Hornets gymnastics looks for fourth straight win

Julian Perez

The Sacramento State gymnastics team will host the Seattle Pacific University Falcons in the Hornets Nest at 7 p.m. on Friday night in hopes of extending their winning streak to four.

The Hornets have performed well, starting the 2016 season with a record of 5-2, including a win over the Falcons on Jan. 22 in Seattle.

First year Head Coach Randy Solorio has been pleased with what he has seen out of his team early on.

“I’ve been extremely happy, not only with their performance but how they’re training and just the flow of this team,” Solorio said. “It’s fun.”

Solorio says he sees a strong sense of confidence as a catalyst for the Hornets’ early season success.

“They actually believe that they are as talented as their coaching staff has been telling them,” Solorio said. “They’re trusting in their experience and knowledge.”

However, the strong start does not indicate that the Hornets are done improving. They struggled with a few falls in their last meet and are looking to correct those mistakes on Friday and improve their overall consistency.

Solorio is most concerned with the adrenaline that comes with being in front of the home crowd in the Nest.

“I think being at home, even though you’re comfortable, it’s still that excitement,” he said. “We need to calm down and do what we do every day in practice.”

One source of veteran leadership that Solorio can look to for help with keeping the team ready is senior Kalliah McCartney, who just won her second Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week award this season.

“[Having McCartney] has made my job easy in the sense that I have experience out on the floor and in the gym,” Solorio said. “I’ve got an incredibly talented athlete that knows what it takes to make it to the national championships, and she sets that example.”

The Hornets’ opponent for Friday, Seattle Pacific, have struggled this season, failing to score 190.000 or more all season.