Oregon State
Orange & Black Meet
Beavers Make Season Debut at Orange & Black
November 20, 2015 | Women's Gymnastics
CORVALLIS, Ore. – There were autographs and guest judges at Thursday's Orange & Black Exhibition as the Oregon State gymnastics team took the floor for the first time this season. But it was a trio of Beavers performing in the all-around and three out of four freshmen made their Gill Coliseum debuts that highlighted the actual gymnastics action.
“Tonight was great,” senior Erika Aufiero said. “We've looked forward to this night since we arrived for training in September. There really is nothing like competing in Gill Coliseum and the Orange and Black is always a fun event.”
Three gymnasts, Aufiero, Madeline Gardiner and Mary Jacobsen, performed in the all-around while two others, Megan Jimenez, Taylor Ricci and McKenna Singley each competed on three events.
“I'm pleased with the outcome tonight,” head coach Tanya Chaplin said. “The freshmen performed well in a new environment with a good crowd tonight. Overall, I'm very happy with how the team looked. It is good to get outside of the gym, you can't replicate this kind of atmosphere in practice and this team responded well. We're looking forward to getting the season started in January.”
The team was split into two squads and performed routines in pairings of head-to-head match-ups. Guest judges then decided which gymnast performed the best routine by indicating the winner with orange and black cards. Four pairs (eight gymnasts in total) performed on uneven bars and balance beam and three pairs competed on vault and floor exercise.
The exhibition was free of admission and concluded with autographs from the entire squad. Guest judges added entertainment to the occasion as they interacted with public address announcer Brian Brooks.
Among the guest judges was The Voice of the Beavers, Mike Parker, who registered a career first. Parker delighted the crowd by using his play-by-play skills to call the action of a vault pairing of Jimenez against Aufiero during his turn at the judges' table.
The Beavers officially open the 2016 season when they host Auburn Sunday, Jan. 10 in a dual meet that will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
Season tickets are now available online at BeaverTickets.com, by calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS or in person at the OSU Ticket Office in room 107 of Gill Coliseum.
