UC Davis Sweeps 2012 Honors
March 24, 2012
After suffering through an injury-plagued sophomore year, UC Davis junior Katie Yamamura (Palo Alto, CA) rebounded to an outstanding season in 2012. She earned six MPSF Gymnast of the Week awards this year, giving her 10 through three collegiate years, and entered the conference championships with the league's highest regional-qualifying score on vault (9.810), uneven bars (9.800) and all-around (38.925). She also ranked third in the MPSF on floor (9.785) and fourth on balance beam (9.705) through the regular season. On March 11, Yamamura tied her own school vault record of 9.900 en route to breaking a nine-year-old Aggie benchmark with a 39.225 in the all-around. Yamamura earned a perfect five all-conference honors this year, putting her career total to nine. A neurobiology, physiology & behavior major, Yamamura has also received all-academic honors from both the MPSF and NACGC.
2012 MPSF Assistant Coach of the Year
TAMARA ROSS · THIRD YEAR · UC DAVIS
Despite losing two senior co-captains to injury, including one that shares a school record, UC Davis Assistant Coach Tamara Ross mentored the balance beam squad to two of its three highest scores in school history. The Aggies accumulated a 48.700 on beam in a home triangular meet back on February 10, trailing only the school-record 48.900 set in 1999. Her crew bettered that season best with a 48.775 in last Friday's road meet at San Jose State. Leah Housman, Katie Yamamura, and Anna Shumaker all rank amongst the conference RQS top-six on the balance beam, with each gymnast earning an all-conference honor on the apparatus. Ross joined John Lavallee's staff prior to the 2010 MPSF Championship season.
2012 MPSF Coach of the Year
JOHN LAVALLEE · SIXTH YEAR · UC DAVIS
Head Coach John Lavallee picks up his fourth MPSF Coach of the Year award (2007, '08, '09, '12) in his six-year career at UC Davis. After graduating a gifted senior class that included one of his program's top all-around gymnasts, he guided a relatively young Aggie team to an RQS of 192.800. Most notably, UC Davis found its stride in the final stretch heading into the conference championships, scoring better than 194 in back-to-back road meets. In his first five years, Lavallee guided seven student-athletes to 10 individual at-large berths in the NCAA West Regional. In 2008, Lavallee mentored his program to its first MPSF team title, with a school-record 194.700. The Aggies also captured conference championships in 2010 and 2011, while Lavallee went on to receive the 2010 NACGC/West Region Coach of the Year.