DAVIS, Calif. -- After more than a month on the road, UC Davis finally returns to the familiar confines of the Pavilion, where it will host ninth-ranked California in a Friday night dual. The meet also serves as Senior Night for the team's lone 2020 graduate, Sarah Liddle. Meet time is 7 p.m.

UP NEXT
Who: #9 California
When: Friday, March 13 • 7 p.m.  
Where: The Pavilion (Davis, Calif.) 
Live Results: StatBroadcast (http://statb.us/b/284066)
Live Video: Facebook Live (https://www.facebook.com/ucdavisgymnastics/)

Indeed, Liddle will be the lone senior honored, as fellow fourth-years Alyssa Ito and Cammi Johnson have opted to return for their final years of eligibility. Liddle, a 2020 team co-captain, wraps up a career that has earned her two All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation first-team nods on uneven bars, plus a second-team award on balance beam.

Johnson's decision to return for a fifth year may have been buoyed by her performance in last weekend's road dual at Sacramento State: she tied the school balance beam record of 9.925, added a share of the uneven bars win with a 9.800, and finished second to teammate Logan Clagg with a 39.150 all-around total. 

Saturday's Causeway Cup victory also saw junior Gabby Landess post her first career 9.900, good enough to edge the Hornet duo of Jordyn Brent and Tara Catour, who shared second place with a 9.875. UC Davis also broke the 49-point barrier on floor for the first time this season, thanks also to a trio of 9.800s by Clagg, Cortney Cunningham and Kelley Hebert. Ito, for her part, captured the meet win on vault with a 9.825, helping that squad compile a team mark of 48.925.

With only Friday's home dual left on the slate before UC Davis hosts the MPSF Championships (Mar. 21), the conference standings have truly clarified: the Aggies now lead the race for the regular-season title with a 194.715 national-qualifying score, with San Jose State three-tenths behind at 194.415. 

Individually, Johnson (2nd), Cunningham (T3rd), Ito (T5th) and Clagg (7th) rank among the conference's top seven on vault, positioning each for all-conference accolades in that event. Landess, who is tied for 12th on vault, ranks third on bars, with Cunningham (5th) and Johnson (9th) also among the leaders. On beam, Ito ranks second in a tough race with San Jose State's Emma Milne and Alaska Anchorage's Sophia Hyderally, while Johnson (T5th), Hebert (9th) and freshman Rachel Schuelke (10th) rate among the MPSF's top 10. Landess (4th), Cunningham (t6th) and Clagg (8th) rate among the floor exercise leaders with one week left before the conference championship.

Landess ranks fourth among the MPSF's all-arounders with a 38.690 NQS, but Clagg needs just one more meet to qualify. The three-time Freshman of the Week has averaged 38.915 in her five appearances thus far. If she competes in all four events on Friday, she clinches an All-MPSF award in that category and further strengthens her case for MPSF Freshman of the Year.

Cal last visited the Pavilion as part of the five-team NorCal Classic back on January 12. The Golden Bears have since scored 197 or better five times to claim a top 10 footing in the NQS standings. Kyana George, who has 14 scores of 9.900 or better this season, ranks 10th nationally with a 39.505 RQS.

Friday's meet begins at 7 p.m. The Senior Night festivities will follow the meet prior to the awards announcements.

2020 SEASON NOTES

NQS 101: The national-qualifying score, or NQS for short, is calculated by taking the team's (or individual's) top six scores, of which a minimum of three coming from road meets... The highest score of that six is dropped and the remaining five are averaged... The website RoadToNationals.com begins calculating this number later in the season... The top 36 teams in the nation earn NCAA Regional berths while the top MPSF team earns the regular-season title and the Olympic order (V-UB-BB-FX) at the conference championship meet... Individually, a gymnast's overall national rank helps determine at-large berths to the NCAA regionals, although under the recently adopted rules, those slots are also dependent on which regionals the qualifying teams are assigned.

For the record, the six scores currently determining UC Davis' NQS are:

195.850 at Boise State w/Utah State & Sac State (2/21)
195.475 at Air Force with UW-Whitewater (2/15)
194.925 at San Jose State (1/31)
194.875 at Sacramento State (3/7)
194.600 SAN JOSE STATE (2/7)
193.700 at Utah State (2/28)

Finally, the NQS calculation will determine All-MPSF honors... Based on March 16 rankings, the top NQS from each of the six member schools plus the next six at-large will be named to the all-conference squads... See the preview above for an overview of which Aggies are on pace to earn such honors.

ELITE COMPANY: Kelley Hebert hit a 9.900 on beam for the third time in her career on January 5, then followed with her ninth career 9.9-plus floor score two weeks later at ASU... She shares the school record on each of those two events: 9.925 on beam twice, 9.950 on floor twice... Her 9.900 on beam at Sac State made her just the second Aggie to break a 9.900 in any event of a season opener: Ericka Ruelas first set the school bars record of 9.925 in the Jan. 16, 2000 home dual against San Jose State.

HOMECOMING: The March 21 MPSF championship will also serve as a homecoming for several of the league's coaches... Four of the six members have former UC Davis gymnasts on their respective staffs: Carolyn Kampf and Aya Suzuki at UC Davis, Tanya Ho at UAA, Solorio at Sac State, and Andi Dolinsky-Webb at Air Force.

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 SFACTD of 2020 was LeShelle May, an award-winning computer engineer and innovator, and the wife of Chancellor Gary May... UC Davis provost and professor Ralph Hexter filled the role for the January 24 home quad meet.

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.

MARYA WELCH INITIATIVE: Named after the former physical education instructor, coach and Dean of Women who founded women's sports on the campus 25 years before the passage of Title IX, the Marya Welch Initiative for Women's Athletics provides comprehensive support for UC Davis' 16 women's athletics programs. Through the support of the Marya Welch Initiative and its group members, student-athletes are provided the best possible opportunity to succeed inside the classroom, and in competition, through special project gifts and by increasing visibility and participation at women's events throughout the year. All gifts to the Marya Welch Initiative are matched 1:1, doubling the impact on our women's programs. Visit this site for more information.

DON'T MISS OUT: Tickets for all UC Davis sports are on sale by contacting the Athletics Ticket Office at (530) 752-AGS1 or by visiting us online at tickets.ucdavis.edu.