Conference championship weekend is upon us and six teams are gearing up to battle it out at the MPSF Championships. The championships will be held at Sacramento State University on Saturday March 19th at 6:00pm PST, and FloGymnastics will be on site providing you live stream coverage of the meet! These teams span across twenty spots in the rankings, with two currently tied, so it will be a tight meet full of energy and excitement.

So who should you watch out for come Saturday? Here is the rundown:

UC Davis

The Aggies are coming off a big season-high 196.025 last weekend. This will without a doubt give them a boost of confidence headed into this weekend. In fact, the team went on a hot streak towards the end of the regular season, topping their season high each of the last three meets. 

One to look out for on this team is senior Stephanie Stamates. She has been MPSF Specialist of the week five times in 2016, and has been a staple on beam and floor. Freshman Yasmine Yektaparast and Kara Jones have also been instrumental in the team’s success, showing the team has a bright future ahead. 

Watch Jones nail vault at the NorCal Classic:


This team is peaking at the right time, and will be one of the favorites to take home the title. 

Seattle Pacific 

Seattle Pacific has steadily improved throughout the year, which bodes well for the team headed into championships. They have been steadily hitting the 193 mark, but, as their coach Laurel Tindall stated after last week’s meet at Washington, the 194 has "eluded us.” In order to reach that elusive 194, they will look to Maria Hundley, who scored a 39.35 this past weekend. She had been a rock on vault, scoring a 9.775 or higher at every meet this season, and fabulous on beam as of late, scoring 9.8+ in each of the last five competitions.

Sacramento State University

The home team has been incredibly consistent all season, scoring in the 194 range seven out of their ten meets. However, they have shown they have big potential, setting a program record 196.475 versus San Jose State. 

Sophomore Lauren Rice and senior Kalliah McCartney have lead the team this season, grabbing four MPSF Gymnast of the Week honors between them. McCartney has scored 39+ six times this season and will be a big factor in Sacramento State’s quest for the title this Saturday. 

See Rice's huge 9.875 floor set earlier this season:

Air Force 

The Falcons are the underdogs coming into this competition, but the gymnasts at Air Force will not back down from a challenge. They have had several meets this year where they have had to count a low score, and will hope to put a full meet together this weekend. They are lead by junior Kata Witgen, who has competed all-around most of the season, and sophomore Chelsea Crimson.

San Jose State University 

Like UC Davis, San Jose State is coming of a season high performance 195.35 this past weekend. The Spartans have been up and down all season, but put up strong scores in their final two meets and seem to be hitting their stride.

Standout Maddie Herr will be a big key for the team this weekend. A senior, and transfer from Ohio State, this is Herr’s second season in San Jose. In her first year first year as a Spartan she was first team All-MPSF on bars and beam, second team All-MPSF on floor and in the all-around, and qualified to Regionals. She has a season-high all-around score of 39.35 in 2016 and an uncanny ability to stick her blind landing Yurchenko half. Also, be on the lookout for Marissa Unpingco, a bars and beam specialist who was last year’s co-MPSF beam champion. 

Watch Unpingco's beautiful bars: 

Alaska Anchorage 

With the travel being so difficult, Alaska Anchorage competes a lot of double meet weekends. This weekend, therefore, is lighter than most and hopefully the team will feel more fresh headed into Championships.

The team scored their season high by almost a point at Air Force last week, notching a 194.125 with the help of outstanding all-around performers Simone Penker and M’rcy Matsunami. The Seawolves will look to these two again this weekend to help them post a strong score. 

These teams are close in talent, and it is anyone’s game. Tune in Saturday at 6pm PST for an incredible night of MPSF gymnastics!


Related:
Pac-12 Championship Preview: Will Utah 3-Peat?
SEC Championships: A Tight Race At The Top 
Who To Watch For At Big Ten Championships