No. 13 Gymnasts Upset No. 3 Utah
March 14, 1999
CORVALLIS, Ore. - The 13th ranked Oregon State gymnastics team set three school records as it handed a shorthanded Utah squad its first loss of the season on Sunday afternoon at Gill Coliseum.
The Beavers (8-5) outscored the Utes, 197.325-196.700, to set a new team record. OSU's previous best was a 196.775 at the 1996 Pacific-10 Championships, also at Gill Coliseum. The Utes (10-1) were without two of their all-arounders, one out with the flu and the other with a knee injury.
OSU reached the record score by scoring better than 49.00 on every event for the first time this year, highlighted by school records on vault and beam. Three Beavers scored a 9.925 or better on vault for a team score of 49.475, which tied the school record set at the 1996 NCAA Championships at Alabama. The Beavers turned in a 49.375 on beam to break the previous record of 49.325 from 1994 at Gill.
"All of them were stars today. Usually there are two or three, but today all of them were," said coach Tanya Chaplin. "We just had to put it all together at the same meet, and we did that today."
Oregon State turned in eight scores of 9.90 or higher, and there were 15 scores that either set or tied personal bests.
Seniors Megan Murphy-Barcroft and Danae Phillips shined in their final regular season meet on senior day, with each turning in season and/or career bests on nearly every routine.
Phillips tied for first on bars with her fourth 9.95 routine of the season to tie her career-best, and she also placed second on vault with a season-high 9.95.
Murphy-Barcroft improved her career-best all-around score with a 39.50, which was second behind Utah's Theresa Kulikowski (39.60). Murphy-Barcroft set a new personal best with a 9.95 on floor to win the event, and she tied for second on beam with a 9.925. She also set a career-high of 9.925 on vault to place third, and she scored a 9.70 on bars.
Lara Degenhardt just missed perfection on vault, with a career-high 9.975 to win the event for the seventh time this season as the Beavers took the top four spots on the event. Katrina Severin added to the record-breaking performance with a career-best 9.85.
Corrie Young's 9.925 on beam was a new personal best for her, tying Murphy-Barcroft for second place. Other Beavers with career-highs on the event were Jerra Lopez (9.825), Stephanie Bychowski (9.775) and Severin (9.875). Utah's Shannon Bowles won the event with a 9.95.
OSU also took the top two spots on floor. Lopez turned in a career-high 9.90 to tie for Kulikowksi for second behind Murphy-Barcroft. The Beavers also saw new personal bests from Soni Meduna and Marissa Bruch, who both scored a 9.825.
Final Results
No. 13 Oregon State, 197.325; No. 3 Utah, 196.700
Vault- 1. Lara Degenhardt (OSU), 9.975; 2. Danae Phillips (OSU), 9.95; 3. Megan Murhpy-Barcroft (OSU), 9.925.
Bars- T1. Danae Phillips (OSU), 9.95; T1. Theresa Kulikowski (Utah), 9.95; T1. Angie Leonard (Utah), 9.95
Beam- 1. Shannon Bowles (Utah), 9.95; T2. Corrie Young (OSU), 9.925; T2. Megan Murphy-Barcroft (OSU), 9.925
Floor- 1. Megan Murphy-Barcroft (OSU), 9.95; T2. Jerra Lopez (OSU), 9.90; T2. Theresa Kulikowski (Utah), 9.90
All-Around- 1. Theresa Kulikowksi (Utah), 39.60; 2. Megan Murphy-Barcroft (OSU), 39.50; 3. Denise Jones (Utah), 39.325
