DAVIS, Calif. -- The veteran trio of Alyssa Ito, Kara Jones and Yasmine Yektaparast led the balance beam squad to a 49.100 event score while sophomore Cammi Johnson captured a share of the meet title on vault, leading UC Davis to a 194.950 team score at the NorCal Classic women's gymnastics meet at the Nest Sunday.
The Aggies finished second in the meet, less than a quarter point behind winner Stanford at 195.175. San Jose State finished third with a 193.300 while host Sacramento State rounded out the field with a 190.000 total.
Ito, Jones and Yektaparast scored consecutive 9.850s from the third through fifth spots of the beam lineup in the meet's second rotation. This run followed sophomore Sarah Liddle's career-high 9.825, all of which led to the 49.100 event total. That mark ranks eighth in UC Davis history, fifth for a road meet and tops for a season opener.
Meanwhile, Johnson notched a 9.825 on vault in the team's penultimate routine of the afternoon, good for a tie for first place with Stanford's Kyla Bryant in the final meet standings.
Overall, UC Davis did not count a fall on any of the four events, scoring a 48.225 on bars to open the meet, the 49.100 on beam, a 48.875 on floor exercise, then a 48.750 on vault. Impressively, the Aggies' floor score came despite fielding only five competitors. Yektaparast and sophomore Kelley Hebert finished that event with scores of 9.825 and 9.875.
Additionally, Liddle enjoyed a strong overall meet in her return to competition. The political science major from Modesto redshirted the entire 2018 season, not having competed since the 2017 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championships. Liddle scored a team-best 9.775 on bars, added the 9.825 on beam, then turned in a career-best 9.725 for her first floor exercise lineup appearance since January 21, 2017.
The overall 194.950 total also becomes a program best for a season-opening meet, surpassing the 194.400 in last year's NorCal and the 194.350 from the 2015 edition.
The Aggies return to action at the Collegiate Challenge Powered by Under Armour, held at the Anaheim Arena and featuring UCLA, California and Michigan State. The meet takes place on Saturday at 7 p.m. as part of the California Grand Invitational.
TEAM SCORES - 1. Stanford, 195.175; 2. UC Davis, 194.950; 3. San Jose State, 193.300; 4. Sacramento State, 190.000.
VAULT - 1 (tie). Kyla Bryant, Stanford; Cammi Johnson, UC Davis, 9.825; 3 (tie). Ellie Pascoe-Long, SJSU; Aleeza Yu, Stanford; Kaylee Cole, Stanford; Kelley Hebert, UC Davis, 9.775.
UNEVEN BARS - 1. Kyla Bryant, Stanford, 9.850; 2. Sarah Liddle, UC Davis, 9.775; 3. Taylor Lawson, Stanford, 9.750.
BALANCE BEAM - 1. Kyla Bryant, Stanford, 9.900; 2 (tie). Alyssa Ito, UC Davis; Kara Jones, UC Davis; Yasmine Yektaparast, UC Davis, 9.850.
FLOOR EXERCISE - 1 (tie). Taylor Chan, SJSU; Kyla Bryant, Stanford, 9.900; 3. Kelley Hebert, UC Davis, 9.875.
ALL-AROUND - 1. Kyla Bryant, Stanford, 39.475; 2. Taylor Chan, SJSU, 39.025; 3. Jordyn Brent, SAC, 38.875.
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.
