This Week in Women's Gymnastics
Feb. 24, 1998
THIS WEEK'S ACTION: The No. 11 Oregon State gymnastics team (7-2) returns home to Gill Coliseum after a road trip to Los Angeles. The Beavers resume home competition with the Precision Cuts Main Event against No. 15 Stanford at 7:00 p.m., Friday, February 27.
TICKET INFORMATION: Reserved tickets for Friday's Precision Cuts Main Event 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.
RECAPPING THE BRUIN CLASSIC: Oregon State finished second behind No. 5 UCLA, but the Beavers were able to hold off No. 7 Penn State and unranked Cal State Fullerton. OSU scored a 192.550, while the defending national champion Bruins finished with a 194.550. Oregon State started off the meet on its two weakest events (floor and vault) and trailed the Nittany Lions after two rotations, but strong performances on bars and beam lifted Oregon State over Penn State in the final rotation. It was the first time this season that Oregon State did not win any event. UCLA took top individual honors on every event but beam, which CSUF's Christy Lutz won.
A LOOK AT STANFORD: No. 15 Stanford improved its record to 6-4 after defeating Cal, 193.450-190.675, on February 20. The Cardinal won all four events, including taking the top three spots on vault, beam and floor. Sophomore Larissa Fontaine scored a 9.90 on vault and bars to win both events, while freshman Jennifer Exaltacion scored a 9.80 on beam for the win. Sophomore Sarah Harding, junior Amy Murikami and senior Keri Monahan all scored a 9.925 for a three-way tie for first on floor.
THE OSU/STANFORD SERIES: Oregon State is 14-3 all-time against the Cardinal. In regular season action last year, the teams met twice with each winning once. Oregon State defeated Stanford in Arizona (193.825-192.825) on January 31, 1997. Stanford paid back the Beavers by defeating them (195.40-191.975) in Palo Alto on February 28.
THE STREAK COMES TO AN END: Freshman Lara Degenhardt scored a 9.700 on vault at the Bruin Classic for her second lowest score of the season. She placed fourth behind three UCLA gymnasts, and it was the first time this season that Degenhardt had not finished first. Prior to the February 22 meet, she had won the vault in all five of OSU's meets. She is the first Oregon State vaulter to win the event five times in one season since 1995 when Kristie Snyder placed first six times. 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. Degenhardt is averaging a 9.788 on vault and was ranked 10th nationally prior to the Bruin Classic.
DROEGEMUELLER, SLACK CONTINUE TO LEAD ON BARS: Senior All-Americans Deanne Droegemueller and Amy Slack have scored no lower than 9.750 on bars this season, and they continued that consistency at the Bruin Classic. Droegemueller placed second with a 9.825, OSU's top score on any event at the meet. Slack tied for third with a 9.800 mark. Droegemueller, who is ranked 22nd nationally on the event, is averaging a 9.804 and has scored a 9.825 three times. Slack scored a 9.800 for the third time this season and is averaging a 9.796.
TISTU TIES SEASON HIGH ON BEAM: Junior Bea Tistu scored a 9.775 on beam at the Bruin Classic to tie her season high. She placed first with a 9.775 against BYU on January 23. At the Bruin Classic, that score placed her in a four-way tie for sixth place, along with OSU senior All-American Deanne Droegemueller. Tistu's score was the only season-high mark of the meet for Oregon State.
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 7-2 after the Bruin Classic. Chaplin, formerly Tanya Service, was a six-time All-American and held six school records while competing for UCLA from 1986-89.
DEGENHARDT LEADS PAC-10: Freshman Lara Degenhardt has the top 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. For a complete listing of the top scores in the Pac-10 this season, please see page four.
SEVERAL BEAVERS RANKED NATIONALLY: Oregon State is ranked nationally both as a team and individually on bars, beam and vault. OSU's highest ranking comes on bars, with its 48.715 average ranking third in the nation. On beam, the Beavers rank fifth at 48.220, and OSU is 10th on vault with a 48.330 average. Freshman Lara Degenhardt leads the individual rankings, standing 10th in the nation on vault with a 9.805 average. Senior All-American Deanne Droegemueller is tied for 22nd on bars with a 9.800 average, and junior All-American Megan Murphy is 23th on beam, averaging a 9.730. Rankings are prior to the UCLA meet and will be updated on the evening of February 24.
MEET FORMER GYMNASTS BEFORE THE SHANICO INN-VITATIONAL: The Beavers are having a reunion for former Oregon State gymnasts at the Shanico Inn-Vitational on Friday, March 6, 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. prior to the meet. 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.
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 12 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, has not officially competed in 1998. Turko has been limited to bars as a result of her injury, and she has performed exhibition routines on the apparatus at four meets this season.
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.
