LOOKING BACK – The 2006 Oregon State gymnastics season was a bit of a roller coaster ride, but in the end, the Beavers achieved their ultimate goal. The Beavers held even with then-No.1 Florida on three events in the first home meet of the season; they upset then-No. 6 Stanford at Gill Coliseum, early in the season before the injury bug hit; but also struggled at Iowa State. Late in the season, things finally came together for the Beavers as they began to return to health in time for the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational. Winning the five team meet, set the scene for the Pac-10 Championships a week later where OSU finished third, ahead of both Arizona schools who were ranked higher. Tasha Smith won on vault and floor to become the first Beaver to win multiple titles since 1999 when Megan Murphy-Barcroft earned a pair of Pac-10 titles. Jami Lanz also was selected as Pac-10 co-Freshman of the Year following the meet. Oregon State, ranked 16th in the country, qualified for the NCAA West Regional where they needed an upset of Pac-10 Champion, No. 8 Stanford, also the host of the regional, or No. 5 Alabama. The Beavers used a solid performance to qualify for the NCAA Championships as the West Regional runner-up. After missing the previous three Championships by miniscule margins, the Beavers earned the right to perform at the Championships as the host team. Oregon State finished fifth in its session on the opening night of the Championships to end the Beavers season, but not before Smith and Chrissy Lamun had earned second-team, All-America honors on vault and beam, respectively.
LOOKING AHEAD – OSU has a very bright future on the horizon. The Beavers lose two important seniors and six routines, Chrissy Lamun and Angela Morales, but it hardly leaves the cupboard bare for Coach Chaplin. Freshman all-arounders Jami Lanz and Tasha Smith, along with fellow freshmen Kera Bolen and Cassandra Rowell accounted for 11 routines with Bolen and Rowell also filling alternate positions. Sophomores Yuki Lamb, Megan Devencenzi, Claire Pierce, Keegan Fitzgerald, D’Anna Piro and Courtney Dennison provided the other seven routines. The return to health of freshman Brooke Barclay (torn ACL), who was slated to perform three routines, and Lamb (dislocated elbow), who was on track for three of her own, provides further depth for the Beavers. In addition, Oregon State has another banner class of three freshmen to provide competition to the rest of the returning gymnasts. The 2007 Beavers will be a young team possessing no seniors, but plenty of experience.
AWARDS – Oregon State gymnasts claimed a long list of awards in 2006. Two second-team, All-Americans in Tasha Smith (vault) and Chrissy Lamun (balance beam); Pac-10 co-Freshman of the Year, Jami Lanz; Pac-10 vault and floor exercise champion, Tasha Smith; Pac-10 All-Conference, Jami Lanz (all-around) and Tasha Smith (floor exercise).
MAKING THE GRADE – OSU’s gymnasts again demonstrated their outstanding efforts in the classroom in 2006 when the Pac-10 released its All-Academic teams. Of the Pac-10’s six first team selections, four were Beavers. In all, six Oregon State gymnasts were honored by the Pac-10 Conference for their academic work. Chrissy Lamun, Keegan Fitzgerald, Claire Pierce and D’Anna Piro earned first-team status; Yuki Lamb received second-team honors and Megan Devencenzi received honorable mention.
MOVING ON – OSU has three former gymnasts expected to graduate in June, seniors Chrissy Lamun and Angela Morales along with fifth-year senior Thérèse Abrams (Videan). Abrams ran out of eligibility following the 2005 season, but stayed on with the Beavers in an undergraduate coaching capacity. In addition, former OSU gymnast Meghan Jones was honored at Senior Night in March and is expected to graduate in the fall.
NEXT YEAR’S CLASS – The Beavers signed three gymnasts during the November letter-of-intent period. All three are all-arounders, Laura-Ann Chong (Coquitlam, B.C./Dr. Charles Best Secondary), Mandi Rodriguez (Baldwin Park, Calif./Alverno HS) and Whitney Watson (Villa Park, Calif./Villa HS).
