Beavers Place 10 on Pac-12 All-Academic Teams

SAN FRANCISCO – Mariana Colussi-Pelaez and Shireen Khamedoost led 10 Oregon State gymnasts who were recognized for their work in the classroom when the 2018 Pac-12 Conference Women's Gymnastics All-Academic teams were announced Thursday.

OSU's ten all-academic honorees represent the most in the conference in 2018.

It is the third time Khamedoost has been named to the all-academic first team and the second for Colussi-Pelaez.

Joining them, Dani Dessaints, Lena Greene and McKenna Singley were each named to the all-academic second team. It is the third such award for Singley and second for Dessaints, who earned also earned honorable mention in 2016.

Five OSU gymnasts – Halli Briscoe, Mary Jacobsen, Maela Lazaro, Isis Lowery and Alyssa Minyard – received honorable mention accolades. It is the second honorable mention selection for Jacobsen.

To be eligible for selection to an all-academic team, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average and have participated in at least 50-percent of competitions in the regular season.

Mariana Colussi-Pelaez, a junior majoring in biology with a pre-med option, has performed on the uneven bars in all 11 meets this season tying her personal-best mark of 9.90. She has also competed on the balance beam once.

Khamedoost, a senior studying exercise and sport science, has filled the Beavers' leadoff spot on the bars in every meet this year setting a career-best with a 9.875. In addition, she has performed as the leadoff in the vault lineup five times establishing 9.825 as her career mark.

Dessaints, a senior who studies sociology with an option in crime and justice, has battled injury throughout the season limiting her to competition in seven meets hitting all 13 of her routines in 2018. She has twice set her career-high with a 9.90 on the bars and had a season-best of 9.90 on the beam. Earlier this week, Dessaints was announced as a finalist for the AAI Award, which goes to the most outstanding senior gymnast in the nation.

Greene, a sophomore majoring in kinesiology, made her college debut in mid-February and has become a vital cog to the Beavers' vault lineup. She has established a season-high of 9.90 on the event.

Singley, a junior studying sociology with an option in crime and justice, has established herself as an all-around competitor for the Beavers for the first time in her career in 2018. She has hit 39 out of 41 routines and has set career-highs on vault (9.875), beam (9.900), floor exercise (9.925) and all-around (39.400).

Briscoe, a sophomore studying business in OSU's Honors College, made her collegiate debut on the bars late this year. Briscoe, who needed time at the beginning of the season to finish her recovery from a 2017 season-ending injury, set her personal mark of 9.875 in her initial performance against BYU.

Jacobsen, who is majoring in computer science, has performed in the vault, bars and floor lineups in all 11 meets in 2018. The junior has set career-bests on all three events including a 9.950 on bars, 9.900 on floor and 9.875 on the vault.

Lazaro, a BioHealth sciences major with an option in pharmacy and a minor in chemistry, is another sophomore who made her debut in 2018. She has established herself as a key to the Beavers' beam lineup with a season-high mark of 9.90 and has hit for a 9.80 or better in all nine of her routines.

Lowery, a digitial communication arts major, has been part of the back half of OSU's floor lineup in all 11 meets in 2018. Lowery has set her career-high with a 9.925 on the floor three times this year.

Minyard, who studies biochemistory and molecular biology, has been a regular in the Beavers' bars and beam lineups throughout the 2018 campaign. A sophomore, Minyard has established career-bests of 9.925 on the bars and 9.825 on the beam.

Oregon State, ranked 14th in the nation, travels to Raleigh, N.C. next week to compete at NCAA Regional Championships hosted by NC State, next Saturday, April 7 at 1 p.m. PT.

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Players Mentioned

Halli Briscoe

Mariana Colussi-Pelaez

Dani Dessaints

Lena Greene

Mary Jacobsen

Shireen Khamedoost

Maela Lazaro

Isis Lowery

Alyssa Minyard

McKenna Singley

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