No. 10 Beavers Aim To Qualify For NCAA Championships At Saturday's Regional Meet
March 31, 2004
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This week's action: A trip to the NCAA Championships is at stake this week, when the No. 10 Beavers host five other teams in the NCAA West Regional Championships at 6 p.m., Saturday, April 3 in Gill Coliseum. Joining the Beavers are No. 3 Alabama, No. 15 Oklahoma, California, Boise State and Cal State Fullerton. The top two teams will earn a spot at the NCAA Championships at UCLA on April 15-17. In addition, the top two all-arounders who are not on an advancing team and any individual event winner whose team does not advance also will qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Ticket information: General admission tickets for the NCAA West Regional are available for $8, with a rate of $3 youth and college students with a valid ID. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the OSU Ticket Office or by calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS. On Saturday, the ticket window will open for sales at 4 p.m. Saturday, and the doors will open at 5 p.m.
Follow the meet on the internet: Fans who are unable to attend the meet can follow the competition on OSU's website at www.osubeavers.com. Scores will be updated periodically throughout the competition.
Beavers at NCAA Regionals: OSU is making its 23rd consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regional Championships, with the Beavers qualifying for the meet every season since the NCAA began sponsoring women's gymnastics championships in 1982. The Beavers have won eight regional team championships.
There's no place like home: This year marks the 11th time OSU has hosted an NCAA regional meet, and the Beavers have had success in their previous regional meets in Corvallis. Of the previous 10 NCAA regional meets at OSU, the Beavers have finished first four times and advanced to the NCAA Championships eight times. OSU has advanced to nationals the last two times the Beavers competed at home for regionals, with OSU placing second in both 2000 and 2002 in Corvallis.
OSU to start on a bye: Oregon State will start the regional meet with a bye before bars and will finish the competition on vault. Following is the complete rotation order for the competition.
Vault Bye Bars Beam Bye Floor I CSUF OSU OKLA ALA BSU CAL II CAL CSUF OSU OKLA ALA BSU III BSU CAL CSUF OSU OKLA ALA IV ALA BSU CAL CSUF OSU OKLA V OKLA ALA BSU CAL CSUF OSU IV OSU OKLA ALA BSU CAL CSUF
Beavers vs. the field: Oregon State has competed against all five of its regional opponents this season. The Beavers defeated Cal State Fullerton 195.075-191.850 in Corvallis on January 16. OSU met Boise State in the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational on March 5, with OSU setting a school record 197.675 to win the six-team competition. California edged the Beavers 195.675-195.550 in a January 30 dual in Berkeley. OSU faced Alabama and Oklahoma in the season-opening Super Six Challenge at Alabama on January 9. OSU scored a fifth-place 193.775 in that meet after spending nearly 48 hours in travel time to get Tuscaloosa because of weather in the Northwest. Alabama won the meet with a 196.725, and Oklahoma was fourth at 195.275.
Recapping the Pacific-10 Championships: Oregon State topped the 197 mark for the fifth meet in a row after placing third with a 197.075 at the Pacific-10 Championships at Arizona on March 20. Heidi Goehring was OSU's top finisher on any event, placing sixth on bars with a 9.90. She also had OSU's top score of the meet, with a career-high 9.925 to place seventh on beam. Chrissy Lamun was seventh on floor with a 9.90, and Chelsea Plourde tied for seventh in the all-around with a 39.500.
Plourde named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year: Chelsea Plourde was honored as the Pac-10's Freshman of the Year in a vote by the league's coaches. Plourde ranks 22nd in the nation as an all-arounder - the highest ranking by any Pac-10 rookie - and has led OSU in nine of 11 meets. She's averaging 39.420 with a high score of 39.650 in the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational. That performance earned her a share of Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week honors, broke her own OSU freshman record and tied for the second best score in OSU history. Plourde is the first OSU gymnast to be honored as the league's Freshman of the Year.
Bars team tied for sixth: OSU's bars team scored a 49.300 at the Pacific-10 Championships to jump up to a tie for sixth with Alabama in the national rankings. OSU had been ranked eighth and ninth in the previous two rankings. OSU is averaging 49.214 - the best of any of the four events - and has scored 49.100 or higher in the last 10 meets. OSU had a season-high 49.500 against Washington, just missing the school record by .025 (the record was set at last year's Pac-10 Championships). Five gymnasts have scored a 9.90 or higher this year. Heidi Goehring has scored 9.90 or higher five times, including the last four meets, and has the team's top score of 9.95 twice this year. Tanya Ricioli-Hebron also has five marks of 9.90 or better, with a high of 9.925. Chelsea Plourde has three 9.90-plus scores, with a high of 9.925, and Chrissy Lamun has one 9.90 and one 9.925. Annie Campbell had a 9.90 before her injury. Th?r?se Videan, the team's lead-off performer has a season-high of 9.875, and Heather Justus has a high of 9.85.
Beavers are lucky number seven on beam: OSU's beam team enters the regional meet tied for seventh nationally, sharing the No. 7 spot with Utah. The Beavers are averaging 49.186 on the event, highlighted by a school record 49.600 at Utah, where four Beavers scored 9.90 or higher. Chelsea Plourde, who's tied for 13th nationally, led the Beavers with a career-high 9.975 at Utah and has scored 9.90 or better six times this season. Tanya Ricioli-Hebron tied her career-high with a 9.95, and Angela Morales set a new career-high with a 9.90 in Salt Lake City. Chrissy Lamun, who had a career-high 9.95 in the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational, counted a 9.90 in the school record performance at Utah for her third score of 9.90 or better this season. Heidi Goehring tied her then-career-high of 9.875 at Utah and led OSU with a new personal best of 9.925 at the Pac-10 Championships a week later. OSU did not count Elaine Yoder's score at Utah, although the senior has scored as high as 9.875 this season (most recently at the Pac-10 Championships) and has a career-high of 9.925.
Ricioli-Hebron looking to break record: If Tanya Ricioli-Hebron scores a 39.00 or higher at regionals, she'll take sole possession of the OSU record for career 39-plus performances. Ricioli-Hebron, who ranks 23rd nationally as an all-arounder, scored a 39.525 in the all-around at Utah for her 23rd career performance of 39.00 or higher, tying Chari Knight for the most 39-plus meets in an OSU career. Ricioli-Hebron has scored 39-plus in eight of the 11 meets this season, with a high of 39.525 three times. Knight, who competed from 1991-1994, also holds the school record for a single-meet score with a 39.750 in 1993. Another senior all-arounder, Annie Campbell, entered the year also chasing that record, but a knee injury has since sidelined her. Campbell has scored a 39-plus in 16 meets during her career, but she's missed the last eight meets because of the injury.
That sounds like a broken record: OSU's floor score of 49.700 against Stanford broke the school record of 49.625 set at the 2002 NCAA Regional Championships. With the exception of Chrissy Lamun (who scored a 10.0 to win the Pac-10 title last year), every gymnast in the floor lineup set or tied a career-high in the Stanford meet or shortly thereafter. Chelsea Plourde and Tanya Ricioli-Hebron scored 9.95s to tie Lamun for first place in the meet against Stanford. The 9.95 was a season-high for all three. It tied a career-high for Ricioli-Hebron and was a personal best for Plourde. Angela Morales tied her career-high of 9.925, and Th?r?se Videan set a new career-high with a 9.925. OSU didn't count a then-season-high 9.85 from Heather Justus, who tied her career-high of 9.875 (set as a freshman in 2002 at regionals) in the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational. OSU is ranked 20th in the national rankings on floor.
The Fab Four: Only four gymnasts in OSU history have scored a 9.90 or better on all four events at least once, and all four are on this year's roster. Two have joined the elite group this season. Tanya Ricioli-Hebron scored her first career 9.90 on vault at UCLA to become the third Beaver to join the group, and Chelsea Plourde followed a week later when she scored a 9.95 on floor against Stanford. Plourde, who also has highs of 9.975 on vault, 9.975 on beam and 9.925 on bars, is the first freshman to score a 9.90 on all four events. Ricioli-Hebron, a senior, first reached the 9.90 mark on beam and floor as a freshman in 2000 and earned her first 9.90 on bars as a sophomore in 2002 (she now has highs of 9.95 on beam and floor and 9.925 on bars). Her previous career-high on vault was a 9.875 set her freshman year. Fellow seniors Annie Campbell and Lindsay Nelson - both currently sidelined with injuries - are the other two gymnasts who have at least one 9.90 on every event; both were juniors when they reached the milestone.
OSU's depth gets tested this season: The Beavers, who have already lost three gymnasts to season-ending injuries, have put their depth to another test in recent weeks. Annie Campbell, an all-arounder in the first three meets, had arthroscopic knee surgery in January and has missed the last eight meets. Out for the season are Lindsay Nelson, an all-arounder last season, Daylee Ingalls, a vault/beam competitor last year, and Meghan Jones, a vault/bars performer last season. Ingalls and Nelson are out with knee injuries. Jones suffered life-threatening injuries after being hit by a car in September and is rehabbing in her hometown of Medford, Ore.
Head coach Tanya Chaplin: Head coach Tanya Chaplin is in her seventh season as head gymnastics coach at OSU. She enters this week's meet with a 64-45-1 record for regular season action and is 110-82-1 including postseason competition. Chaplin has guided the Beavers to three trips to the NCAA Championships and was named OSU's Female Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2001. In 1999, she was named Pacific-10 Coach of the Year. Formerly Tanya Service, she was a six-time All-American and held six school records while competing for UCLA from 1986-89.
Gymnast Notes
Heidi Goehring: Heidi was OSU's top finisher on any event at the Pac-10 Championships to continue her recent success. She had a 9.90 on bars to tie for sixth, and she had a career-high 9.925 on beam to tie for seventh; she led OSU on both events. Her 9.90 on bars marked her fourth straight score of 9.90 or better on the event as she moved into the national rankings for the first time following the Pac-10 meet. Goehring, who is now tied for 24th on the event, had career-highs of 9.95 against Stanford and in the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational and added a 9.925 at Utah to win or tie for first in all three meets. She has now scored 9.80 or better on her last 10 bar routines. Heidi's 9.925 beam score at Pac-10s improved on her previous best of 9.875, which she had scored three times this season - including the two meets prior to Pac-10s. Goehring joined the beam lineup in the third meet of the year as Annie Campbell's replacement and has now scored 9.85 or better on her last six routines. Prior to this season, Heidi's career-high was a 9.80 at the 2002 NCAA Championships - where she also filled in for Campbell, who was injured just prior to that meet as well.
Heather Justus: Heather has been a solid performer on three events for the Beavers, starting the year in the vault lineup and later adding bars and floor as a result of Annie Campbell's injury. She has scored 9.80 or better on her last five bar routines, with a career-high 9.85 three times. She's scored a 9.80 or higher six times on floor. Her season-high of 9.875 at the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational tied her career-high set at regionals as a freshman in 2002. She's had a top score of 9.80 on vault four times this year, most recently at Utah.
Chrissy Lamun: Chrissy, who began the year competing on three events, has competed all-around at the last eight meets after joining the vault lineup while filling in for Annie Campbell. Chrissy has finished with 39-plus scores six times, including a personal best 39.300 in the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational. She had a 39.200 at the Pacific-10 Championships. Chrissy's best event overall this year has been bars, averaging 9.850 to rank second on the team. She had a career-high 9.925 at UCLA after tying her previous best of 9.90 against Arizona the week before. She's also scored four 9.875s on the event this year - including at the Pac-10 meet. Chrissy has scored 9.90 or higher five times on floor, including a pair of 9.90s at the last two meets (at Utah and at the Pac-10 meet). Her 9.90 at Pac-10s earned a tie for seventh place (she won the Pac-10 floor title with a 10 at the 2003 meet). She had a season-high of 9.95 against Stanford. She's had three 9.90s or higher on beam, highlighted by a career-high 9.95 in the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational. She's scored 9.825 or better eight times. On vault, she had a career-high 9.70 against Arizona. Chrissy has won five individual titles this year, with two on floor and beam and one on bars. In all, she has scored a 9.80 or higher 25 times this year (10 times on bars, eight on beam and seven on floor).
Angela Morales: Angela is one of the team's most consistent gymnasts, hitting 32 of 33 routines so far this season after going 38 for 39 as a freshman last year. Her best event this year has been floor, where she's had two 9.925s (tying her career-high from last year) and a 9.90. She's scored 9.80 or better in the last nine meets and won the event with her 9.90 against Arizona. Angela has scored 9.85 or better on vault in seven of the last eight meets, including three of 9.875 marks - two of which have come in the last two meets. Angela had a career-high 9.90 on beam at Utah. Prior to her 9.90 at Utah, her top beam score was a 9.85 against Stanford to tie her then-career-high set last year.
Chelsea Plourde: Chelsea is having an outstanding rookie season, having been honored as the Pacific-10 Freshman of the Year. She has been OSU's top all-arounder in nine of the 11 meets and ranks 22nd in the nation. She's averaging 39.420, with a career-best 39.650 in the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational to break her own OSU freshman record (she had two 39.525s earlier this season; Chari Knight had a 39.500 in 1991). The 39.650 earned a share of Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week honors and ties for the second-highest score in OSU history. Chelsea has personal bests of 9.975 on vault and beam, 9.95 on floor, and 9.925 on bars, making her the first OSU freshman ever to score 9.90 or better on all four events at least once. Plourde has the team's top averages on three events - 9.855 on vault, 9.859 on bars, and 9.884 on beam, and she's second with a 9.823 average on floor. In addition to ranking among the nation's top all-arounders, she's tied for 13th on beam. Plourde has won 15 individual titles this season, with five all-around wins to go along with four wins on vault and beam and one apiece on bars and floor. She's scored 9.90 or higher 14 times, and 39 of the 44 routines she's competed have earned scores of 9.80 or better. All but one of her 44 scores have counted in the team totals this season.
Tanya Ricioli-Hebron: The All-American has competed all-around in all 11 meets this year, with a season-high 39.525 three times. With her most recent 39.525 (at Utah), she tied Chari Knight's school record of 23 career all-around performances with scores of 39.00 or higher and also joined Knight as one of only two Beavers to score 39.500 or higher five times in a career. Tanya has won seven individual titles this year, most recently tying for first on floor with a 9.925 at the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational. In all, she's won four titles on floor and three on bars. She's scored 9.90 or higher on seven of her last nine floor routines, highlighted by a career-high-tying 9.95 against Stanford. She leads the Beavers with an average of 9.834. She's scored 9.90 or better five times on bars, with a high of 9.925 against Washington to tie her career-high. On vault, she's scored 9.825 or better six times, with a career-high 9.90 twice. Her first 9.90 vault made her the third Beaver to record a 9.90 on all four events at least once in a career. She tied her career-high of 9.95 on beam at Utah to improve on her previous season-high of 9.875. She's scored 9.825 or better seven times on the event this year. In all, she has a total of 15 scores of 9.90 or higher and 32 scores of 9.80 or higher this season.
Th?r?se Videan: Th?r?se has competed on vault, bars and floor in every meet this year, and she's put up solid marks throughout the year. She tied her season-high of 9.875 on vault at the Pacific-10 Championships and has scored 9.85 or better on the event at the last three meets. She's scored 9.80 or better on seven of her 11 bar routines, with a high of 9.875 against Cal State-Fullerton. She had a career-high 9.925 on floor against Stanford, and she's scored 9.825 or better on the event in the last six meets.
Elaine Yoder: Elaine has competed on beam in all 11 meets, with four scores of 9.85 or better. She's had a season-high 9.875 three times - most recently at the Pac-10 Championships. She also had 9.875 routines against Stanford and in the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational. She had a 9.85 at UCLA.
