CLEMSON, S.C. – No. 16 Clemson will take on its fifth consecutive top-25 opponent as No. 20 California comes to Littlejohn Coliseum for a dual meet on Saturday at 6 p.m. The meet will air on ACC Network.

Clemson will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day with a clinic on the concourse of Littlejohn Coliseum. Fans can purchase tickets for $10 and receive a free youth ticket.

Clemson Co-Head Coaches Justin Howell and Liz Crandall-Howell previously served in the same role at California for the past 13 seasons, where they went to 12 NCAA Championships and led the Golden Bears to seven top-ten finishes nationally.

The Tigers are coming off a 197.025 against No. 12 UNC, its third-best mark in program history, and set season highs in all four events in the meet. Brie Clark is ranked fourth nationally on floor after raising her average to 9.930 in five meetings so far. Ella Cesarion, who competed at Cal before transferring to Clemson, had a 39.450 in the all-around against the Tar Heels, the third-highest all-around score in program history.

Clemson and Cal have participated against one another twice – a dual meet in Berkeley and at the ACC Championships in 2025. Cal outscored the Tigers in each meeting.

THE HOWELLS JOIN THE TIGERS

Clemson brought in Justin Howell and Liz Crandall-Howell in May 2025.
Justin and Liz spent the past 13 seasons at Cal, where they finished in the top-20 12 times, top ten seven times, and were the National Runners-Up in 2024.
Friday’s meet marks a full-circle moment as they face Cal for the first time since joining the Tigers.

COMPETING WITH THE BEST

Including Saturday, five of Clemson’s six meets have come against ranked opponents.
So far in 2026, Clemson has competed against No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 Stanford, No. 12 UNC, No. 20 Cal and No. 21 NC State.
Clemson scored a season-best 197.025 (3rd-best in program history and set season-highs in all four events against No. 12 UNC, including a 49.300 on bars (3rd-best ever) and a 49.325 on beam (2nd-best ever)

SO FAR, SO GOOD

Brie Clark has won floor in each of her five appearances in 2026 and has won beam in both road meets. She has 17 career floor and five beam event wins at Clemson
Clark ranks fourth in the nation in floor with a 9.930 average. She has a 9.900 or higher in all five meets this season.
Clark was named ACC Specialist of the Week on Jan. 27.
Ella Cesario became the first Tiger to compete in the all-around since 2024 when she earned a 39.275 against Stanford. Cesario scored a 9.800 or higher on all four events against UNC Friday to win the all-around with a 39.450, tied for the third-best mark in Clemson history.
Tara Walsh has competed in 15 events in 2026, with 10 of those scored a 9.850 or higher, including the 9.875s on floor, vault and beam.
Emma Malewski made her collegiate debut at NC State on bars in working back from an injury suffered two weeks prior and scored a 9.825 on bars at No. 9 Stanford and a 9.875 against No. 12 UNC
Eve Jackson enters Saturday’s meet with 92 career routines at Clemson, and can become the first Clemson Tiger to reach the 100-routine milestone.
Quinn Kuhl earned her first career event victories against Towson; Kuhl was named ACC Specialist of the Week on Jan. 6.

CLEMSON LOVES GYMNASTICS

Clemson is ranked 8th in attendance in 2026 with 7,096 fans per meet and its 21,288 total fans are ranked 4th.
Clemson welcomed its 100,000th fan in just its 15th-ever meet (Jan. 30).
Clemson has ranked in the top ten in attendance nationally in each of its first two seasons in Littlejohn Coliseum with 41,843 fans in 2025 (8,368 per meet – 8th nationally); 42,542 fans in 2024 (8,508 per meet – 8th nationally)

TOP 20 START

The Tigers started the Howell era ranked No. 19 in the 2026 Preseason WCGA Poll, the program’s first time being ranked inside the top 20 of the WCGA poll.
Clemson has been among the top 20 in all five rankings in 2026.