No. 14 Gymnastics Prepares for Friday's Meet with California
February 10, 1999
THIS WEEK: The No. 14 Oregon State gymnastics team (2-3) is home for the second week in a row as the Beavers host California (2-3) in the Wilson Motors Challenge on Friday, February 12. The meet begins at 7:00 p.m., with the doors opening at 6:00 p.m.
THE OSU/CALIFORNIA SERIES: Oregon State is 25-1 all-time against Cal after defeating the Bears, 190-575-185.825, in the season opener in Berkeley last season. The Beavers walked away with first-place finishes on every event but floor. Lara Degenhardt and Stephanie Bychowski won vault and bars, respectively, in their collegiate debuts. Megan Murphy-Barcroft placed first on beam and all-around for OSU.
PHENOMENAL PHILLIPS: Senior Danae Phillips has been sensational on bars this season. She has scored a 9.80 or better in the last four meets. She notched a career-high 9.90 to tie for first against Arizona State last week, and she also tied for first against UCLA. She ranks 17th nationally and second in the region and is averaging a 9.840 on the event for OSU's best individual average on any event.
DEGENHARDT DAZZLING ON FLOOR, VAULT VS. ASU: Sophomore Lara Degenhardt turned in a first-place and career-high 9.95 on floor against Arizona State last week. She is just the fourth OSU gymnast to score that high on floor, and the first since Randi Miller in 1995. Degenhardt has scored a 9.80 or better on floor in the last three meets. She also continues to lead the team on vault this season. She is averaging a team-best 9.810 on the event and is ranked 20th nationally. In five meets this season, she has won three times and placed second in two other meets. Her season-high of 9.875 came against ASU last week. In her first 17 meets as a Beaver, Degenhardt has placed first on vault 10 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.
YOUNG NOTCHES FIRST WIN: Junior Corrie Young scored her first win of the season and the second of her career, when she posted a season-best 9.80 on beam against Arizona State last week. She is averaging a 9.75 on the event this year, the best of any Beaver beam performer.
KAT'S CONSISTENCY: 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 9.705 average on floor and 9.680 average on beam are both second best on the team, and she is averaging a 9.655 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.
CALIFORNIA AT A GLANCE: Cal is 2-3 on the season and is coming off a 192-050-190.200 loss to Arizona last week. Despite the loss, the score was Cal's best this season. Leila Khoury placed second on vault (9.775), all-around (38.750), and floor (9.775). Emily Bails won beam with a score of 9.875 and tied Khoury for second place on floor.
LOOK OUT FOR LOPEZ: 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 four meets, including a season-high 9.85 against UCLA. Last week against Arizona State, she scored a 9.80 to tie for third place. She is averaging a team-best 9.780 on the event and ranks third in the region on the event. She has scored a season-high 9.775 on bars three times, including last week versus ASU. Her top beam score is a 9.75, which she scored at Stanford.
THE SCOOP ON SARA: Freshman Sara Carson had her best outing of the season against Arizona State. Carson recorded a 9.675 on vault, her best score of the year. She placed fourth on the event for her top finish of the season. Her previous best was a 9.625 at Boise State.
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 48.540, their best average on any event. Six gymnasts have combined for 16 scores of 9.70 or higher through the first five meets this season; after five meets last year, the Beavers had had just seven scores of 9.70 or better on floor. So far this year, Jerra Lopez leads the team with a 9.780 average on floor, and Katrina Severin is averaging a 9.705.
MURPHY-BARCROFT WINS ALL-AROUND: Senior Megan Murphy-Barcroft placed first in the all-around competition against Arizona State for her second all-around win of the season. She scored a 38.70 against the Sun Devils, highlighted by a second-place 9.875 on floor. She also finished second on vault with a season-high 9.725. Murphy-Barcroft is the only Beaver to compete as an all-arounder this season, and 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. She is averaging a 38.460 on the year.
HEAD COACH TANYA CHAPLIN: Tanya Chaplin is in her second year at the helm of the Oregon State gymnastics program. Her regular season record stands at 13-7 in just over a years worth of head coaching. 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 two of the top five 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, and their 194.150 against ASU is fifth best in the league. 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 sixth-best in the league. Lara Degenhardt's 9.95 on floor is the second highest floor score in the Pac-10 this year, and her 9.875 vault ties for fith. Danae Phillips' 9.90 bars score ties the third best mark in the conference on that event. Katrina Severin is tied for eighth on beam, and Murphy-Barcroft is also tied for sixth on floor.
GYM JAM: Fans are invited to have dinner with the gymnasts and meet the team at Gym Jam at the Valley Football Center after this Friday's meet with California. Dinner costs $8.00; dessert only is $4.00. Tickets must be purchased in the lobby of Gill Coliseum before or during the meet; they will not be available at Valley. Gym Jam is limited to the first 300 people.
