Nov. 17, 2011

Five prospective student-athletes signed their National Letters of Intent to compete for UC Davis women's gymnastics, it was announced by head coach John Lavallee during the November signing period. Alphabetically, they are Taylor Baron of Walnut Creek, Dani Judal of Antelope, Katy Nogaki of Villa Park, Steph Stamates of Alamo, and Jamie Yamashita of San Marcos. All prospects are seniors in high school who are expected to enroll at UC Davis in the fall of 2012.

"I think this recruiting class brings a good level of experience and success," said Lavallee. "They have a very high skill level, moreso than we've had in a lot of classes. They've competed at Junior Olympic National Championships and the NIT. Katy won an event at the NIT, which is very good company. That's one of the most encouraging things about this entire class is that they're all proven performers in competition. The level of the performers and the number of them really has us excited about this group."

Northgate High School student Taylor Baron has competed for Liberty Gymnastics Center for five years. She made the jump to Level 10 in 2010, placing sixth on beam at the NorCal State Championships and qualifying for the Region 1 meet that year. Last spring, she placed ninth on floor exercise but suffered an injury that sidelined her prior to regionals. In her final year at Level 9, Baron earned Athlete of the Year honors at the 2009 California State Games, capping a season in which she placed fifth on vault at the Western Championships. She also posted top-seven finishes on all four events, including an individual medal on beam, at the 2009 Region I Level 9 meet.

Judal, from nearby Antelope High, completed her fourth year at Byers Gymnastics Center by placing in a tie for sixth on beam at the U.S. Women's Junior Olympics national meet last May. Her all-around score of 37.525 at the J.O. eclipsed her previous best by three-tenths, while her 9.450 on beam also represented a personal record. Judal previously finished second on bars, fourth on floor and in the all-around at the NorCal state championship during the 2011 season. She also won the all-around at two meets, part of a string of five top-five showings. The year before, Judal returned from a two-year battle with a foot injury by posting top-five finishes on vault and bars at the state meet, then advancing to the Region 1 championships.

Nogaki, of Villa Park High, represented Wildfire Gymnastics at the 2011 J.O. National Invitational. She previously honed her skills at Gym-Max Academy, capturing the beam title and finishing second on vault at the 2009 Level 9 Western Championships before moving up to Level 10. Nagaki responded with a seventh on vault at states, then competed on vault and bars at regionals. She opened the 2011 season with her new club by claiming event medals on vault and beam at the San Diego Classic. Later in the year, she won the SoCal vault title with a 9.725, placed third in that event and fifth on bars at regionals, then capped her season with the NIT appearance in May. As an all-arounder, Nogaki posted four straight top-five finishes, including third at the state meet. She also finished eighth (36.600) at regionals, 13th at the NIT.

Stamates, a student at San Ramon Valley High, returned to California Gymnastics Academy after spending the three previous years at Bay Aerials Gymnastics. She qualified to the J.O. nationals in 2011, where she placed in a tie for fourth on balance beam. She advanced to the national meet after finishing seventh in the all-around at the Region 1 championships, where she posted top-eight showings on vault, bars and beam. Stamates moved up to Level 10 in 2010, winning the floor exercise and placing second in the all-around at the state met. She went on to compete at the NIT that year, tying for second on floor and finishing ninth in the all-around. Stamates is a three-time recipient of an Academic Excellence award at SRV.

Yamashita, who attends San Marcos High, has competed at Level 10 for Southern California Elite Gymnastics Academy for two seasons after reaching the Level 9 Western Championship in 2009. She won the floor title in the California Classic, placed third on beam at the Southern California state meet and advanced to the J.O. National Invitational Tournament. Yamashita placed seventh on vault, ninth on floor and 12th in the all-around at the NIT. The following year, she won the all-around at the Lady Luck Invitational and California Classic before placing seventh at the state meet. Yamashita went on to compete at the Region 1 Championship, where she placed seventh on bars. She is a CSF and National Honor Society member at SMHS, and has traveled to 10 countries spanning five continents.