Beavers Gear Up For NCAA Championships
April 6, 2000
UPCOMING COMPETITION: The Oregon State gymnastics team (20-8) is headed to the 2000 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships on April 13-15 at Boise State. The Beavers, who have advanced to nationals for the first time since 1996, will open the NCAA meet at 12 p.m. PDT in the preliminary team competition on April 13. The Super Six competition, which features the top three teams at each of the preliminary sessions, is set for April 14, and the individual event finals are on April 15.
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets for the NCAA Championships can be purchased at the Oregon State ticket office in Gill Coliseum or by calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS only through Thursday, April 6. After Thursday, tickets must be purchased through the Boise State ticket office (208-426-1778). Tickets for the three-day event are $31.50, and youth tickets (HS and under) are available for $23.50.
THE REST OF THE FIELD: Oregon State will be joined by Georgia, Utah, Alabama, LSU and BYU in the preliminary team competition. Each team also has an individual all-around competitor with them, with Florida's Chrissy Van Fleet competing with the Beavers. In addition, four event specialists qualified for the NCAA meet. Ohio State's Rickee Wirtzberger, who qualified on the floor exercise, also will compete with Oregon State.
ROTATION ORDER: Team rotation orders and event sessions for the preliminary team competition were determined by a random draw, and OSU will begin on bars in the afternoon session on April 13. The complete rotation order for the afternoon session is as follows:
Rot. Vault Bye Bars Beam Bye Floor I LSU Ga. OSU Ala. Utah BYU II BYU LSU Ga. OSU Ala. Utah III Utah BYU LSU Ga. OSU Ala. IV Ala. Utah BYU LSU Ga. OSU V OSU Ala. Utah BYU LSU Ga. VI Ga. OSU Ala. Utah BYU LSU
TELEVISION REPLAY: The NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships will be televised on a delayed basis on CBS. The meet will be aired April 23 at 10 a.m. PDT.
THE ROAD TO NATIONALS: The Beavers qualified for the NCAA Championships as a result of their second-place showing at the Region 1 competition on April 1. OSU scored a 196.175, second only to UCLA's 197.025. The Beavers edged out Stanford by .200 for second, and only the top two teams advance to nationals. OSU held a slim .075 lead over the Cardinal heading into the final rotation, and the Beavers responded with a 49.300 on floor - their second best floor score of the year - to close out the meet. Lara Degenhardt, Tanya Ricioli and Jerra Lopez each scored 9.875 on floor to lead the Beavers. Ricioli also led OSU on beam with a career-high 9.90 to place third in that event. Lopez led the Beavers on bars with a 9.825 that was good for sixth place. Degenhardt was fifth with a 9.875 on vault, and Katrina Severin was third on vault with a 9.90.
BEAVERS AT NATIONALS: Oregon State is making its 14th NCAA appearance (17th national championship appearance, including three AIAW competitions). OSU advanced to the NCAA Championships for 10 straight years, spanning from 1987-1996. The Super Six competition began in 1993, and the Beavers advanced twice, finishing fifth in 1996 and sixth in 1995. OSU placed fourth in the preliminary competition in 1996 and also finished fourth in 1991.
SEVERIN RANKED NATIONALLY ON VAULT: Katrina Severin is ranked 19th in the nation on vault, and she is one of OSU's most consistent gymnasts on beam and floor as well. Severin is averaging 9.808 on vault and led OSU with a 9.90 on the event at the NCAA Region 1 meet. She's scored a 9.90 or better five times this year, including the last four meets of the season, and she had a 9.80 or better in nine out of 10 meets she's competed in this season. She notched a career-high 9.95 on March 3 against Nebraska, BYU and Seattle Pacific. She's averaging 9.793 on floor for the year, with six scores of 9.80 or better. On beam, she's averaging 9.694 (the second best average on the team) after tying her career-high with a 9.875 on the event at regionals. She's scored 9.825 or better three times this year.
DEGENHARDT MAKING SECOND TRIP TO NATIONALS: Lara Degenhardt, who competed as an event specialist on floor at the 1999 NCAA Championships, is one of two Beavers with experience at nationals. Degenhardt has continued her success on floor as well as vault in 2000. She's averaging a team-best 9.827 on vault and has scored 9.80 or better on the event nine times this year with a score of 9.825 or higher at the last eight meets. She tied her career-best with a 9.975 on March 3. She's won vault four times this season, giving her a total of 18 vault titles in 36 collegiate meets. She's averaging 9.646 on floor, including eight scores of 9.80 or better and three meets with a 9.90 mark. She's scored 9.85 or better on floor at the last four meets. Degenhardt has also competed on bars at the last seven meets, with a season-best 9.725. Degenhardt was the 1999 Pac-10 champion on floor with a perfect 10.0 conference meet. She was named to the All-Pac-10 Team as a vaulter two years in a row (1998-99) and was All-Pac-10 on floor last year as well.
CAMPBELL HAVING OUTSTANDING ROOKIE SEASON: Annie Campbell has been outstanding as a rookie all-arounder this season. She's scored 39.0 or better five times this year, highlighted by a 39.375 against Utah on March 12. She has posted career-highs of 9.95 on floor, 9.90 on vault and beam, and 9.80 on bars. Campbell is averaging 9.781 on floor and has scored 9.80 or better in nine meets, including scores of 9.85+ at the last six of the last seven competitions. She's also scored 9.85 or better on beam at the last five meets to up her season average to 9.602. She has won floor five times this season and has two victories on beam. Campbell has competed as an all-arounder in all 12 meets this season with an average score of 38.650.
BYCHOWSKI SHINES ON BARS, BEAM FOR BEAVS: Stephanie Bychowski continues to lead the Beavers on bars and beam this season. She's averaging 9.694 on bars (second on the team) and 9.696 on beam (a team-best). She suffered a rare fall on bars at the NCAA regional meet last week to end a streak of seven straight meets with a score of 9.825 or better on bars. She's tied her career-high of 9.925 twice this season, at the Pac-10 Championships and and vs. Stanford on Feb. 25. She also had a 9.925 at the 1999 Pac-10 meet. Bychowski has also competed on beam at all 12 meets, with a career-high of 9.875 against Utah on March 12. She's scored a 9.80 or better at six meets. Bychowski has won bars three times this season, and she has two beam titles as well. Bychowski was an All-Pac-10 pick on bars last year.
JILLSON CONTINUES TO GET STRONGER: It's just been a matter of time for Elizabeth Jillson to become a major force on bars for OSU. Jillson came to OSU while still rehabbing from ACL surgery and was unable to perform a true dismount for the first half of the season. Once her knee got stronger and could handle the more difficult dismount, her scores rose considerably. Jillson had scored a 9.80 or better at OSU's last four meets before regionals, but she fell on her dismount to earn a 9.40 at the regional meet. She scored a 9.925 vs. Utah on March 3 and added a 9.90 at the Pac-10 Championships. She's averaging 9.510 for the season.
RICIOLI STILL PUTTING UP STRONG NUMBERS: Tanya Ricioli has been kept out of the all-around competition since injuring the ulnar collateral ligament in her right thumb in early February. She's competed on vault in all seven meets and on floor six times since then, but she's competed on beam just three times and has been unable to do bars because of the injury. Despite the injury, she's still averaging a 9.760 on vault and 9.784 on floor (both marks are third best on the team). Her two best vault scores (9.875) have come after the injury, as did her top floor score (9.925). At the NCAA regional meet on April 1, she turned her best score of the year on beam with a third-place 9.90. Her previous best on that event had been a 9.775, just a week before her injury. She has scored a 9.80 or better on floor eight times and has five vault scores of 9.80 or better as well. She competed on bars five times, with a top score of 9.825. Prior to the injury she was averaging 38.640 in five meets as an all-arounder, with a season-best of 39.200. In those five meets, she won eight individual titles, but she has not claimed a individual event title since then. She was named Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week on Jan. 25 and was selected as OSU's Female Athlete of the Month for January.
TAYLOR QUIETLY MAKING HER MARK: Annette Taylor tops the Beavers with a 9.714 average on bars, and her 9.638 average on beam is third on the team. Taylor has been the team's most consistent gymnast on bars. She had a fall on her first routine of the year, but has scored 9.725 or better on every routine since then. She's scored 9.80 or better five times with two 9.85 scores, and she picked up her first collegiate victory with a 9.80 on bars at Cal on Jan. 28. Taylor has put up equally impressive numbers on beam, having scored a 9.85 at three meets - including OSU's last two competitions (Pac-10s and regionals).
LOPEZ LEADING THE WAY ON FLOOR: Jerra Lopez boasts OSU's best average on floor (9.847). She's competed on the event eight times this season and has scored no lower than 9.775. She's scored 9.85 or better in her last five outings, highlighted by a career-best and first-place 9.95 on March 3. She's also competed on bars nine times, highlighted by two 9.875 routines and six scores of 9.80 or better. Lopez has also made the vault lineup eight times and has scored a season-best 9.775 three times, including at OSU's last two meets. She's averaging 9.656 on vault and 9.638 on bars. Lopez, who competed as an all-arounder in three meets as a freshman, has not made the beam lineup this year. She was voted the team's Rookie of the Year last season.
BRUCH HELPS OSU TO NATIONALS WITH CAREER-HIGH: Marissa Bruch has stepped up to the challenge on floor more than once this year, but none was as big as at regionals on April 1. With the Beavers holding just a .075 edge over Stanford for second place heading into the final rotation, it was Bruch who set the pace for the Beavers on floor. She led off the rotation with a career-best 9.85 routine to help lead the Beavers to their second-best floor score of the year (49.300) and earn a trip to nationals. On two other occassions this year, Bruch was listed as the alternate on floor but ended up in the lineup at the last minute. The last time that happened (vs. Utah on March 12), she responded with a then-career-high 9.825. She was also the alternate at UCLA on Feb. 20, but ended up competing and scored a then-season-high 9.750. She's competed on floor seven times in 2000 (nine including two exhibitions) and is averaging 9.714.
TISTU-WHISENHUNT MAKES RETURN TRIP: Bea Tistu-Whisenhunt tied her career-high with a 9.875 on beam at regionals to help OSU get back to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1996. Tistu-Whisenhunt was a freshman on the 1996 team and is the only current member of the OSU squad to have competed as a team at nationals. Tistu-Whisenhunt almost didn't have a chance to have another shot at nationals, though. In what was to be her senior year in 1999, she tore her achilles tendon while warming up for the very first meet of the season and missed the entire year. With no scholarships remaining for her to come back as a redshirt senior in 2000, she thought her career was over. Tistu-Whisenhunt found out in July that a spot was available for her, and she began training again after her rehab was finished. While she's been limited to beam because of the injury, the return has paid off. She's competed on beam in nine meets this year (11 including exhibitions). She's scored a 9.875 twice, tying her career best set in 1998, and is averaging 9.575 on the event. She has not competed on any other event because of the injury.
HEAD COACH TANYA CHAPLIN: Tanya Chaplin, in her third season as head coach of the OSU gymnastics program, has guided the Beavers to their first trip the nationals since 1996. In Chaplin's first two seasons at OSU, she took two gymnasts to nationals as individual competitors, but she had not taken a team to nationals since she became a head coach. Chaplin's career record is 28-15 for the regular season and 52-25 including postseason competition. In 1999, she was named Pacific-10 Coach of the Year after the Beavers posted a 16-8 record in 1999 and finished second at the Pac-10 Championships, where OSU set a school record with a 197.400 score. She was an assistant coach at Washington for seven years before moving to OSU. Formerly Tanya Service, she was a six-time All-American and held six school records while competing for UCLA from 1986-89.
