SEATTLE – Sophomore Kelley Hebert repeated as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Year, Jessa Hansen claimed her first Assistant Coach of the Year nod, while Cortney Cunningham snared Freshman of the Year honors, as UC Davis placed third at the six-team MPSF championship meet, hosted by Seattle Pacific at the Royal Brougham Pavilion Saturday night.
The Aggies compiled a final team score of 195.200, more than a half-point behind winning Air Force's 195.725, and second-place San Jose State, which scored a 195.450. Alaska Anchorage finished fourth with a 194.200, while Sacramento State (192.425) and Seattle Pacific (192.400) rounded out the final two places.
UC Davis enjoyed its best rotation of a 49.200 on uneven bars, second in school history and the best all-time for a road meet by more than a full tenth. Sophomore Sarah Liddle led the Aggies on this event, finishing second in the meet with a 9.900. She becomes just the ninth gymnast in program history to hit that standard, and the first to do so in a road meet since Amber Weddell tied the school record of 9.925 at the 2004 MPSF Championships.
Sophomore Gabby Landess hit a career-best 9.875 on bars, while senior Aya Suzuki tied her PR with a 9.850. Hebert chipped in a season-high 9.825. Cunningham, competing in just her fifth meet on bars and her third since returning to the lineup, added a personal-best 9.750.
The Aggies earned Olympic order in the meet by virtue of their regular-season MPSF title. They scored a 48.700 on vault to open the meet, followed with the 49.200 on bars, then compiled scores of 48.775 and 48.525 on balance beam and floor exercise respectively. Sophomore Cammi Johnson led UC Davis on vault with her 9.775, good for a tie for sixth in the meet.
Sophomore Alyssa Ito and senior Yasmine Yektaparast each hit 9.825 scores on beam for shares of fourth place in the final meet standings, while Yektaparast paced the Aggie floor squad with her 9.850 effort, good for fifth place overall. Landess notched a 9.825 on floor in the night's final rotation.
Overall, Air Force's Anna Salamone was the only gymnast to win multiple MPSF event titles. Her 9.875 on vault edged teammate Tyler Davis, who ran away with the floor championship with a 9.950. Salamone later stuck a 9.925 on bars to beat out Liddle for that event. UAA's Sophia Hyderally led a 1-2 exacta atop the beam standings with a 9.900. Finally, SJSU junior Taylor Chan won the individual all-around at 39.300, beating out Davis (39.250), Hebert (38.925) and Landess (38.400) for the overall race.
During the awards ceremony, UC Davis head coach John Lavallee took a moment to congratulate SPU head coach Laurel Tindall, who announced her retirement after 44 years at the Falcon helm. Tindall's teams have captured three USAG Collegiate Division team titles while she has snared four USAG Coach of the Year awards.
The year-end MPSF awards are voted by the coaches on the day of the championship meet, then announced as part of the meet's awards ceremony. While UC Davis won three of the four season awards, it was an Aggie alumna – Alaska head coach Tanya Ho – who garnered MPSF Coach of the Year accolades. Ho was a nine-time All-MPSF performer and the 2010 Gymnast of the Year for Coach Lavallee.
Saturday's meet closes out the season for UC Davis as a team. However, the Aggies will learn which competitors earn at-large berths to the NCAA postseason during the selection show on Monday. The championship field will include as many as 12 all-around competitors and 64 individual event specialists not competing on one of the 36 qualifying teams.
Monday's selection show will appear at NCAA.com on Monday at 2 p.m. Pacific.
2019 MOUNTAIN PACIFIC SPORTS FEDERATION GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Hosted by Seattle Pacific
Champions plus UC Davis finishers listed.
TEAM SCORES - 1. Air Force, 195.725; 2. San Jose State, 195.450; 3. UC Davis, 195.200; 4. Alaska Anchorage, 194.200; 5. Sacramento State, 192.425; 6. Seattle Pacific, 192.400.
VAULT - 1. Anna Salamone, AFA, 9.875... t6. Cammi Johnson, 9.775; t9. Gabby Landess, 9.750; t12. Alyssa Ito, 9.725; t12. Cortney Cunningham, 9.725; t12. Kelley Hebert, 9.725; t17. Yasmine Yektaparast, 9.700.
UNEVEN BARS - 1. Anna Salamone, AFA, 9.925... 2. Sarah Liddle, 9.900; 3. Gabby Landess, 9.875; t4. Aya Suzuki, 9.850; t7. Kelley Hebert, 9.825; t19. Cortney Cunningham, 9.750; t21. Alyssa Ito, 9.725.
BALANCE BEAM - 1. Sophia Hyderally, UAA, 9.900... t4. Alyssa Ito, 9.825; t4. Yasmine Yektaparast, 9.825; t18. Aya Suzuki, 9.725; t23. Sarah Liddle, 9.700; t23. Kelley Hebert, 9.700; 36. Gabby Landess, 8.950.
FLOOR EXERCISE - 1. Tyler Davis, AFA, 9.950... 5. Yasmine Yektaparast, 9.850; t6. Gabby Landess, 9.825; t16. Aya Suzuki, 9.725; t22. Kelley Hebert, 9.675; 29. Roxanna Agah, 9.450; 32. Shannon Sklow, 9.050.
ALL-AROUND - 1. Taylor Chan, SJSU, 39.300... 3. Kelley Hebert, 38.925; 4. Gabby Landess, 38.400.
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.
