Oregon State
UCLA
Beavers Finish Third at Pac-12 Championships
March 24, 2012 | Women's Gymnastics
March 24, 2012
SALT LAKE CITY -
Oregon State's eighth-ranked gymnastics team finished third at the inaugural Pac-12 Championships meet hosted by the University of Utah. All-arounders Makayla Stambaugh and Melanie Jones led the Beavers to their second-highest score of the year at 197.050 while UCLA won with a score of 197.425.
“We had a fall in the first two events, but we had a great team effort and didn't have to count one,” head coach Tanya Chaplin said. “They stayed focused and built momentum as they went on. I was really excited to see the way they competed tonight from the start to finish.”
Stambaugh finished fourth in the all-around with a season-high 39.475 and Jones set a career-best at 39.425.
The Beavers overcame a slow start suffering falls on each of their first two events, but never had to count a blemish and picked up the momentum as the meet wore on and climbed back into the mix as the other teams faltered. OSU tied their season-highs on each of the last two events scoring 49.350 on the floor exercise and 49.200 on the vault as Stanford dropped from first to fourth in the final rotation.
Oregon State opened the meet on the uneven bars and cruised to a solid start scoring 49.200 through the first five routines but suffered a fall from its anchor, Leslie Mak, as she swung through following her Pak full (major release move between the bars). It was the first “missed” routine of the season for Mak, who was later named Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year for the second consecutive year – a first in conference history. Stambaugh led the team with a career-high tying 9.925 to finish second in the meet. Olivia Vivian added a 9.90 and Brittany Harris tied her career-best with a score of 9.875.
Moving to the beam, the Beavers hit a second speed bump when Harris missed her routine. Mak rebounded from her earlier hiccup to score 9.925 and finish second in the meet. Jones tied her career-high with a 9.90, including a perfect 10.0 from one judge, and Vivian tied her career-best as well with a matching 9.90. Matching scores of 9.775 from Stambaugh and Kelsi Blalock completed the beam team's scoring.
The Beavers had their work cut out for themselves at the halfway point trailing Stanford, which led for the first three rotations, 98.925-98.475. OSU picked up the momentum it had gained from three straight 9.90's to finish on the beam to hit all six routines on the floor ex. Jones was the Beavers' high scorer, performing a beautiful routine to tally a 9.925 to tie for second in the meet. Stambaugh followed with a 9.90 and Mak and Vivian each added scores of 9.85, a season-high for the latter.
OSU moved to vault needing more big scores and the all six vaulters delivered strong vaults. Jones tallied a season-best 9.80 and Chelsea Tang nailed her's to score 9.80 as well and Mak scored 9.85. Stambaugh tied her career-high with a score of 9.875 and Blalock matched it with yet another stuck landing.
“(Melanie Jones) had a great competition in the all-around, Makayla (Stambaugh) did a great job too. I was really proud of all of them. Leslie (Mak), after having that fall and putting that behind her then coming back and finishing out strong in the next three events, it says a lot about her and what she's all about.”
Next up for the Beavers is the NCAA Regional Championships at a site to be determined – Arkansas, Auburn, Illinois, North Carolina State, Utah and Washington are the host sites. The NCAA will webcast a regional selection show on Monday at 12 p.m. PDT at www.ncaa.com.
Notes:
The Pac-12 Championships will be televised via tape delay. The conference championship will air on FSN Thursday, Mar. 29 at 3 p.m. PDT and will several times throughout the weekend. Check your local listings for times in your area. … Following the meet Leslie Mak was announced as the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year becoming the first in conference history to earn the award in consecutive seasons. Mak is the second gymnast in OSU history to earn the honor twice (Chari Knight, 1992 & '94) and fifth in Pac-10/12 history.
Team Scores: No. 4 UCLA 197.425; No. 7 Utah 197.375; No. 8 Oregon State 197.050; No. 11 Stanford 196.825.
All-Around: 1. Corrie Lothrop (UTAH) 39.625; 2. Vanessa Zamarripa (UCLA) 39.575; 3. Stephanie McAllister (UTAH) 39.525. OSU Scores: Makayla Stambaugh 39.475; Melanie Jones 39.425; Leslie Mak 38.875; Brittany Harris 38.750.
Vault (49.200): T1. Ivana Hong (STAN), Olivia Courtney (UCLA), Vanessa Zamarripa (UCLA) 39.950. Other OSU Scores: Makayla Stambaugh 9.875; Kelsi Blalock 9.875; Leslie Mak 9.850; Melanie Jones 9.800; Chelsea Tang 9.800; Brittany Harris 9.800.
Uneven Bars (49.200): 1. Georgia Dabritz (UTAH) 9.950; T2. Makayla Stambaugh (OSU), Corrie Lothrop (UTAH), Stephanie McAllister (UTAH). Other OSU Scores: Olivia Vivian 9.900; Brittany Harris 9.875; Melanie Jones 9.800; Hannah Casey 9.700; Leslie Mak 9.250.
Balance Beam (49.275): 1. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs (UCLA) 9.975; T2. Kyndal Robarts (UTAH), Vanessa Zamarripa (UCLA) 9.950. Other OSU Scores: Leslie Mak 9.925; Melanie Jones 9.900; Olivia Vivian 9.900; Makayla Stambaugh 9.775; Kelsi Blalock 9.775; Brittany Harris 9.275.
Floor Exercise (49.350): 1. Ashley Morgan (STAN) 9.950; T2. Melanie Jones (OSU), Nansy Damianova (UTAH), Georgia Dabritz (UTAH), Stephanie McAllister (UTAH), Nicole Pechanec (STAN) 9.925. Other OSU Scores: Makayla Stambaugh 9.900; Olivia Vivian 9.850; Leslie Mak 9.850; Kelsi Blalock 9.825; Brittany Harris 9.800.
Players Mentioned
