No. 14 Gymnasts Host No. 9 Arizona State Friday
February 3, 1999
THIS WEEK: The No. 14 Oregon State gymnastics team (1-3) returns to Corvallis after spending much of January on the road. The Beavers host No. 9 Arizona State in the Younger Oil/Texaco Showdown at 7:00 p.m., Friday, February 5. Oregon State will also be home the following week after having three of its first four meets away from Corvallis.
THE OSU/ARIZONA STATE SERIES: Oregon State is 17-6 all-time against the Sun Devils, but Arizona State won last year's dual meet, 194.700-193.275, in Tempe. OSU's Lara Degenhardt tied for first on vault with a career-high 9.90, but ASU gymnasts won the three other events.
STUDYING FOR THE BAR EXAM: Senior Danae Phillips has done her homework on bars this season. She ranks 17th nationally and second in the region while averaging a 9.825 on the event for OSU's best individual average on any event. Phillips tied her career-high with a first-place 9.875 against UCLA for her first win of the season. She has scored a 9.80 or better in OSU's last three meets after scoring a 9.775 in the season opener. Phillips is also averaging a 9.706 on vault, the second-best average on the team on that event.
DEGENHARDT VAULTS TO THE TOP: Sophomore Lara Degenhardt, who was OSU's top vaulter last season, continues to lead the team on the event this season. She is averaging a team-best 9.794 on the event and is ranked 20th nationally. In four meets this season, she has won twice and placed second in two other meets. Her season-high of 9.85 came at Boise State on January 24. In her most recent outing, she scored a 9.775 to place second at Stanford. In her first 16 meets as a Beaver, Degenhardt has placed first on vault nine times. Of the seven meets she has not won vault, she placed second five times. Her career-best is a 9.90, which she scored twice last season.
FABULOUS FROSH: Freshman Jerra Lopez has come on strong early in her Beaver career. She has competed on floor, beam and bars in all four meets this year. Lopez has scored a 9.80 or better on floor in OSU's last three meets, including a season-high 9.85 against UCLA. In OSU's meet at Stanford, she scored a 9.80 on floor and had career-highs of 9.775 on bars and 9.75 on beam. She picked up her first collegiate victory with a 9.825 on floor at Boise State two weeks ago. Lopez ranks third in the region on floor.
TAYLOR TIES CAREER-BEST: Sophomore Annette Taylor scored a 9.725 on bars at Stanford to tie her career-best on the event. She scored a 9.725 on bars four times as a freshman last year. She also scored a 9.675 on beam at Stanford for her best score of the season on that event.
POOR ON FLOOR? NOT ANYMORE: The Beavers look like a completely different team on floor compared to last year. Floor was the Beavers' weakest event in 1998, when OSU averaged just 47.835 on the event, its lowest average of the four events. So far this season, the Beavers are averaging a 48.463, their best average on any event. Six gymnasts have combined for 12 scores of 9.70 or higher through the first four meets this season; after four meets last year, the Beavers had had just three scores of 9.70 or better on floor. So far this year, Jerra Lopez leads the team with a 9.775 average on floor, and Katrina Severin is averaging a 9.706.
SEVERIN SET UP FOR SUCCESS: Sophomore Katrina Severin has been one of OSU's most consistent gymnasts this season. She is the only Beaver to average a 9.65 or better on three different events. Her 9.706 average on floor and 9.663 average on beam are both second best on the team, and she is averaging a 9.656 on vault as well. Severin's top score of the season came at Boise State, where she tied her career-high with a 9.85 performance on beam to place second.
YOUNG BACK IN ACTION: Junior Corrie Young missed the first meet of the season with a minor knee injury, but she is back in action and doing quite well on the balance beam. In three meets this year, Young has averaged a team-best 9.733 on the event, highlighted by a team-best 9.775 against Stanford last week. Young also led the Beavers with a 9.75 on beam against UCLA. She was voted the teams most consistent performer on the event last year and currently ranks third in the region on beam. Young also has competed on vault in the last three meets, with a season-best 9.60 at Stanford.
MURPHY-BARCROFT ONLY ALL-AROUNDER: Senior Megan Murphy-Barcroft is the only Beaver to compete as an all-arounder this season. Her top performance came with a 38.950 against UCLA at Gill Coliseum. She placed first with a 38.875 at Boise State, when she scored a career-high 9.925 on beam. Murphy-Barcroft struggled in her last outing, a 37.725 at Stanford when she had falls on both bars and beam.
A LOOK AT ARIZONA STATE: The Sun Devils are 3-0 this season and have won 10 of their last 11 meets, but they almost lost to Southern Utah on the road last weekend. ASU narrowly escaped defeat with a 191.875-191.850 victory after an injury-plagued squad suffered four falls on beam. Elizabeth McNabb has won floor every meet this season after scoring a 9.875 at Southern Utah and ranks first in the nation with a 9.933 average on the event.
HEAD COACH TANYA CHAPLIN: Tanya Chaplin is in her second year at the helm of the Oregon State gymnastics program. She completed her first year as head coach at OSU with an 11-4 regular season record and went 18-9 including all post-season action. She served as an assistant coach at Washington for seven years before moving to Corvallis. Formerly Tanya Service, she was a six-time All-American and held six school records while competing for UCLA from 1986-89.
TISTU OUT FOR THE SEASON: Senior Bea Tistu is out for the season after tearing the Achilles tendon in her left leg while warming up on floor at Arizona on Friday, January 15.
BEAVERS AMONG THE PAC-10 LEADERS: Oregon State has posted three of the top 10 scores in the Pacific-10 this season. The Beavers' 194.450 against UCLA is the fourth best score by a Pac-10 team in 1999. Additionally, OSU's 193.350 against Stanford is ninth, and the 192.600 at Boise State is 10th. Several Oregon State gymnasts have recorded some of the top individual scores in the Pac-10 as well. Megan Murphy-Barcroft scored a 9.925 on the beam to tie ASU's Elizabeth Reid for the best mark on that event. Murphy-Barcroft's 38.950 all-around score is fifth-best in the league. Danae Phillips' 9.875 bars score is the fourth best score in the conference on that event, and Lara Degenhardt scored a 9.85 for the fourth best score on vault. Stephanie Bychowski is tied for eighth on bars, and Katrina Severin is tied for sixth on beam. Murphy-Barcroft is also tied for fifth on floor, and Jerra Lopez and Degenhardt are tied for 10th on floor. Phillips is also tied for 10th on vault.
RANKINGS TAKE ON NEW IMPORTANCE: Oregon State is ranked No. 14 in the most recent Top 25 poll, which is based on teams' average season scores -- But, the Beavers would like to move into the top 12 to better their chances at earning a trip to nationals. Beginning March 2, rankings will be based on Regional Qualifying Scores (RQS), which will be used to seed teams for the NCAA Regionals. The RQS takes each team's top two road scores, top two home scores, and the two next best scores (home or away). Of those six scores, the highest and lowest are dropped and the remaining four are averaged. The top 12 teams (based on RQS) at the end of the regular season will be seeded, with two Top 12 teams sent to each regional site. The other four teams at each site will come from within the region's geographic area. This is a change from previous years, when regional competitions were strictly geographic. Oregon State will be at home for regionals regardless of its RQS since the Beavers are hosting the event. If the Beavers are in the top 12 prior to regionals, then only one other top 12 team would come to Corvallis. No. 4 LSU and No. 5 Penn State also are hosting regional meets. No. 13 Nebraska, No. 18 Utah State and No. 20 West Virginia are the other regional hosts. The top two finishers at each regional site advance to nationals.
