Beavers to Host Sun Devils for DAM Cancer Meet

THE MEET
After a two week absence, Oregon State returns to compete in the 11th annual DAM Cancer meet at Gill Coliseum. The 15th-ranked Beavers (4-2) will face Arizona State (1-4). The meet will not be televised but will stream live at www.osubeavers.com. Former Oregon State All-American Heather (Bennett) Humphrey will be on the call.

DAM CANCER LUNCH & SILENT AUCTION
The Oregon State gymnastics program is hosting it's ninth annual Lunch and Silent Auction (previously a breakfast) this Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. The event concludes at 3 p.m. when doors open for the DAM Cancer meet across the street at Gill Coliseum. Register for the Lunch and Silent Auction hosted by the gymnastics booster club - the 10.0 Club - at osubeavers.com.

BEAVER BITES
The Beavers are ranked No. 15 this week. Rankings are currently determined by scoring average ... Three out of four of OSU's lineups are ranked among the top 20 in the nation. The vault lineup is ranked the highest at No. 11 (49.067 average), with the uneven bars at No. 16 (49.008) and floor exercise at No. 17 (48.975). The beam lineup is the exception, tied for No. 29 (48.583) after counting a fall at Utah last week ... this week, senior Risa Perez competes against her former team. Perez transferred to OSU from Arizona State prior to the 2014-15 school year. Perez's personality and fun-filled floor routines have made her a fan favorite since her arrival in Corvallis ... OSU's roster includes a pair of All-Americans, three-time honoree Madeline Gardiner, who has finished third on the beam in Event Finals each of the last two years, and Erika Aufiero, who will miss the season due to a knee injury suffered the week of the season opener ... the Beavers return 10 contributors in 2016 including 15 out of 24 routines from NCAA Championships in 2015. But it is more complicated than that. Senior Erika Aufiero, who was slated to perform in the all-around, and sophomore Dani Dessaints, who anchored the vault and bars lineups in the season-opener will both miss the season due to injury ... junior Taylor Ricci got the call to join the beam lineup for the first time in her career last Saturday, scoring 9.500.

VS. ARIZONA STATE
Saturday marks the 85th meeting between Oregon State and Arizona State with the Beavers holding a 60-22-2 advantage in the series. OSU is 20-4 all-time in Corvallis against the Sun Devils. These teams met twice in 2015 with the Beavers winning 196.275-193.475 in Tempe and coming out on top a second time 196.900-192.700 at Pac-12 Championships.

OREGON STATE QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about the Oregon State gymnastics team in 2016:

The Beavers counted a fall for the first time in 2016 last Saturday at Utah ... the counter came with pair of falls on the balance beam ... OSU counted falls in just two meets in 2015.
OSU has 'hit' 65 out of 72 (90.3% ) routines in 2016 ... the Beavers 'hit' 95% (297 out of 314) of their routines over the course of 13 meets in 2015.
Oregon State has relied heavily on junior Madeline Gardiner to compete in the all-around for much of the last three seasons. Thus far in her career, Gardiner has performed in the all-around 18 times in her career including the last eight meets. Gardiner had won three all-around titles entering the season and has already reached that mark in 2016 having won the all-around in all three of the Beavers' meets.
Individually, Oregon State has several gymnasts ranked among the top 25 on various events. On the vault, Dani Dessaints is tied for No. 4 in the nation (9.900). On the bars, Kaytianna McMillan and Dessaints are tied for No. 18 (9.850), while Madeline Gardiner is tied for 18th in the all-around (39.225).
The 2016 roster includes four freshmen: Mary Jacobsen, Mariana Colussi-Pelaez, McKenna Singley and Elizabeth Yu. Colussi-Pelaez is the younger sister of Silvia Colussi-Pelaez, who transferred to Oregon State last year.
Nine of OSU's 2016 opponents were ranked in the preseason top 36: No. 4 Utah, No. 5 LSU, No. 6 UCLA, No. 8 Stanford, No. 10 Auburn, No. 14 California, No. 30 Washington, No. 33 New Hampshire and No. 36 Arizona State.

LAST TIME IN COMPETITION
Oregon State's second straight week on the road had them at No. 6 Utah last Saturday. The Beavers posted solid scores on their first three events but faltered on the balance beam. After opening the meet with a season-best on the uneven bars (49.100) OSU held serve with the Utes through three rotations. However, in the closing stanza both teams suffered a pair of falls depriving the squads of big scores. Madeline Gardiner won the all-around with a score of 39.125.

LOOKING BACK AT 2015

Oregon State finished the 2015 season ranked No. 12 in the nation.
All four of OSU's lineups were ranked among the top 25 in the nation. Vault ranked No. 13 (49.285 RQS); uneven bars ranked No. 14 (49.215); balance beam ranked No. 12 (49.145); and floor exercise was No. 7 (49.360).
OSU's floor team posted a 49.675 mark in a quad meet against San Jose State, Lindenwood and Seattle Pacific (Mar. 14), the second-highest floor score the Beavers have ever tallied.
Oregon State's upperclassmen performaned the majority of the routines in 2015 with the juniors and seniors accounting for 56% of the routines.
Erika Aufiero (bars), Madeline Gardiner (beam) and Chelsea Tang (beam and all-around) each earned All-America honors. Aufiero and Gardiner qualified to Individual Event Finals where Gardiner finished third on the beam.
Kaytianna McMillan scored a 9.90 on the vault for the first time in her career at Pac-12 Championships. With that mark she became the ninth gymnast in Oregon State history to record a 9.90 on all four apparatuses in her career.
The Beavers welcomed three rather unexpected transfers to the squad in the fall of 2014 with the arrival of Silvia Colussi-Pelaez (Florida), Risa Perez (Arizona State) and Jamie Radermacher (Eastern Michigan). The trio combined to 'hit' 44 out of 45 routines in 2015.

TANYA CHAPLIN QUICK HITTERS

Chaplin holds the Oregon State record for wins during the regular season as well as overall. She set the record at the 2014 home opener with a 196.425-194.850 victory over Iowa State. Now in her 19th season Chaplin has 354 career wins including 285 victories during the regular season.
Chaplin has led the Beavers to conference titles in two of the last five years, winning the 2011 Pac-10 title and the 2013 Pac-12 Championships.
She has directed OSU to the NCAA Championships 11 times in her 18 seasons at the helm.

MADELINE GARDINER QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Madeline Gardiner, a junior from Cambridge, Ontario:

Qualified to NCAA Championships as an individual all-arounder in 2014.
Earned All-America First Team honors on the balance beam and in the all-around in 2014 ... finished tied for third in the Individual Event Finals in 2014 - the best beam finish for an OSU gymnast since Joy Selig was first in 1990.
Became a three-time All-American in 2015 earning first team honors on beam ... again finished third at Event Finals.
Two-time Pac-12 All-Conference selection - 2015 All-Around first team & 2014 Balance Beam second team
Has won 19 event titles in her two-plus seasons; 5 in 2016 (3 AA, 1 V & 1 BB); 10 in 2015 (3 AA, 2 V, 3 BB & 2 FX); and four in 2014 (3 BB & 1 FX).
Has 'hit' all 97 out of 99 routines in her career.
Madeline was named the Pac-12 Specialist of the Week for the week of Feb. 10-16, 2014 after she posted career-bests of 9.95 on floor and 9.875 on beam to win the first event titles of her career ... named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the week of Mar. 3-9, 2014 after she won the beam title (9.925) and scored 39.400 in her first all-around performance.
Received Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week for the week of March 9-15, 2015 after winning the all-around tying her career-high with a 39.400. She added an event title on the beam.
Canadian National Team's alternate for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Majoring in exercise and sport science with an option in pre-therapy and allied health.

KAYTIANNA MCMILLAN QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Kaytianna McMillan, a junior from Coburg, Oregon:

One of just nine gymnasts in Oregon State history to record a score of 9.90 or better on each apparatus in her career.
Suffered a season-ending knee injury on the final routine (vault) at the 2015 NCAA Norman Regional; her recovery continues and began the season competing only on the balance beam ... returned to the bars lineup in Week 2 at Lindenwood, winning the event ... the Beavers are hopeful she will soon return to other lineups.
2015 Pac-12 All-Conference second team on the floor exercise.
Tied for balance beam title (9.85) at NCAA University Park Regional in 2014 qualifying to NCAA Championships on the the event.
Has won seven event titles in her career; 1 in 2016 (1 UB); 3 in 2015 (2 UB, 1 FX); and 3 in 2014 (2 BB, 1 UB).
Has 'hit' 54 of 58 routines in her career.
Kaytianna trained at the National Academy of Artistic Gymnastics - the same gym as other OSU greats Chari Knight, Jami Lanz and Chelsea Tang among others including OSU head coach Tanya Chaplin.
Four-time Junior Olympic Nationals qualifier and won the Level 10 national titles on beam and all-around in 2013.
Majoring in human development and family science with an option in human services.

MEGAN JIMENEZ QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Megan Jimenez, a junior from Temecula, California:

Has 'hit' 30 of 31 routines in her career.
Performed in the vault lineup in all 13 meets in 2015 and nine times in 2014.
Forced into making her floor lineup debut at 2015 NCAA Championships due to injury.
Majoring in digital communication arts.

TAYLOR RICCI QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Taylor Ricci, a junior from North Vancouver, British Columbia:

Has 'hit' all 15 routines in her career.
Performed in the vault lineup seven times in 2015.
Like Jimenez, she was forced into making her floor lineup debut at 2015 NCAA Championships due to injury scoring 9.800.
Was inserted into the balance beam lineup at Utah (1/23) for the first time in her career - 9.500.
Majoring in exercise and sport science with an option in pre-therapy and allied health.

RISA PEREZ QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Risa Perez, a senior from Las Vegas, Nevada:

Has 'hit' 83 out of 91 routines in her career.
Won three event titles in 2015 for the Beavers; two on floor and one on beam.
Transferred to Oregon State from Arizona State in the fall of 2014.
Competed in beam and floor lineups for the Beavers 12 out of 13 meets last season.
Has cut and choreographed her floor routines since she was a Level 8 gymnast.
Also helped choreograph several of her current teammates' floor routines this season.
Majoring in liberal studies.

JAMIE RADERMACHER QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Jamie Radermacher, a senior from Tualatin, Oregon:

Recorded the first event title of her career tying for first on the floor (9.875) in the season opener against Auburn ... followed up with another career-high 9.90 on the floor and another event title at Lindenwood.
Late addition to the 2015 squad after transferring from Eastern Michigan where she battled injuries.
Cracked the floor lineup late in the 2015 season competing three times.
Aggravated a previous injury at regionals and was unable to compete at nationals.
Has 'hit' 15-18 career routines.
Majoring in human development and family sciences.

SILVIA COLUSSI-PELAEZ QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Silvia Colussi-Pelaez, a junior from Oakville, Ontario:

Has 'hit' 23 of her 24 routines in her college career.
Transferred to Oregon State from Florida following spring term of 2014.
Competed as a member of Spain's national team.
Successfully performed a sideways aerial on balance beam – a first in World or Olympic competition – the skill is now named the Colussi-Pelaez. She has not used the skill in competition at the collegiate level.
Younger sister, Mariana, is a freshman for the Beavers in 2016.
Majoring in chemical engineering.

ERIKA AUFIERO QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Erika Aufiero, a senior from Sparks, Nevada:

Suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice (1/7) leading up to the season opener.
Earned first team All-America honors on uneven bars in 2015.
Owns 15 career event titles; 13 on bars and two on vault.
Chosen as one of the team's captains in 2015 and '16
Earned All-Pac-12 honors on uneven bars in 2013 and on vault in 2015.
Has 'hit' 57 of 62 routines in his career.
Erika's sister, Breyanna, competed at Utah State.
Majoring in finance with a specialization in accountancy.

DANI DESSAINTS QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Dani Dessaints, a sophomore from Las Vegas, Nevada:

Suffered a shoulder injury in practice on Wednesday prior to the Lindenwood meet (1/13) and will miss the rest of the season.
Has 'hit' all nine of her routines in her college career.
Anchored the Beavers' vault and bars units in the season-opener posting career-bests on both events.
Battled injuries as a freshman competing only seven routines.
Majoring in sociology with an emphasis in crime and justice.

MISCELLANEOUS QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about the rest of the team:

Sophomore Shireen Khamedoost began the 2015 near the top of the bars lineup for the first seven meets. She has 'hit' all 13 of her routines.
Mary Jacobsen, a freshman, performed on three events in her first college meet, including leading off on vault and floor. Posted the Beavers' second-highest score on bars (9.800) ... matched those scores at Lindenwood ... has 'hit' 6 out of 8 routines in 2016.
Freshman McKenna Singley opened the season in the bars and beam lineups and exhibitioned on vault and as the alternate on floor. Could become a factor in the all-around ... has 'hit' 5 out of 8 routines in 2016.
Freshman Mariana Colussi-Pelaez 'hit' the first routine of her career on the bars in the season-opener ... performed in the beam lineup at Lindenwood ... has 'hit' all four of her routines to start her career.

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