DAVIS, Calif. -- While Sunday's home opener with Alaska Anchorage and Sacramento State saw numerous individual highlights, UC Davis women's gymnastics endured one of its tougher meets of the year, and now looks to get back into its high-scoring ways in Friday's road meet at San Jose State. Meet time is 7 p.m. at the SJSU Event Center.

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What: UC Davis at San Jose State with Boise State
When: Friday, Feb. 1 • 7 p.m.
Where: The Event Center (San Jose, Calif.) 
Live Results: TBA
Live Video: TBA

On the bright side, sophomore Kyla Kessler arguably enjoyed the strongest meet by an Aggie, continuing her return from preseason injury with a meet win on vault (9.800) and a runner-up finish on uneven bars (9.725). Her 9.875 in exhibition on balance beam would have been a career high had she been in the lineup. Meanwhile, senior Yasmine Yektaparast notched a career-high 9.875 to win the beam title.

As a whole, however, the Aggies set or tied season lows on each of vault, bars and beam, barely eking out a two-tenths victory against Alaska Anchorage with a 193.350 team score. 

"This group was not collectively happy with their performance. They know that's not the level we intend to be at," said head coach John Lavallee. "I don't have to say or do a whole lot. That wasn't Aggie gymnastics. We'll get back in the gym on Tuesday and get back to the things we know we need to do to be successful."

Facing San Jose State adds an extra level of motivation, since the host Spartans have claimed each of the last two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation team titles – a championship UC Davis has not won since 2015. SJSU handed the Aggies their last regular-season dual loss, by less than a tenth of a point at the 2018 NorCal Classic. Finally, the Event Center also hosted the program's two highest road scores in history: the 195.725 at the 2017 MPSF Championships, and the 195.575 at the 2016 triangular with SJSU and Brown. To say the two teams have history stands as a classic understatement.

Or, according to Lavallee, "We're going to San Jose. That, in itself, is all we need. We'll lace up the skates and pull the chin strap a little tighter, then go to town."

San Jose State scored its 2019 high in the opener, with a 193.300 in the NorCal Classic. Junior Taylor Chan has scored at least 39 in the all-around in all four meets, including a 39.175 on January 13. Boise State ranks ninth nationally in total average at 196.142, including Friday's 196.625 against Southern Utah. Shani Remme won her second Mountain Rim Gymnast of the Week award thanks to a 39.500 last weekend. She also captured Beam Specialist of the Week (9.900) and Floor Specialist of the Week (9.925).

Friday's meet kicks off at 1 p.m.

2019 SEASON NOTES...

MEET #4 (01.27.19): Sophomore Kyla Kessler (vault), senior Aya Suzuki (bars) and sophomore Kelley Hebert (floor) each won meet titles, but UC Davis slipped to season lows on vault (48.650), bars (47.800), and beam (48.250) en route to a 193.350... Of course, that the vault "low" is so high indicates how strong that squad has been in 2019: last year's team did not reach that score until the fourth meet of the year... Senior Yasmine Yektaparast and sophomore Gabby Landess each scored career highs on beam, with 9.875 and 9.825, respectively.

MEET #3 (01.18.19): Sophomore Kelley Hebert won the individual all-around (39.200) and floor exercise (9.875) in a road dual meet at Seattle Pacific, while fellow second-year Gabby Landess became the first Aggie to score 39 or better (39.050) in her all-around debut... Dani Judal had the previous high all-around debut with her 38.925 at the 2015 NorCal meet... UC Davis hit 195.225 overall, the highest January score since 2014 and the best ever for a road meet in the season's opening month.

MEET #2 (01.12.19): The Aggies took part in the four-team Collegiate Challenge Powered by Under Armour, held in conjunction with the three-day California Grand Invitational at the Anaheim Convention Center... The meet served as a rare opportunity to compete on a podium... Sophomore Cammi Johnson posted UC Davis' highest individual finish with a t5th on vault... Her 9.825 in the event matched Yasmine Yektaparast on beam for the team's high score... Yektaparast, Alyssa Ito (9.800) and Kelley Hebert (9.800) helped UC Davis amass 48.950 on beam in the opening rotation... Chancellor Gary May joined the team during the meet, as did program alumna and 2018 Emmy Award winner Shauna Duggins.

MEET #1 (01.06.19): UC Davis scored a 194.950 in the season-opening NorCal Classic, the highest start in program history... The previous bests were 194.400 at last year's NorCal (at Stanford), the 194.350 at the 2015 NorCal (Davis) and 193.875 in 2017 (Berkeley)... In fact, the Aggies had never started the season higher than mid-191 prior to 2014... The 2015 NorCal meet also marks the last time UC Davis outscored its MPSF rivals in the opening weekend since 2015, which is also the last time it won the conference title at year's end.

...AND OTHER FUN STUFF

JUST THE SFACTD: Although not limited to faculty members, the Special Faculty Assistant Coach of the Day program invites a key dignitary to serve as an honorary assistant coach for a home meet... The first to hold this title in 2019 will be Vice Chancellor of Finance, Operations and Administration Kelly Ratfliff... A UC Davis alumna for both undergrad and her MBA, Ratliff assumed the helm of FOA in 2016, then was appointed to the vice chancellor position formally in early 2018.

Scott Carrell, now UC Davis' faculty athletics representative to the NCAA, holds the honor as the first SFACTD... Appropriately, he served such duties for the January 23, 2009 home dual against Air Force, his alma mater... Perhaps the most notable honorary coach was Rich Engel, an assistant vice chancellor and Cal Aggie Alumni Association executive director... If a target number of his Development and Alumni Relations co-workers attended the February 2016 meet, Engel promised to perform an exhibition floor routine in a cow suit... His DEVAR officemates rose to the challenge, and sure enough, an anthropomorphic bovine provided entertainment for the crowd.

2019 AGGIE DEBUTS: Freshman Cortney Cunningham scored a 9.750 on vault, 9.575 on bars at the NorCal Classic... She was the only Aggie first-year to appear in that meet... Sophomore Cammi Johnson made her bars debut at that meet, plus she appeared in exhibition on beam... Johnson, who joined the team just weeks before the 2018 opener, had not competed in either of those events since she was a high school junior at the 2015 Region 1 Level 10 Championships... Redshirt freshman Shanae Oishi appeared as an exhibition on bars at the NorCal meet.

A LOT FROM A LIDDLE: Sophomore Sarah Liddle posted scores of 9.775/9.825/9.725 on bars, beam and floor at the NorCal Classic, her first meet since the 2017 MPSF Championships... That 9.825 was her first beam lineup appearance since the 2017 NorCal, while the floor routine marked the first lineup spot on that apparatus since Jan. 21, 2017... Liddle largely appeared on exhibition on FX for the rest of the season... The first-team All-MPSF honoree (bars) redshirted the entire 2018 season.

JOHN BUCKS: Besides the annual Outstanding Contribution Awards – which went to Kelley Hebert, Kyla Kessler, Gabby Landess and Aya Suzuki in 2018 – head coach John Lavallee also bestows "John Bucks" to his team... No, this is not a new form of cryptocurrency, nor does it carry any monetary value... John Bucks are a point system by which the Aggie gymnasts measure meet-by-meet milestones, including school records... They are affixed to the wall in the Hickey Gym Training Center throughout the season.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Seniors Roxanna Agah and Yasmine Yektaparast serve as team captains for 2019... Yektaparast becomes the first Aggie to repeat at that position since the Lavallee era began in 2007.

IN THE AGGIE CORNER: Assistant coach and 2007 alumna Carolyn Kampf enters her 11th season on Lavallee's staff... The two-time MPSF Assistant Coach of the Year works primarily with vault and floor... Jessa Hansen, who serves as both the balance beam coach and recruiting coordinator, begins her third season with the Aggies... She also lends her design expertise to the team's social media channels... Three-time NCAA qualifier and 12-time All-MPSF honoree Anna Shumaker returns to the program as a volunteer assistant in 2019... Most recently, fans have seen the 2014 Aggie grad on TV's American Ninja Warrior.

SCHOLARLY PURSUITS: UC Davis landed six student-athletes on the WCGA Scholastic All-America list (formerly the NACGC/W Academic Awards), including 2019 returners Roxanna Agah, Cammi Johnson, Gabby Landess and Aya Suzuki... A fifth honoree, Maya Burns, is now a team manager for the Aggies... Previously in the spring, Suzuki, Johnson, Kara Jones and Alyssa Ito were announced on the MPSF All-Academic rolls... Perhaps not surprising for a university Forbes named as the No. 1 school for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, no fewer than 14 members of the current Aggies are enrolled in some sort of STEM field.

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.

AGGIE EVO: Established in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.