For the third consecutive year the Sacramento State gymnastics program has advanced to the National Collegiate Athletic Assocation West Regional meet. The Sac State gymnastics team is the only team to go three time in a row in the Western Athletic Conference. Gymnastics is the third Sac State women’s team (volleyball and tennis) to qualify for the post-season in the last three years.

The team had earned bids to the Regionals after winning the WAC Championships the last two years to travel to Stanford and UC Berkeley, in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, respectively.

This year the team landed in fourth place after the conference championships and advanced to the post season solely on its national ranking. The Hornets are ranked 35th of the top 36 teams that will compete in the post season.

Sac State score 194.275, behind host Boise State (194.925), San Jose State (194.725) and Southern Utah (194.575). In the six-team championships, five of the six teams scored in the 194 range, with Utah State being the fifth with a score of 194.150.

Senior co-captain Nicole Giao said the team knew the competition in the WAC conference was tough and the championships would be tough as well. She said last season the team peeked during the championships, but this year the Hornets have not peeked.

“This year our focus was (on the) regional at the end. We didn’t know we were (going to) go, but expected we might,” she said. “Since we don’t feel we have peeked yet, it’s the meet to peek.”

Coach Kim Hughes said he’s been saying all season this team is one of the strongest he’s coached, but he said the fact that Sac State didn’t win the conference championships doesn’t take away the team’s credibility.

Senior Melissa Genovese and freshman Alycia Chan placed in the championships. Genovese placed second on beam and third in the all-around and Chan finished fourth on the vault.

He said he thought the No. 35 ranking in the nation is the highest the Hornet gymnastics program has placed.

“It’s a three-peat (for the program). It’s the first time (the) gymnastics program (has made it to the regionals for the third time in a row) and not another team in the WAC and not much in west region (have) done three in a row,” he said.

The Hornets will travel to Corvallis, Ore. to compete in the regionals on Saturday at 6 p.m. The meet will be hosted by No. 8 Oregon State, and will include No. 5 Michigan, No. 17 Michigan State, No. 31 Washington and No. 32 San Jose State.

Sac State competed for the first time in Gill Coliseum, which seats 9,000, when the team traveled to Corvallis on March 15 for the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational. The Hornets drew one of their highest road scores of 193.850, but placed fourth behind No. 8 Oregon State (197.200), No. 19 Boise State (196.575) and No. 14 Missouri (195.325).

Corvallis is sophomore Eryn Stubblefield’s hometown and she said, “It’s always exciting competing in front of a ‘home’ crowd.”

Hughes doesn’t think the Hornets will have too much trouble in the Beavers’ gym after competing in the Invite in March.

“We are comfortable in the gym. (We are) familiar in it now,” he said.

The top two teams from each of the six regionals will advance to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. The top two all-rounders from non-advancing teams and any individual who wins an event championship at a regional will also move on to Athens.

Hughes said Genovese and junior Marina Borisova have good chances on making it to Athens as individuals on beam and in the all-around, respectively, if the entire team doesn’t qualify.

Genovese will be one of the final competitors of beam, which Hughes said could give her an edge and Borisova needs to put four good scores together to make it to the all-around.

“There’s more than one way to make it to Nationals,” he said.

Karyn Gilbert can be reached at [email protected]