doesn’t see the freshmen as a disadvantage since they have been contributing to the Hornets winning season.

“They dealt with the WAC Championships pretty well,” she said. “If they dealt with that, then they’ll do fine.”

Giao said the team wouldn’t be where they are without the freshmen.

“The freshmen have really stepped up,” she said.

Hughes said winning the championships and going on to the regional isn’t an easy task.

“I feel like we have a good balance (of athletes),” he said. “We have a large junior class and two seniors.”

Although the Hornets will only have one competing senior in Williams, Courtney Hibler, who was injured last March, brings senior leadership.

Hughes said the entire team will travel to the regional, unlike the rest of the season, where Sac State would only travel with the competing gymnasts.

Genovese said she thinks Sac State has the chance to finish fourth and maybe even third.

Hughes said that if sophomore Marina Borisova (all-around) and Genovese (beam) perform up to the ability that they have been, they might have a chance to continue on to the nationals as an individual.

“She (Genovese) has proven to get a 9.9 (on the beam at the WAC Championships), which ties her top score,” he said.

He said to qualify as an individual for the national, a gymnast must score 9.7 and win the event.

“I think I have a real chance,” Borisova said. “I’m going to the regional to make it as an individual. I have a good chance (this year). I know the system.”

The Hornets will travel to UC Berkeley on Saturday.

Karyn Gilbert can be reached at [email protected]