Gymnasts Drop Close Meet to UCLA
January 22, 1999
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Despite two falls on its last rotation, No. 10 UCLA defeated Oregon State in a close 194.575-194.450 meet at Gill Coliseum Friday night.
"We stayed with UCLA all the way through," said coach Tanya Chaplin. "It's amazing what a tenth can do here and there."
The Bruins held a 146.325-145.550 advantage after three rotations, but a strong Beaver floor team and two UCLA falls on beam during the last rotation kept OSU's hopes alive. Jerra Lopez scored a 9.85, Katrina Severin a 9.75 and Annette Taylor a 9.725 on floor to move the Beavers within range of the Bruins.
But then Luisa Portocorrero scored a 9.775 on UCLA's final beam routine, giving the Bruins a 194.575 for the night. Oregon State still had a chance to tie it with one performance left, but it would have taken a perfect 10.0 from Megan Murphy-Barcroft for that to happen.
Murphy-Barcroft scored a 9.875 - good enough for a three-way tie for first-place on floor, but not enough for the Beavers to tie UCLA in the final team standings. Heidi Moneymaker and Kiralee Hayashi also turned in 9.875 marks for UCLA on floor.
"I actually had no idea how close we were. I just wanted to go out there and hit," said Murphy-Barcroft. "It's kind of frustrating to see how close we actually were because we worked so hard for this. We gave them a tough run for their money."
Oregon State also saw victories on vault and bars. Lara Degenhardt scored a 9.80 to tie Moneymaker for first-place on vault, and Danae Phillips and Moneymaker both scored 9.875 on bars to claim top honors on that event. Hayashi also placed first with a 9.80 on beam; Corrie Young turned in OSUs top beam score with a 9.75 for fourth-place.
Phillips' 9.875 on bars tied her career-high on that event, and Stephanie Bychowski also tied her career-best with a 9.85 mark on bars to tie for third on the apparatus. Lopez scored a 9.775 as the Beavers finished with a 48.850 on the event, a big improvement from four falls and a 46.175 bar score last week.
"They got over a few demons here and there and did a good job," Chaplin said. "They really went after it. I think they can go to Boise tomorrow and build off this."
The Beavers leave Corvallis on Saturday afternoon to head to Boise for a 1:00 p.m. PST competition at Boise State on Sunday, January 24.
Final Results No. 10 UCLA 194.575, Oregon State 194.450
Top Three Individual Finishers
Vault: T1. Lara Degenhardt (OSU), 9.800; T1. Heidi Moneymaker (UCLA), 9.800; 3. Lena Degteva (UCLA), 9.750.
Bars: T1. Danae Phillips (OSU), 9.875; T1. Heidi Moneymaker (UCLA), 9.875; T3. Stephanie Bychowski (OSU), 9.850; T3. Lena Degteva (UCLA), 9.850.
Beam: 1. Kiralee Hayashi (UCLA), 9.800; T2. Lena Degteva (UCLA), 9.775; T2. Luisa Portocarrero (UCLA), 9.775.
Floor: T1. Megan Murphy-Barcroft (OSU), 9.875; T1. Kiralee Hayashi (UCLA), 9.875; T1. Heidi Moneymaker (UCLA), 9.875.
All-Around: 1. Lena Degteva (UCLA), 39.225; 2. Kiralee Hayashi (UCLA), 39.100; 3. Megan Murphy-Barcroft (OSU), 38.950.
