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Women's Gymnastics Competes At MPSF Championships This Saturday

March 21, 2018

Weekly Release

This Week:Sat., March 24
MPSF Championships
Cadet West Gymnasium
Colorado Springs, Colo.
6:00 p.m. MT/5:00 p.m. PT

Live scoring - https://roadtonationals.com/results/schedule/meet/23405

Live Video - http://www.mpsports.org/collegesportslive/?media=573587 - subscription required

Tournament Central - http://www.goairforcefalcons.com/sports/w-gym/archive/030618aaq.html

The San José State women's gymnastics team looks to defend its conference championship this weekend as the team travels to the United States Air Force Academy for the 2018 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships on Saturday, March 24. The Spartans will face UC Davis, Sacramento State, Seattle Pacific, Alaska Anchorage and the Falcons.

The Spartans won the 2017 championship at The Event Center with a 195.925 team score, tying the school record set by the 2004 team, which coincidentally was set when the Spartans won the other MPSF Championship. Heading into the final rotation, the top-three teams were separated by just .100 of a point. The Spartans scored a 49.200 on bars to secure the championship.

Individually, two Spartans were crowned event champions in 2017. Haleigh Shepard won the vault with a 9.825. Taylor Chan returns to defend her floor title after tying with Alexis Brown of UC Davis with a 9.875.

National RankingsRankingRQSAVGSeason High
UC Davis46th195.010194.739196.350
San José State50th194.655194.308195.050
Sacramento State52nd194.475193.655195.575
Air Force57th194.100193.518194.500
Seattle Pacific65th192.045190.950193.225
Alaska Anchorage71st190.180189.533191.950


ROTATION ORDER

RotVaultByeBarsBeamByeFloor
1UCDSJSUSPUSACAFAA
2AAUCDSJSUSPUSACAF
3AFAAUCDSJSUSPUSAC
4SACAFAAUCDSJSUSPU
5SPUSACAFAAUCDSJSU
6SJSUSPUSACAFAAUCD

San José State enters the meet as the second seed and will start the meet on a bye before bars and ending on vault. UC Davis enters as the top seed for the second consecutive year, while Sacramento State is the third seed and starts on beam.

TICKETS
Tickets for the 2018 MSPF Championships are available at the door. Prices are $10 for adults; youth (ages 4-18), military (with ID) and groups of 10 or more are just $5 per ticket. For information, contact the Air Force Ticket Office at (719) 472-1895

SPARTAN HEAD COACH
Spartan head coach Wayne Wright is in his 17th year at the helm of the program. He has coached all seven San José State regional qualifying teams and taken three individual competitors to the NCAA Championships.

Wright is assisted by associate head coach Shella Martinez who is in her 15th season with the Spartans. She is primarily responsible for the beam team and is the team's recruiting coordinator. Former Spartan Alise Neal joined the Spartan coaching staff in 2015 as an assistant coach and is the team's bars coach.

CHAN POSTS BEST ALL-AROUND SCORE AT UCLA
Taylor Chan recorded her best all-around score of the season at UCLA with a 39.125 to win the title. She scored a 9.900 on vault and floor, 9.800 on beam and a 9.525 on bars.

TWO EVENT TITLES AT ARIZONA
Two Spartans won event titles at the Arizona quad meet on March 9. Ellie Pascoe-Long tied for first on vault with a 9.850. Taylor Chan scored her second consecutive 9.900 on floor to win the event for the second straight week.

HOME SEASON CONCLUDES WITH SEASON-BESTS
The Spartans scored a season-best 195.050 on March 4 in the final home meet of 2018. SJSU won the four-team meet over Central Michigan (194.625), Air Force (194.500) and Seattle Pacific (193.225). The team score ranks as the 22nd best in school history and the only time SJSU has posted that score.

The Spartan vault team started the meet off with a season-high 49.075, tying for the third-best vault score in school history. Taylor Chan led the team with a 9.875, followed by Kaprece Nadonza with a career-high 9.850, Ellie Pascoe-Long at 9.825, Kaitlin Won at 9.775, Josalyn Ray at 9.750 and Chelsey Andrada at 9.675.

The floor team ended the night with a season-best 49.150, tying for the ninth-best floor score in school history. Chan recorded her 9.900 on floor this season. Pascoe-Long scored 9.875, followed by Won and Andrada at 9.800, Ray at 9.775 and Kendal Watts at 9.750.

VAULTING UP THE SCORES
The Spartans have recorded five top-10 scores on vault in school history. The team tied for the third-best score with a 49.075 against Air Force, Central Michigan and Seattle Pacific, tied for the fourth-best with a 49.025 at the Arizona quad meet, tied for the sixth-best at 48.950 at Sacramento State with Seattle Pacific, tied for seventh-best at 48.925 at UCLA, and tied for 10th at 48.850 in a meet at Utah State with Sacramento State.

MPSF WEEKLY HONORS
Four Spartans have received Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors this season. Kaprece Nadonza was named the MPSF Specialist of the Week on February 20. In a meet at Sacramento State with Seattle Pacific, she won the vault with a career-best 9.825 and helped the Spartan vault team to a 48.950. Nadonza added a 9.725 on bars for SJSU.

Taylor Chan was the MPSF Gymnast of the Week on January 29. She won her first all-around title with a 39.025 against Sacramento State on January 26. She won individual event titles on the beam as she tied for first with teammate Kaitlin Won at 9.750, and on the floor at 9.850. Chan tied for second on vault with a 9.800 and added a 9.625 on bars,

On January 22, Kaitlin Won was named the MPSF Gymnast of the Week, while Ellie Pascoe-Long was honored as the MPSF Specialist of the Week. Won captured the all-around title at the Utah State meet on January 19 with a 39.075. She finished second on the balance beam as she tied her career high with a 9.850. Won added a 9.800 on floor, 9.725 on bars and 9.700 on vault. Pascoe-Long won her first two career event titles. She scored a 9.825 on vault to win the event and added a 9.850 on floor to tie for first with two Utah State gymnasts.

BEAM TEAM WITH SEVENTH-BEST SCORE
The Spartan beam team recorded a season-best 48.975 in a meet at Utah State with Sacramento State in January. That score ties for the seventh-best score in school history.

TWO GYMNASTS, THREE EVENT TITLES
Two Spartans won or tied for first on three events in a meet with UC Davis on February 23. Ellie Pascoe-Long won the vault with a 9.825 and tied for first on floor with a career-best 9.900. Kaitlin Won scored a 9.850 on bars to win the event title.

THREE WIN OR SHARE EVENT TITLES AT SAC STATE MEET
Three San José State gymnasts won or tied for first in a tri-meet at Sacramento State on February 16. Kaprece Nadonza won the vault title with a career-best 9.825. Chelsey Andrada tied for first on beam with a career-best 9.875, while Taylor Chan tied for first on floor at 9.850.

SPARTANS WIN OR TIE ON EVERY EVENT AGAINST HORNETS
Three Spartan gymnasts won or tied for first on every event when San José State competed against Sacramento State on January 19. Kaprece Nadonza won her first collegiate vault title with a career-best 9.825 on vault. Kaitlin Won captured the bars title with a 9.850 and tied for first on beam with a 9.750. Taylor Chan tied for first on beam at 9.750, won the floor with a 9.850, and won her first collegiate all-around title at 39.025.

FOUR TITLES AT UTAH STATE-SACRAMENTO STATE MEET
Three Spartans won four individual titles at Utah State/Sacramento State meet on January 19. Ellie Pascoe-Long won her first two career even titles with a career-best 9.825 on vault and tied her career high on floor at 9.850. Stephanie Relova recorded a career-best 9.875 to win the beam. Kaitlin Won in the all-around (39.075).

BEST SEASON-OPENING SCORE
The Spartans began the 2018 season at the NorCal Classic on January 8 by scoring the program's best opening-meet score with a 194.475. The team broke the record of 194.300, set by the 2012 squad.The only other Spartan team to score a 194.000 or better in an opening meet was the 2015 team with a 194.050 at the NorCal Classic at UC Davis.

ALL-AROUNDERS
Senior Kaitlin Won and sophomore Taylor Chan compete in the all-around for the Spartans. Won scored a 39.000 or better in four meets of the season. She captured the all-around title at the January 19 meet with a 39.075, and was second to Shanie Remme of Boise State on Feb. 9, with a 39.100. Chan is in her first season competing in the all-around and won two all-around titles this season - 39.025 again Sacramento State on Jan. 26, and 39.125 at UCLA on March 13.