Three Beavs to Compete in Afternoon Session
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State gymnasts Madeline Gardiner, Kaytianna McMillan and Chelsea Tang are set to represent the Beavers at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships April 18-20 by the University of Alabama and the Alabama Sports Foundation in Birmingham, Ala. Gardiner and Tang qualified as individual all-around competitors and McMillan reached the championships as an individual specialist on the balance beam after tying for first at the NCAA University Park Regional Saturday evening.
All three Beavers will compete in the first session slated for Friday, April 18 at 11 a.m. at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. Tang, who will compete with Michigan for the second year in a row, will open the meet on the uneven bars; Gardiner, who will compete with Oklahoma, will open the meet on the balance beam; and McMillan, who will compete with Stanford, will perform during the fifth rotation.
Tang, a junior from Eugene, Ore., qualified to nationals after a second place finish in the all-around scoring 39.475 at the University Park Regional. Tang earned All-Pac-12 First Team honors in the all-around in 2014 and was a first team selection on the balance beam in 2013.
Gardiner, a freshman from Cambridge, Ontario, finished fourth in the all-around in Saturday’s regional with a score of 39.350 to advance to the national championships. Gardiner was a second team selection to the Pac-12 all-conference team on the balance beam in her first season in the Orange and Black. She was named the Pac-12 Specialist of the Week for the week of Feb. 10-16 and was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the week of Mar. 3-9.
McMillan, a freshman from Coburg, Ore., earned her spot at the NCAA Championships after scoring 9.850 on the beam to tie for the regional title Saturday. McMillan, who has battled a series of injuries throughout her first collegiate season, ‘hit’ 18 of her 19 routines in 2014.
The NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships consists of 12 teams and 12 all-around competitors (who are not on qualifying teams). The team semifinal and all-around competitor will be conducted in two sessions on Friday, April 18 at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT. The top three teams from each semifinal will advance to the Super Six competition on Saturday, April 19 at 4 p.m. PT. The top four individuals in each event (plus ties) from Friday’s semifinals will compete in the individual event finals competition on Sunday, April 20 at 12 p.m. PT.
The Oregon State gymnastics fans can follow the Beavers on Twitter @OregonStateGym throughout the national championships. For information and tickets to the women’s gymnastics championships, log on to www.NCAA.com/wgymnastics.
Seat deposits for new 2015 Oregon State gymnastics season tickets are currently being accepted. Deposits are $25 and provide season ticket holders with the best seat locations and savings over single meet prices. To make your deposit, visit this link.
