SEATTLE -- Sophomore Kelley Hebert compiled a four-event total of 39.200 while fellow second-year Gabby Landess made her all-around debut at 39.050, leading UC Davis to a winning 195.225 team score in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women's gymnastics dual with Seattle Pacific at the Royal Brougham Pavilion Friday night. The host Falcons scored a 192.625.
Overall, this marks the Aggies' first 195-plus score of the 2019 season, and the first time they have surpassed that threshold in a January meet since 2014, when the team went 195.875 and 195.500 in back-to-back meets to close out the month.
Hebert scored a first-place 9.875 on floor exercise and a 9.825 on balance beam in the second half of the meet for her first all-around performance of the season. Landess had competed in vault, uneven bars and floor during her young collegiate career, but had not appeared in a beam lineup as a collegian until Friday's dual. She responded with a 9.800 on that apparatus, becoming the first gymnast in program history to break 39 points in her all-around debut.Â
Sophomore Sarah Liddle also picked up a meet title with her 9.850 on balance beam, edging Hebert and SPU's Darian Burns. Senior Aya Suzuki won the uneven bars with a 9.850 to kick off the meet, surpassing her previous career high of 9.825 from last year's March 10 dual against Air Force. She helped UC Davis compile a 48.925 on bars in the opening rotation.
The Aggies followed with scores of 48.650 on vault and a 48.575 on floor exercise despite fielding only five gymnasts in each event due to an injury to senior Kara Jones. Each crew went 5-for-5, with Hebert and junior Alyssa Ito leading the way on vault with matching 9.775s.Â
Burns finished second in the all-around with a 39.175 and had her team's lone event win with a 9.800 on vault.
UC Davis, now 3-4 in head-to-head competition, hosts Sacramento State and Alaska Anchorage in its home opener on Sunday, January 27.
TEAM SCORES - 1. UC Davis, 195.225; 2. Seattle Pacific, 192.625.
VAULT - 1. Darian Burns, SPU, 9.800; 2 (tie). Alyssa Ito, UC Davis; Kelley Hebert, UC Davis, 9.775.
UNEVEN BARS - 1. Aya Suzuki, UC Davis, 9.850; 2 (tie). Darian Burns, SPU; Gabby Landess, UC Davis, 9.825.
BALANCE BEAM - 1. Sarah Liddle, UC Davis, 9.850; 2(tie). Darian Burns, SPU; Kelley Hebert, UC Davis, 9.825.
FLOOR EXERCISE - 1. Kelley Hebert, UC Davis, 9.875; 2. Kayla Chan, SPU, 9.750; 3(tie). Darian Burns, SPU; Gabby Landess, UC Davis, 9.725.
ALL-AROUND - 1. Kelley Hebert, UC Davis, 39.200; 2. Darian Burns, SPU, 39.175; 3. Gabby Landess, UC Davis, 39.050.
ABOUT UC DAVIS: Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
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