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Campus Celebrity: UC Davis Gymnastics Team

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCD chapter.
The UC Davis Women’s Gymnastics team has an overall record of 8-3 and has been breaking school records and gaining momentum heading into their final 4 meets of the season. The Aggies took first place over San Jose State and Alaska Anchorage at home on January 9th with a score of 191.3, marking the highest season opener in UC Davis History. Senior Marcy Miller won the all-around, having the highest cumulative score at the meet, with a personal best 38.775. Junior Erika Van Dyke won the floor exercise with a personal best 9.875 and took second on beam to help seal the win. Not a bad way to start off the season.

It quickly became evident that they were just getting started and the team continues to improve. This past Sunday, the Aggies hosted Cal for a dual meet at the Pavilion and scored a season-high 194.050 over Cal’s 191.500. Van Dyke and freshman Anna Shumaker each earned two event wins. Van Dyke won the balance beam and went on to tie teammate sophomore Michelle Ho for the floor exercise win. Shumaker won the vault with a score of 9.775 and tied senior co-captain Jessica Rea on uneven bars with a career best 9.800. Miller and senior Stacey Nicolini both earned career-high marks in the all-around, making for an exciting meet.

The Davis team’s impressive performance has earned the attention of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Senior Marci Miller won the MPSF Gymnast of the Week award for the third time on February 1st. Sophomore Michelle Ho claimed the honor for the period ending February 6th, meaning Davis has now earned four MPSF weekly honors in five weeks.

The entire team is phenomenal and you need to see our campus celebrities in action. They are looking to win the MPSF conference championship and Van Dyke assures me that “there is always something amazing to watch out on the floor, and the meets are a lot of fun. We really appreciate the support from our fans, and it contributes to a high energy atmosphere.” The next and last home meet is on Friday, March 4th at 7:00pm. Go Aggies!

Rachael Brandt is your typical collegiette. Her free time, you'll find her roaming the CoHo, nourishing her hourly caffeine fix or rocking out at the campus rec center in Zumba class. Rachael has interned at Acosta/Salazar PR firm in Sacramento, CA --working with politicians and interest groups to aide their campaigns. She now spends her days working at the Events and Conferencing Center, in hopes of saving up for the many goodies she hopes to acquire while studying abroad next year. After cultivating an obsession for Her Campus, she opened the UC Davis branch, and now serves as campus correspondant.