No. 16 Women's Gymnasts Host Shanico Inn-Vitational
Mar. 1, 1998
THIS WEEK'S ACTION: Gymnastics fans will have their last chance to see seniors Deanne Droegemueller, Leah McKernan, Amy Slack and Amanda Turko in action at Gill Coliseum when the No. 16 Oregon State (8-2) squad hosts its final home competition of the season Friday. The Beavers will host the annual Shanico Inn-Vitational on March 6 at 7:00 p.m. Joining the Beavers at this Friday's meet will be defending national champion UCLA (currently ranked fifth), George Washington and Seattle Pacific.
TICKET INFORMATION: A limited number of reserved tickets remain for Friday's Shanico Inn-Vitational and are available for $10.00. General admission seating is available at $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for senior citizens and youth 18 and under. OSU students are admitted free with an All-Sports Pass or for $1.00 without the pass. Two-for-one coupons are available at local BI-MART stores.
MEET FORMER GYMNASTS BEFORE THE SHANICO INN-VITATIONAL: The Beavers are having a reunion for former OSU gymnasts on Friday, and fans will have a chance to meet them prior to the meet. The OSU Alumni Association will be hosting an Open House from 5:00-7:00 p.m., and everyone is invited the CH2M Hill Alumni Center to meet the former Beavers and enjoy complimentary refreshments. Among the former gymnasts expected to attend the meet are 12 All-Americans, three national champions and three school record holders.
BEAVERS SCORE SEASON BEST ON FLOOR TO WIN: Oregon State led by just four tenths of a point heading into the final rotation against Stanford on Friday, February 27, but the Beavers came through with a season best 49.025 on floor to secure the 194.875-193.525 victory. Freshman Lara Degenhardt placed first on floor with a season best 9.925, while freshman Annette Taylor (9.75), sophomore Corrie Young (9.775) and senior All-American Amy Slack (9.75) all had season best marks as well.
THE OSU VS. THE SHANICO FIELD: The Beavers are 7-9 all-time against UCLA after a 194.550-192.550 loss to the Bruins in Los Angeles on February 22. Oregon State is 2-0 all-time against George Washington, with both meetings coming last season. OSU is 19-3 against Seattle Pacific.
THE SHANICO OPPONENTS LAST WEEK: UCLA gave some gymnasts a rest last week and competed just five deep on vault and floor. As a result, the Bruins lost to Washington, 195.900-194.425. Seattle Pacific defeated Alaska-Anchorage, 190-100-181.800. George Washington fell to North Carolina, 190.850-189.850.
DEGENHARDT FIRST TO WIN SIX SINCE `95: Freshman Lara Degenhardt scored a 9.800 on vault against Stanford to place first on the event for the sixth time in seven meets, with her only loss coming at UCLA when she finished fourth behinf three Bruins. With the win against Stanford, Degenhardt becomes the first Beaver to win the event six times in one season since Kristie Snyder placed first six times in 1995. Snyder, a former All-American on vault, is the only OSU gymnast to record a 10.0 on vault -- once in 1995 and once in 1996. Former All-American Tina Barnes won eight times in 1987 and 10 times in 1985. Degenhardt is averaging a 9.789 on vault and is ranked 18th nationally.
DROEGEMUELLER SCORES CAREER HIGH ON BARS: Senior All-American Deanne Droegemueller placed first on bars for the second time this season after scoring a career high 9.95 against Stanford to improve on her previous best of 9.90 set last year when she placed second at the NCAA West Regionals. Droegemueller has scored no lower than 9.750 on bars this season and was ranked 19th nationally prior to the Stanford meet. So far this season she is averaging a 9.825 on the event after averaging a 9.619 as a junior.
PHILLIPS OUT FOR SEASON: Junior Danae Phillips suffered a right ulnar collateral ligament sprain in warmups against Stanford and will be out for the remainder of the season.
TURKO MAKES COMEBACK ON VAULT: Senior All-American Amanda Turko made her official return to collegiate gymnastics against Stanford on Friday when she was the first vaulter in Oregon State's lineup. Turko, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament last season, was expected to be limited to bars as a result of her injury. Turko had performed four exhibition bar routines this season, but had not been in the official lineup until the Stanford meet. She scored an 8.775 upon vaulting for the first time in 13 months.
BRUCH STEPS IN, GETS SEASON BEST: Freshman Marissa Bruch scored a season best 9.325 on vault after stepping in as a last minute substitution when junior Danae Phillips suffered an injury in warmups. Bruch had not vaulted in competition since January 30.
HEAD COACH TANYA CHAPLIN: Tanya Chaplin is in her first year as head coach of the Oregon State gymnastics program after serving as an assistant coach at Washington for the previous seven seasons. Chaplin's collegiate record now stands at 8-2 after the win over Stanford. Chaplin, formerly Tanya Service, was a six-time All-American and held six school records while competing for UCLA from 1986-89.
DEGENHARDT SECOND IN THE PAC-10: Freshman Lara Degenhardt has the second best score in the Pac-10 Conference on vault. She is one of four Pac-10 gymnasts to have scored a 9.900 on the event. Only Washington's Klara Kudilkova has scored higher, with a 9.975 against Utah on February 20. For a complete listing of the top scores in the Pac-10 this season, please see page four.
MURPHY WINS ALL-AROUND AGAIN: Junior All-American Megan Murphy won the all-around against Stanford to finish first for the fifth time this year. She scored a season best 39.075, just missing her career best of 39.100 set against Stanford last year. She won beam by tying her career best 9.90, and her 9.825 on floor was third. She was fifth on bars and vault.
SEVERAL BEAVERS RANKED NATIONALLY: Oregon State is ranked nationally both as a team and individually on bars, beam and vault. OSU's is ranked fifth on both bars (48.692 average) and beam (48.283 average). OSU is 17th on vault with a 48.212 average. Freshman Lara Degenhardt leads the individual rankings, standing 18th in the nation on vault with a 9.787 average. Senior All-American Deanne Droegemueller is tied for 19th on bars with a 9.804 average, while senior All-American Amy Slack is tied for 23rd with her 9.796 avergae. Junior All-American Megan Murphy is 20th on beam, averaging a 9.742.
MURPHY NAMED PAC-10 GYMNAST OF THE WEEK: Junior All-American Megan Murphy became the first Beaver to win Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week honors this season, an honor she received on February 3 for her efforts against Washington. She posted then-season bests on every event to lead OSU to a victory against the Huskies on January 30. She won the all-around with a 38.950, and she also won on beam (9.850) and floor (9.800). It is the first such honor of her career, and it was Oregon State's first since Heather Bennett received the award in March, 1996.
FOUR ALL-AMERICANS ON 1998 ROSTER: The 1998 OSU gymnastics team features four All-Americans -- seniors Deanne Droegemueller (Beam, 1995), Amy Slack (Beam, 1996) and Amanda Turko (Vault, 1994; Beam, 1995; Floor, 1996) and junior Megan Murphy (Beam, 1996). Murphy, Slack and Droegemueller have combined for 15 first-place finishes this season. Turko, who missed all but the first two meets of the 1997 season due to a right anterior cruciate ligament tear, made her official return to competition when she vaulted against Stanford. Prior to that meet, Turko had performed four exhibition bar routines but had not competed officially.
1998 PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE TELEVISED: The 1998 Pac-10 Women's Gymnastics Championship, set for March 21 in Los Angeles, will be televised on a tape-delayed basis. FOX Sports Net will air the Championship at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, March 29.
BEAVERS TO HOST 1999 PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIP: Oregon State will serve as the host institution of the 1999 Pac-10 Women's Gymnastics Championship. The Beavers, who last hosted Pac-10s in 1996, were not scheduled to host again until 2003 as a seven-year rotation system is set up among the seven Pac-10 gymnastics programs. California, next up in the seven-year rotation, is renovating its facility and the building may not be ready for the Pac-10 Championship next spring. Oregon State and Cal will make a straight switch, with the Bears taking over as host in 2003.
