UC Davis women’s gymnastics has this winning thing down. They earned their fourth consecutive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation overall team title, sweeping the top two all-around spots and three of the four individual championships. Head coach John Lavallee has produced impressive results in years past, but this season was unparalleled in success. The Aggies broke countless records throughout the course of the year, but they produced the big scores when they needed them most. UC Davis blitzed past the competition and finished the MPSF Championship with an overall team score of 194.950. Katie Yamamura continued to build upon her legacy of greatness as she swept the competition with an overall score of 39.050. Breaking the “39” barrier is incredibly difficult in collegiate gymnastics, but this was Yamamura’s fourth time this season. Yamamura earned a 9.800 on vault, a 9.725 on bars, a 9.700 on beam and a 9.825 on floor. Fellow Aggie Anna Schumaker placed second overall with a score of 39.025, making it the third consecutive week she was... ...

The UC Davis gymnastics team set the bar high for the rest of the season after a strong start in their first competition in the NorCal Quad meet held at San Jose State University on Jan. 4. The Aggies finished in third place out of four teams with a record score of 191.400 for the school. They competed against Stanford, the No. 6 team in the nation, who finished with a score of 192.425 and San Jose State, who posted a score of 192.875. “Although it was the highest opening score in school history, which is a good way to start, the score is still a bit low for this team,” said head coach and reigning Mountain Pacific Sports Federation coach of the year John Lavallee. Senior co-captain Michelle Ho won the uneven bars with a score of 9.800 and came second in the floor exercise with an identical score. Her performance on the uneven bars tied her previous career high she set in 2011. “Michelle did a great job... ...

After claiming their third Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women’s gymnastics championship in a row last year, the Aggie gymnasts are seeking to extend their title streak to four years straight. The team, coached by MPSF coach of the year John Lavallee along with MPSF assistant coach of the year Tamara Ross, will be led by a new group of gymnasts as the two seniors on last year’s team have gone. Senior Katie Yamamura is back to defend her MPSF gymnast of the year award as she tries to improve on a year during which she claimed three MPSF event championships and set the school all around record with 39.225 during last year’s road quad meet with Sacramento State, Central Michigan, and Seattle Pacific. She broke the previous record of 39.200 set by Flora Bare in 2003. Yamamura also was named to the Capital One academic All-America second team, the first Aggie to do so since Poppy Major made the All-America third team in 2001. Seniors Michelle Ho and Taryn West... ...

Junior Katie Yamamura has been positively stellar for UC Davis’ women’s gymnastics team this year. This season, Yamamura was named MPSF Gymnast of the Week six times. Those honors led to All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors in all four individual events and the all-around, including conference titles in the vault and uneven bars. Her amazing performance at the conference meet culminated in a MPSF Gymnast of the Year Award. She held the top regional-qualifying scores on vault, bars and all-around for the MPSF. Yamamura capped off her 2012 season by earning her second bid to the NCAA Seattle Regional. The Palo Alto, Calif. native impresses off the mat as well. Yamamura was recently selected to the Capital One Academic All-District women’s at-large first team. The honorees are selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America and Yamamura is now eligible to be named an Academic All-American. She holds a 3.96 grade-point average as a neurobiology, physiology and behavior major. Yamamura had already been named to the MPSF All-Academic squad... ...

Two of UC Davis’ finest gymnasts traveled to Seattle Saturday to represent the Aggies at the NCAA Seattle Regional meet. Junior Katie Yamamura and freshman Tiana Montell both earned berths to the Regional meet with their performances at last week’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship meet. Yamamura began her meet with floor exercise where she earned a 9.700 for her routine. She then moved on to the vault, where the Palo Alto, Calif. native has excelled for the Aggies this season. The vault added another 9.775 to her overall total score. Unfortunately for the Aggies, the seasoned junior suffered a fall during her mount in beam which knocked her score down to an 8.700 for that event. Yamamura also struggled during her release in uneven bars, resulting in another fall and a score of 8.975. The junior placed 20th overall in her second NCAA Regional appearance, earning a 37.15, even with the penalties of two falls. UC Davis gymnastics can look forward to another incredible year next season because Yamamura... ...

Teams: UC Davis, Alabama, LSU, Arizona, Iowa, Central Michigan and host Washington. Where: NCAA Regional — Seattle, Washington When: Saturday at 4 p.m. Who to Watch: Junior Katie Yamamura excelled for the Aggies in 2012, landing slots on each roster and winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Year award. Yamamura’s specialties are the vault and the uneven bars, but she is clearly talented in floor and beam as well. Did you Know? Tiana Montell is the third freshman in UC Davis history to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Her teammate Yamamura was the second Aggie to accomplish that feat in 2009. Preview: UC Davis is sending two accomplished gymnasts to the NCAA Seattle Region Championship this year. Both Katie Yamamura and freshman Tiana Montell will be competing in the All-Around division. As MSPF Gymnast of the Year, Yamamura certainly poses a threat to the competition. This will be the Palo Alto, Calif. native’s second NCAA appearance; she earned an all-around berth in 2009 and she finished 14th... ...

UC Davis secured its third consecutive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship title on Saturday March 24. The Aggie gymnasts surged late this season to enter the MPSF Championship Meet as the decided favorites and this year’s squad did not disappoint, as they hosted the event at the Pavilion. Junior Katie Yamamura literally vaulted her way to the MSPF Gymnast of the Year award. She was one of seven Aggies battling for spots on the five all-conference honors. Every single UC Davis gymnast landed a slot on at least one all-conference roster but Yamamura took that challenge to a whole new height, earning spots on all five all-conference teams. The Aggies posted one of the best seasons in school history and head coach John Lavalle was named MSPF Head Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his six year tenure at UC Davis. Not to be outdone his assistant Tamara Ross was also granted MSPF Assistant Coach of the Year honors. While Lavalle and Ross were coaching their way... ...

After struggling early on in the year, the Aggies closed out the regular season strong, setting a season-high score for the second consecutive week on Saturday in San Jose. The Aggies’ 194.150 was a more than 0.100 point increase on their previous high set at Sacramento State. The Spartans won the meet with a score of 195.850, while the Hornets took second with 195.275. Both scores were also season-highs for their respective teams. The most dramatic sign of UC Davis’ improvement was the squad’s combined score of 48.775 on beam. After struggling on the apparatus for most of the season, the score was not only a season-high, but the second highest recorded score in school history. “I’m absolutely amazed and impressed at how resilient this group is,” Head Coach John Lavallee said. “We’ve had some very rough performances this year, but they keep battling back and continue to learn how to get stronger and better.” Junior Anna Shumaker led the Aggies on the event with a score of 9.850, a... ...

UC Davis gymnasts didn’t count a single fall this Friday, going 24-for-24 against Causeway rival Sacramento State.  It was the first time the Aggies have accomplished the feat this season. The clean performance allowed the Aggies to show fans what the squad is truly capable of for the first time in 2012. UC Davis set a season-high 194.025 to finish second at a competitive quadrangular meet against Sac State, Central Michigan and conference rival Seattle Pacific. “It was amazing,” Head Coach John Lavallee said. “Hitting every routine — that doesn’t happen very often … For this group … to come out and do this is a testament to their hard work and dedication.” The Aggies broke the 38-point barrier on each of the four events en route to their season-high score. UC Davis opened the meet on bars where the team was led by junior Katie Yamamura’s 9.750.  Freshman Lisa Wiktorski’s 9.700 helped bring the team total to 48.325, just 0.025 points shy of the season-high for the event that... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Sacramento State, Central Michigan and Seattle Pacific Where: The Nest — Sacramento When:  Sunday at 2 p.m. Who to watch: Sophomore Anna Shumaker was a key performer for the Aggies in last week’s home meet. The Alameda, Calif. native scored a 9.700 on vault and a squad-high 9.750 on beam. Did you know? Sunday’s meet will be the third of UC Davis’ four match-ups with rival Sacramento State this season. The Aggies are currently 0-2 against the Hornets in 2012 and will be looking to get in the win column against Sacramento State this week. Preview: With just two meets remaining before the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, the Aggies are looking to start building momentum as they head down the home stretch. The Aggies are coming off a fourth-place finish in last Friday’s quadrangular meet in the Pavilion, but they will have a good chance to better that finish on Sunday. Although UC Davis has fallen in both of its match-ups with Sacramento State, the... ...

On Friday night the Aggies took on Arizona, San Jose State and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival Alaska Anchorage in a competitive meet that coincided with Senior Night at the Pavilion. Seniors Erika Van Dyke and Lauren Eller were recognized alongside former gymnasts Betsy Lim and Jennifer Mueller who will both graduate this spring. Van Dyke and Eller serve as the squad’s co-captains. “It’s … been such an honor to share these last four years with my class of seniors,” Van Dyke said. “It’s been so special sharing … this journey with them … they’re such special individuals.” The Aggies started the evening on vault where they put forward the strong routines that have characterized the team’s performance in the event this season, scoring a team total of 48.125. Junior Katie Yamamura led the squad with a 9.775, which captured the second place individual title. Notable performances by sophomores Anna Shumaker (9.700) and Madeline Kennedy (9.625) also helped to push the Aggies over the 48-point mark. Though the vault performance... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Arizona, San Jose State, Alaska Anchorage Where: The Pavilion When:  Friday at 7 p.m. Who to watch: Friday’s competition will be senior Erika Van Dyke’s last regular-season performance at the Pavilion. The Sacramento native has earned all-conference honors in every postseason of her collegiate career and was the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation champion on beam in 2011. Her career-high score of 9.900 on beam is tied for the school record. Van Dyke serves as co-captain of the squad alongside fellow senior Lauren Eller. Did you know? The first set of Regional Qualifying Score rankings were released on Monday. UC Davis is ranked 9th in the Western region and 54th in the nation. Preview: The Aggies will return to the Pavilion Friday night in a quadrangular meet against Arizona, San Jose State, and MPSF rival Alaska Anchorage. It will be UC Davis’ last home meet before the conference championship at the end of the month. The team is returning after a successful away meet against Seattle Pacific,... ...

UC Davis held nothing back on Friday in a 192.900 to 191.350 victory over Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival Seattle Pacific. The visiting Aggies captured four of five individual titles on their way to their first win since Jan. 22. After a disappointing performance last weekend in which UC Davis struggled to put forward a clean performance, the Aggies counted only one fall in the meet against the Falcons. “We had a really great meet,” Head Coach John Lavallee said. “It was … one of our best performances of the year.” UC Davis began the meet on the uneven bars where the team scored a collective score of 48.300. The score is the Aggies’ highest for the event since their 48.350 performance at the first meet of the season against Arizona State. The squad was led on bars by junior Katie Yamamura who took the first place title with a career-high score of 9.850. Junior Michelle Ho’s 9.775 was good for third. Yamamura then put forward a 9.775 on vault... ...

Teams: UC Davis at Seattle Pacific Where: Brougham Pavilion — Seattle, Wash. When:  Friday at 7 p.m. Who to watch: Junior Leah Houseman has become a dominant force on balance beam in her first season with UC Davis after transferring from Cal State Fullerton. The Arcadia, Calif. native has scored back-to-back career highs on the event in the Aggies’ last two meets. The scores of 9.825 and 9.850 are UC Davis’ top marks for the event this season. Did you know? The last time that UC Davis competed against Seattle Pacific the Aggies outscored the Falcons on every event. The strong performance came in a home-triangular against Seattle Pacific and California in which UC Davis outscored the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival 191.600 to 189.275. Preview: The Aggies return to conference action this Friday against rival Seattle Pacific. Since Head Coach John Lavallee took the coaching position five years ago, UC Davis has won each annual road trip to Brougham Pavilion. The Aggies hope to continue that streak this weekend... ...

UC Davis continued its roller coaster month on Saturday with a 191.625-190.925 loss to Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival Air Force. The last time that the Aggies were outscored by the Falcons was at the 2003 USAG Collegiate Division Championships. UC Davis had triumphed in 17 consecutive meets in the intermediary period. Though the Aggies took first in four of the five individual categories, the falls they were forced to count en route led to a disappointing team score for the squad. The loss came after last week’s meet against Sacramento State and Oregon State in which the Aggies scored a season-high 193.875. The score from Saturday’s meet was a decrease of nearly three points. Though the young squad shows promise at every meet, inconsistencies, particularly in the month of February, have kept the squad from performing to its full potential. The Aggies’ first stroke of bad luck on Friday came during warm-ups when sophomore Anna Shumaker suffered an injury that kept her from competing in the meet. The team... ...