Beavers Host Quad Meet on Senior Night - Oregon State University Athletics

THE MEET
No. 14 Oregon State (7-5) returns to action at Gill Coliseum this Saturday at 7 p.m. for the final time in 2015. The Beavers host San Jose State (11-10), Seattle Pacific (1-12) and Lindenwood (6-9). The meet will stream live on the Internet at osubeavers.com.

ALUMNI NIGHT
OSU gymnastics alumni are invited to return to Gill Coliseum to be recognized on the floor following the meet. Contact OSU Gymnastics Director of Operations Bea Whisenhunt for more information - beatrice.whisenhunt@oregonstate.edu.

SENIOR NIGHT
Beaver Nation will say goodbye to five senior gymnasts for the final time following Saturday’s meet. Taylor Keeker, Katelyn Ohlrich, Chelsea Tang and Cerise Witherby will compete in Gill Coliseum for the final time and fellow senior Kailie Ponto, who is sidelined due to injury, will also be honored.

VS. SAN JOSE STATE
The Beavers and Spartans meet for the 22nd time in history with OSU leading the series 20-1. The two squads have not met since 2011 when OSU won 196.675-193.050 in Corvallis.

VS. SEATTLE PACIFIC
The Beavers and Falcons meet for the 45th time in history with OSU leading the series 44-0. OSU beat SPU last March 196.250-193.125 in a tri-meet in Corvallis.

VS. LINDENWOOD
The Beavers and Lions have never met on the gymnastics floor. Lindenwood’s gymnastics program is in its third year of existence and advanced to to a third-place finish at the MIC (Midwest Independent Conference) Championships and to the semi-finals at the USA Gymnastics Women’s College National Championships in 2014. The Lions are led by former OSU All-American Jen Kesler, who is in her second season as head coach. Lindenwood is a four-year liberal arts institution in St. Charles, Mo.

BEAVER BITES
The Beavers climbed one spot to No. 14 in this week’s national rankings. Rankings are currently determined by Regional Qualifying Scores (RQS). A team’s RQS is determined by taking the six best scores, three of which must have come on the road, dropping the high score and then averaging the five remaining scores ... the Beavers return 11 contributors in 2014 including 19 out of 24 routines from the final meet of 2014 ... OSU’s roster features three gymnasts that qualified to NCAA Championships a year ago. Madeline Gardiner and Chelsea Tang reached the final weekend of the year as individual all-arounders and Kaytianna McMillan qualified on the balance beam. Gardiner finished third on the beam at Individual Event Finals earning first team All-America honors. She also earned first team honors in the all-around ... The 2015 roster includes three transfers: Silvia Colussi-Pelaez transferred from Florida in the spring, while Risa Perez and Jamie Radermacher arrived over the summer from Arizona State and Eastern Michigan respectively.

LAST TIME ON THE FLOOR
Oregon State went on the road to Nebraska last Saturday and put together a fantastic bounceback performance from the previous week’s meet against Utah. The Beavers posted their second-highest score of the season (196.700) including season-highs on bars (49.225) and beam (49.300) plus an impressive 49.450 on the floor. Madeline Gardiner returned to the bars lineup and therefore the all-around where she posted career-highs of 9.875 on bars and 39.450 in the all-around. Despite the loss, the Beavers fell 197.225-196.700.

OREGON STATE QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about the Oregon State gymnastics team early in the season:

OSU has ‘hit’ 203 out of 216 (93.8%) routines in 2015 ... that’s a bit behind the pace of 2014 when the Beavers ‘hit’ percentage was 96.4% (264-274).
Madeline Gardiner and Chelsea Tang began the season as OSU’s all-arounders. However, for three straight weeks midseason, the Beavers went without an all-arounder. Tang has not been in the vault lineup since the second meet of the season (Iowa State) and Gardiner did not perform on bars in the last three meets (at California, at Arizona State and against Utah). Gardiner returned to the bars lineup at Nebraska.
Three walk-ons - Taylor Keeker (vault & bars), Katelyn Ohlrich (beam) and Kailie Ponto (floor) - return in 2015 having provided four routines to the lineup on a regular basis. The trio combined to “hit” all 34 routines they performed in 2014 ... the threesome has ‘hit’ 29 out of 32 of their routines in 2015.
The Beavers have four captains this season - seniors Taylor Keeker, Katelyn Ohlrich and Kailie Ponto as well as junior Erika Aufiero.
Eight of OSU’s 2015 opponents were ranked in the preseason top 25: No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Utah, No. 9 Nebraska, No. 10 Stanford, No. 14 California, No. 21 Arizona, No. 24 Washington and No. 25 Iowa State.

TANYA CHAPLIN QUICK HITTERS

Tanya Chaplin set the Oregon State record for wins in last year’s home opener with a 196.425-194.850 victory over Iowa State. Now in her 18th season Chaplin has 339 career wins including 274 regular season victories.
Chaplin has led the Beavers to conference titles in two of the last four years, winning the 2011 Pac-10 title and the 2013 Pac-12 Championships.
She has directed OSU to the NCAA Championships 10 times in her 17 seasons at the helm.

TAYLOR KEEKER QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Taylor Keeker, a senior from Keizer, Oregon:

Has assumed a vital role for the Beavers ... despite not earning a spot in the lineup until her junior season, Keeker is now arguably the team’s best vaulter. Also leads off on uneven bars
Scored career-high 9.925 on vault at Stanford ... set career-best on bars at Arizona State with a 9.850.
Has won three event titles in 2015 - 2 on vault and 1 on bars.
Has ‘hit’ 17 out of 18 routines in 2015 and 36 of 37 in her career.
Despite not having performed in the lineup, she was named a team captain as a junior ... again named a captain this season.

KATELYN OHLRICH QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Katelyn Ohlrich, a senior from Bend, Oregon:

Has ‘hit’ 8 out of 10 routines in in 2015 and is 32-34 in her career.
Performed on bars and beam in the season opener against UCLA.
Moved to the lead off spot on the beam at Iowa State (1/18) and started the rotation with a 9.80.
Chosen as one of the team’s captains in 2015.
Has been a mainstay in the beam lineup since her sophomore season - has competed on the event in every meet during that time.
Ohlrich traveled with nine other OSU student-athletes to the Dominican Republic at part of Beavers Without Borders building an irrigation system at a local school.

KAILIE PONTO QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Kailie Ponto, a senior from Kenmore, Washington:

Suffered a season-ending left knee injury against Washington on her final tumbling pass, still completed the routine and scored 9.775.
Made her competition debut late in the 2014 season scoring 9.85 on the floor exercise at Arizona.
Ponto “hit” all 8 routines of her career.
Chosen as one of the team’s captains in 2015.

CHELSEA TANG QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Chelsea Tang a senior from Eugene, Oregon:

Set career-high with 9.925 on the bars at Stanford ... a personal-high of 9.925 on floor at California.
Has ‘hit’ 27 of 29 routines in 2015 and 133 out of 138 in her career.
Second on the team with five event titles in 2015 - 1 on bars, 3 beam and 1 on floor.
Has scored 9.9 or better on five of her six routines the last two weeks (Utah & Nebraska).
Performed in the all-around 20 straight meets ending the streak at Stanford (1/26/15).
Has scored a 9.90 or better on all four events in her career ... she is one of eight gymnasts in OSU history to record a 9.90 on all four apparatus joining an exclusive list that includes Annie Campbell (2000-02, 04), Jami Lanz (2006-09), Lindsay Nelson (2001-03, 05), Chelsea Plourde (2004-05), Tanya Ricioli-Hebron (2000, 02-04), Mandi Rodriguez (2007-10) and Makayla Stambaugh (2010-13).
2014 Pac-12 All-Conference First Team in the all-around ... 2013 All-Pac-12 First Team on balance beam.
Qualified to NCAA Championships as an individual all-around qualifier for the second straight year in 2014.
Named as the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week, for the week of Jan. 13-19, 2014, for the first time in her career after scoring 39.275 in the all-around earning individual titles on bars and in the all-around.
Recorded 10 total wins in 2014 including five in the all-around plus three on beam and two on bars.
Majoring in exercise and sport science with aspirations to be a physician’s assistant.

CERISE WITHERBY QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Cerise Witherby, a senior from Huntington Beach, California:

Set career-high with a 9.90 on the floor at California.
Tied her career-high with a 9.80 on the vault at Stanford.
Has “hit” 20 of her 21 routines in 2015 and 57 of 59 in her career.
Performed on three events in the season opener, leading off on vault, beam and floor and competed on vault and floor at Iowa State and again at California.
Enjoyed a bit of a breakout season in 2014 performing on floor in 10 meets, beam nine times and vault twice setting career-bests on all three events.

ERIKA AUFIERO QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Erika Aufiero, a junior from Sparks, Nevada:

Posted her career-high on vault (9.925) at California and tied personal-best on bars (9.925) against the Bears.
Has ‘hit’ 16 out of 18 routines in 2015 and is 48-53 in her career.
Third on the team with four event titles in 2015 - all on uneven bars.
Chosen as one of the team’s captains in 2015.
Was second on the team with seven individual titles in 2014, six on bars and one on vault.
Scored 9.90 or better on bars four times in 2014.
Performed in the vault and bars lineups in all 11 meets in 2014
Earned All-Pac-12 honors on uneven bars in 2013.
Erika’s sister, Breyanna, is a senior gymnast at Utah State. The sisters squared off last season in an OSU home meet.

SILVIA COLUSSI-PELAEZ QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Silvia Colussi-Pelaez, a sophomore from Oakville, Ontario:

Announced she would transfer to Oregon State from Florida in May.
Struggled through a December injury ... performed on the balance beam in the season’s first five meets in 2015 scoring a high of 9.85 at Stanford.
Entered the bars lineup at California scoring 9.85.
Performed on bars and beam for first time at Nebraska.
Has ‘hit’ all 10 routines in 2015 and all 13 of the routines in her collegiate career including 3-3 for Florida in 2014.
Competed as a member of Spain’s national team.
Younger sister, Mariana, signed a National Letter of Intent to compete for the Beavers in 2016.

RISA PEREZ QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Risa Perez, a junior from Las Vegas, Nevada:

Held out of the Nebraska meet due to illness.
Scored a career-best 9.90 on beam at Iowa State.
Tied her career-high 9.925 on floor exercise at California.
Has won two event titles in 2015 - 1 on balance beam and 1 on floor exercise.
Has ‘hit’ 15 out of 16 routines in 2015 and 67-75 in her career.
Transferred to Oregon State from Arizona State in September.
Did not vault at ASU and is now one of OSU’s top vault alternates.
Has cut and choreographed her floor routines since she was a Level 8 gymnast.

MADELINE GARDINER QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Madeline Gardiner, a sophomore from Cambridge, Ontario:

Has ‘hit’ 32 out of 33 routines in 2015 and 69 of 70 routines in her career.
After 10 straight meets in the all-around, she did not compete on bars for three weeks ... returned to the bars lineup last week at Nebraska (3/7) when Shireen Khamedoost fell during warm-ups. Scored career-high 9.875 at Nebraska.
Won the vault at Iowa State with a then-career-best 9.875 - her first career vault title ... won the vault title against Washington with a career-high tying 9.90.
Leads the team with seven event titles in 2015 - 2 each on vault, beam & floor and 1 in the all-around.
Won two event titles at Arizona State - on beam (9.875) and floor (9.900).
Qualified to NCAA Championships as an individual all-arounder in 2014.
Earned All-America First Team honors on the balance beam finishing tied for third in the Individual Event Finals - the best beam finish for an OSU gymnast since Joy Selig was first in 1990.
Also earned first team All-America honors in the all-around in 2014.
Won four event titles in her rookie season - three on beam and one on floor.
Madeline was named the Pac-12 Specialist of the Week for the week of Feb. 10-16, 2014 after she posted career-bests of 9.95 on floor and 9.875 on beam to win the first event titles of her career ... named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the week of Mar. 3-9, 2014 after she won the beam title (9.925) and scored 39.400 in her first all-around performance.
Canadian National Team’s alternate for the 2012 Olympics in London.

KAYTIANNA MCMILLAN QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about Kaytianna McMillan, a sophomore from Coburg, Oregon:

Has ‘hit’ 19 of her 21 routines in 2015 and 38 of 41 routines in her career.
Was sidelined by injury for OSU’s season opener against UCLA - returned to bars and beam lineups at Iowa State with a pair of 9.80’s.
Has won two event titles in 2015 - 1 on bars and 1 on floor exercise.
Returned to the floor exercise against Arizona (2/7/15) for the first time since Feb. 3, 2014.
Tied for balance beam title (9.85) at NCAA University Park Regional qualifying to NCAA Championships on the the event.
Won three event titles as a rookie - two on beam and one on bars.
Kaytianna trained at the National Academy of Artistic Gymnastics - the same gym as other OSU greats Chari Knight, Jami Lanz and current teammate Chelsea Tang among others and OSU head coach Tanya Chaplin.
Four-time Junior Olympic Nationals qualifier and won the Level 10 national titles on beam and all-around in 2013.

MISCELLANEOUS QUICK HITTERS
Here are some quick hitters about the rest of the team:

Sophomore Megan Jimenez has performed in the vault lineup 18 times hitting all 18 routines; scored career-best 9.875 at California and again at Arizona State ... performed exhibition on beam against Washington.
Junior Nicole Turner performed in OSU’s floor lineup in every meet in 2014 and ‘15. She has ‘hit’ 21 of 23 routines in her career.
Freshman Shireen Khamedoost made her collegiate debut in the season-opener on the bars ... scored a personal-best 9.875 at Stanford ... has ‘hit’ all 7 routines in 2015.
Sophomore Taylor Ricci performed the first competition routine of her college career at Stanford scoring 9.825 on the vault ... scored personal-best 9.85 against Washington ... is also an alternate on bars and floor ... has ‘hit’ all 7 of her routines in 2015.
Freshman Dani Dessaints, who had knee surgery in December, returned to perform exhibitions on bars against Arizona (2/7). She entered the vault lineup - her first collegiate routine - at Arizona State (2/20) ... joined the bars lineup against Utah (2/27).
Junior transfer Jamie Radermacher performed her first competitive routine for OSU scoring 9.85 on the floor at Nebraska (3/7) ... performed exhibitions on the floor in the previous last five weeks.

LOOKING BACK AT 2014

The Beavers’ lost to Nebraska on March 1 marking OSU’s first regular season home loss since Jan. 29, 2011. During that span of 15 home meets, OSU defeated 28 teams and tied one (UCLA in 2012).
OSU finished the season with four straight road trips - at Arizona (Mar. 9), at Washington (Mar. 14), at California for Pac-12 Championships (Mar. 22) and at the NCAA University Park Regional Championships at Penn State (Apr. 5).
The Beavers were snowed out twice in 2014! The Pac-12 dual meet against California, scheduled for Feb. 8 was ‘snowed out’ when a winter storm closed the Oregon State campus. That was the second time OSU was unable to perform due to weather. The annual Orange & Black Exhibition, originally slated for Dec. 6, was postponed to Jan. 3 due to another snow storm.

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS ON THE MOVE
Last month, the Pac-12 Conference announced that the 2015 Pac-12 Women’s Gymnastics Championships have been relocated to the University of Utah. The event was previously scheduled to take place at Arizona State but were moved due to possible scheduling conflicts.

WHICH WAY DO WE GO?
The Beavers, like every other team in the country, are striving to reach the NCAA Championships and the Super Six. But to reach that goal teams must get through NCAA Regionals. In 2015, regionals will be held at Auburn, California, Iowa State, Ohio State, Oklahoma and West Virginia. The top two finishers at each regional will advance to the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.

CONFERENCE OF CHAMPIONS
The Pac-12 Conference had seven of its eight teams ranked in the Top 25 in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll. In addition, for the sixth week in a row the rankings have seven team ranked with Utah at the top at No. 4, UCLA is 8th, Stanford is 11th, OSU is at No. 14, Arizona is 17th, California is 19th and Washington ranks tied for 21st.