DAVIS, Calif. -- UC Davis women's gymnastics signed five prospective student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the November signing period, head coach John Lavallee announced.
Alphabetically, the future Aggies are Keanna Abraham (Bakersfield, California), Allie Gard (Round Rock, Texas), Emily Pires (Carlsbad, Calif.), Megan Ray (Irvine, Calif.) and Bella Trejo (Cupertino, Calif.). All five are seniors at their respective high schools, and will enroll at the university in the fall of 2021.
Abraham, a National Honor Society student at Centennial High School, has competed at Level 10 for the last three years, first for American Kids Sports Center, then for the Visalia-based Central California Gymnastics Institute. She won the vault and all-around titles at the Level 9 Western Championships in 2017 before moving up to Level 10, where she captured the state vault championship in 2019. Outside the gym, Abraham has served as a Link Crew mentor for CHS freshmen and participated in a medical camp during the 2020 summer.
Gard is a 4.0 student and 'A' Honor Roll member at Cedar Ridge High School. She has trained and competed at Level 10 for Crenshaw Athletic Club for the past four years after winning the state Level 9 all-around championship for United Gymnastics Academy in 2016. Since that jump, Gard has qualified for three Region 3 championships, with a Junior Olympics Nationals berth in 2018. Academically, she is a National Honor Society member and AP Scholar, and participates with her school dance team and Health Occupations Students of America.
Pires, a senior at La Costa Canyon High School, competes for the San Marcos-based SoCal Gymnastics Training Center, a club owned, operated and coached by her parents, Gary and Angela. After winning the state bars and Region 1 floor titles at Level 9 in 2017, Emily moved up to Level 10, where she advanced to the regionals for three straight seasons. In 2019, Pires captured the vault title at regionals, then placed fifth at J.O. Nationals in that event with matching 9.725 scores. When not competing, she has taught summer camps and volunteered at a skilled nursing facility.
Ray, who attends Woodbridge High School, enters her sixth season as a Level 10 gymnast, having competed for Gym-Max from 2016-18 then South Coast Gymnastics for the past two seasons. She has advanced to the Region 1 meet every year (the event was canceled in 2020), with a balance beam title and a fourth-place all-around finish in 2019. Ray followed that with a second-placing showing on beam during her first trip to J.O. Nationals. She ranked among the national top 100 on vault in 2020 before the season was shortened by the COVID pandemic.
Trejo, a senior at The King's Academy in Sunnyvale, has starred in gymnastics on two continents: as a Level 10 competitor for San Mateo Gymnastics (2017-19) and Airborne Gymnastics (2020); plus as a member of the Swedish National Team (2018-present). Overseas, she won the vault at the Nordic Championships and Swedish Championships in 2018, adding a silver in the all-around at the latter event. A year later, she returned to the Swedish Championships in the Senior division, placing second on floor exercise. Prior to then, Trejo was a J.O. National qualifier and Region 1 vault champion for San Mateo in 2017. Academically, she holds a 4.5 weighted GPA and earned her school's English Department Award. In Sweden, Trejo volunteered with Kristianstad Ridklubb, helping children with special needs during a horseback riding camp.
UC Davis finished the abbreviated 2020 season with a 194.715 national-qualifying score, good for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season championship and a No. 46 national rank.
ABOUT UC DAVIS:
With the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, more than 700 student-athletes represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation on one of 25 intercollegiate athletics teams.
UC Davis, a national leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, is centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley; and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
Ranked annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis is uncommonly committed to preparing student-athletes for life after graduation with Aggie EVO — an innovative student-athlete outcomes program that helps young women and men develop passions, gain real-world experience, and enjoy a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school. Through Aggie EVO, Intercollegiate Athletics provides unmatched resources and a vast network of working professionals to ensure post-graduation success for its student-athletes.
