Oregon State
NCAA Regionals
Gymnasts Headed To NCAA Championships
April 02, 2000 | Women's Gymnastics
April 1, 2000
CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Oregon State gymnastics team is heading to the national championship meet for the first time since 1996.
The Beavers finished second at the NCAA Region 1 meet at Gill Coliseum on Saturday, posting a score of 196.175. UCLA scored a 197.025 to win the meet. The top two finishers at each regional site advance to the NCAA meet, set for April 13-15 at Boise State.
"We knew we just had to stay consistent, and we knew we had our work cut out for us," said coach Tanya Chaplin, who is headed to nationals for the first time as a head coach. "Every year you don't go to nationals as a team, it gets harder and harder (to make it the following year)."
Oregon State edged out Stanford by .200 in the final standings, with the Cardinal posting a 195.975 score. Washington finished fourth at 195.250, while Boise State was fifth with a 193.65. Oklahoma, which had three falls on bars in the final rotation, finished sixth with a 193.000.
The Beavers held a slim .075 edge over Stanford entering the last rotation, with OSU finishing on floor and Stanford on vault.
OSU responded with a 49.300 on floor and did not count a score lower than 9.825. Lara Degenhardt scored a 9.875 on OSU's fifth routine to secure the Beavers' spot at nationals. Jerra Lopez, and Tanya Ricioli also scored 9.875, while Marissa Bruch notched a career-high 9.85. Katrina Severin posted a 9.825. Annie Campbell stumbled a bit on OSU's final performance to score a 9.55, but by then it didn't matter. Stanford scored a 49.175 on vault, capped by a 9.925 by Larissa Fontaine.
"We have a very strong floor team, and they had heart and soul tonight," said coach Tanya Chaplin. "As soon as Lara hit her final tumbling pass, I could breathe."
As strong as OSU was on floor, it was the beam team that had an even more impressive performance. OSU scored a season-high 49.350 on beam, just .025 off the school record. Ricioli placed third with a career-high 9.90 to lead the way, while Bea Tistu-Whisenhunt and Severin tied their career-bests with fifth-place 9.875 scores. Campbell and Annette Taylor rounded things out with 9.85 scores.
OSU rebounded back from a disappointing showing on bars to set up that performance on beam. The Beavers had two falls on bars to finish with a 48.400 that included a 9.400 from Elizabeth Jillson. OSU had just one score above 9.775 on the event, with Lopez scoring a 9.825 to tie for sixth place.
"People were really rattled after bars, and to come back and hit beam like that was amazing," said Lara Degenhardt, who competed on every event but beam. "I'm so proud of our beam team."
Degenhardt also anchored a strong Beaver vault team that opened the meet with a 49.125. Degenhardt scored a 9.875 to finish fifth, while Severin tied for third with a 9.90 vault.
This will be the first trip to nationals for the majority of the Beaver gymnasts. Only Tistu-Whisenhunt was on the team when OSU advanced in 1996. Degenhardt competed as an individual competitor last season, but she has not been to nationals with a team.
OSU now awaits the announcement of which session it compete in on April 13 in the preliminary team competition.
NCAA Region 1 Gymnastics Championships Results
Team Scores: 1. UCLA, 197.025, 2. Oregon State, 196.175, 3. Stanford, 195.975, 4. Washington, 195.975, 5. Boise State, 193.650, 6. Oklahoma, 193.00
Vault: 1. Lena Degteva (UCLA), 9.975, 2. Larissa Fontaine (Stan.), 9.925, T3. Katrina Severin (OSU), Onnie Willis (UCLA), 9.90, T5. Lara Degenhardt (OSU), Mohini Bhardwaj (UCLA), Heidi Moneymaker (UCLA), Kristin Parker (UCLA), Joanna Hughes (CSF), 9.875
Bars: T1. Mohini Bhardwaj (UCLA), Degteva, 9.925, 3. Moneymaker (UCLA), 9.875, T4. Fontaine (Stan.), Willis (UCLA), 9.85
Beam: T1. Katy Herbert (Stan.), Bhardwaj (UCLA), 9.925, T3. Ricioli (OSU), Jen Exaltacion (Stan.), 9.90, T5. Bea Tistu-Whisenhunt (OSU), Severin (OSU), Moneymaker (UCLA), Parker (UCLA), Ginger Russell (OU), Hughes (CSF), 9.875
Floor: 1. Moneymaker (UCLA), 9.95, T2. Bhardwaj (UCLA), Degteva (UCLA), 9.925, T4. Sarah Harding (Stan.), Tiffany Weston (BSU), Parker (UCLA), Leila Khoury (Cal), Amber McCracken (OU), 9.90
All-Around: 1. Bhardwaj (UCLA), 39.650, 2. Moneymaker (UCLA), 39.575, T3. Exaltacion (Stan.), Degteva (UCLA), 39.300, T5. McCracken (OU), Russell (OU), 39.150
