Beavers Advance to NCAA Championships - Oregon State University Athletics

TUCSON, Ariz. – Oregon State’s eighth-ranked gymnastics team needed a 9.900 on its final floor routine to earn a berth at the NCAA Championships and rose to the occasion with a 9.925. The Beavers overcame an incredible performance by Arizona on the beam during the final rotation to edge the Wildcats at McKale Center in front of a crowd of 1,390.

OSU finished second at the NCAA South Central Regional with a score of 196.075 while No. 4 Stanford scored 196.600 to win the regional title. No. 15 Arizona finished third (196.025). No. 20 Illinois was fourth (194.625), Arizona State was fifth (194.375), and Illinois-Chicago was sixth (190.925).

“I’m really proud of the fight this team showed tonight,” said head coach . “We knew it wouldn’t be easy tonight... regionals never is. But they were solid and clean all the way around. This is a very determined group.”

Having drawn the “Olympic Order” OSU benefited from beginning the meet on vault where it ranked ninth entering the meet. Sophomores and each notched scores of 9.850 to lead the Beavers and freshman added a 9.825. OSU finished the rotation with a score of 48.950 to trail top-seeded Stanford by just .025 following the opening stanza.

Following the team’s first bye, Oregon State moved to the uneven bars where the Beavers experienced a few difficulties. Junior got the Beavers off to a solid start with a 9.750 and freshman provided their highest score at a 9.800, but steps on dismounts prevented the Beavers from mounting higher scores.

Moving to the balance beam OSU trailed Arizona by .025 needing to pick up the pace. Junior provided a strong start matching her season-high of 9.775. Following another solid routine by Chong, who scored 9.800, freshman tied her career-best with a 9.900. Smith and Lanz rounded out the scoring for the Beavers with a 9.825 and 9.800 heading into their final bye of the night.

Entering the final rotation, the Beavers led the Wildcats by .200 with OSU on floor and Arizona on beam. However, the Wildcats produced a wonderful beam set counting a 9.800 as its lowest score. Meanwhile the Beavers did their jobs one after the other with each gymnast setting up the next for a better score. Junior led off with a 9.750 and followed with a 9.775. Rodriguez and sophomore added 9.850s and Lanz scored 9.875 as the Wildcats finished up on beam. Smith, the anchor to the Beavers’ floor lineup, needed a 9.900 to top the ‘Cats and tumbled and danced her way to a 9.925.

The Beavers compete next at the NCAA Championships hosted by the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, April 26-28. Other teams to qualify for nationals are Stanford, Florida, Michigan, UCLA, Louisiana State, Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia, Nebraska, Utah and the University of Denver.

Team Results

1) Stanford 196.600

2) Oregon State 196.075

3) Arizona 196.025

4) Illinois 194.625

5) Arizona State 194.375

6) Illinois-Chicago 190.925

VAULT Results

1) Liz Tricase (STAN) 9.900

2) Breanne Workman (ARIZ) 9.850, Brittney Morgan (ARIZ) 9.850, Michelle McGrady (ILL) 9.850, (OSU) 9.850, (OSU) 9.850

BARS Results

1) Tabitha Yim (STAN) 9.900

2) Karin Wurm (ARIZ) 9.875

3) Nicole Harris (ASU) 9.850

BEAM Results

1) Jamie Holton (ARIZ) 9.925

2) Brittney Morgan (ARIZ) 9.900, Karin Wurm (ARIZ) 9.900, Briana Bergeson (ARIZ) 9.900, (OSU) 9.900, Tabitha Yim (STAN) 9.900, Kelly Fee (STAN) 9.900

FLOOR Results

1) (OSU) 9.925

2) Carly Janiga (STAN) 9.900

3) (OSU) 9.875, Tabitha Yim (STAN) 9.875

All-Around Results

1) Tabitha Yim (STAN) 39.475

2) Karin Wurm (ARIZ) 39.425

3) (OSU) 39.350

OSU: VAULT: 48.950, BARS: 48.750, BEAM: 49.100, FLOOR: 49.275

VAULT: 9.850, 9.850, 9.825, 9.775, 9.650, 9.150

BARS: 9.800, 9.750, 9.750, 9.725, 9.725, 9.625

BEAM: 9.900*, 9.825, 9.800, 9.800, 9.775; 9.150