Oregon State
Georgia
Lucky #7, Clutch Performances Advance Beavers to NCAA Championships
April 07, 2012 | Women's Gymnastics
April 7, 2012
AUBURN, Ala. -
The No. 7 Oregon State gymnastics team, led by seniors Leslie Mak and Olivia Vivian, extended its season when the Beavers finished second at the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships Auburn Regional. It is the seventh straight year the Beavers have reached the NCAA Championships. Mak tied for second in the all-around with a score of 39.425 and finished first on the bars and beam to claim regional titles.
“I'm honored and thrilled to move on to the NCAA Championships,” head coach Tanya Chaplin said. “We knew there was going to be tough competition at this regional and it was close for several teams. We look forward to getting back to work to be ready mentally and physically for nationals in a couple weeks.”
Before the Beavers, who opened the meet on a bye, had performed a routine Michigan and Georgia were off to fast starts with each scoring 49.300 on their first events, the vault and bars respectively.
Taking the floor for their first event – in the second rotation – the Beavers “hit” all six routines, but steps at the end of tumbling passes cost the middle the lineup. Kelsi Blalock led off with a solid routine to score 9.775 and Brittany Harris followed with a strong routine tallying a 9.80. At the end of the lineup, Melanie Jones performed a spectacular routine scoring 9.90 and Makayla Stambaugh finished with a 9.85. The Beavers scored 49.075 as a team found themselves in third place looking up at first-seeded Georgia and fourth-seeded Michigan, who had qualified for 19 out of the last 20 NCAA Championships.
Moving to the vault, the Beavers needed to make up ground and succeeded in cutting the lead of both the Bulldogs and Wolverines. A team score of 49.125 kept OSU within striking distance of the leaders as all six gymnasts “hit” their vaults. Leslie Mak and Blalock led the way for the Orange and Black with scores of 9.85. Stambaugh added a nice vault that scored 9.825 and Chelsea Tang and Harris posted scores of 9.80. The Beavers (98.200) were only two-tenths of a point behind Georga (98.400) with Michigan at 98.350 at the halfway point.
After their final bye, the Beavers returned from the locker room and rocked the uneven bars tying for a meet-high 49.300 as a bars team. Hannah Casey set the tone with a great routine scoring 9.80 and was the first of four to stick her dismount and was matched by Jones. Harris performed a fantastic routine and nailed her dismount to score 9.85 and Stambaugh added a 9.85 as well. Vivian's routine was beautiful with sustained handstands and she drilled her dismount to score 9.90 just before Mak completed her best routine in recent weeks to tie Vivian for the event title. Struggles on the balance beam by Michigan during the rotation opened the door for the Beavers and they passed the Wolverines to lead 147.500-147.100 with one event to go.
Carrying a four-tenth lead over Michigan for the second to advance to nationals, the Beavers moved to the balance beam to perform on the lowest scoring apparatus of the night. After a missed connection by Stambaugh and a fall by Blalock, the Beavers needed clutch performances from the rest of the lineup. Meanwhile, Michigan put pressure on with a solid set of routines on the floor exercise. Harris got the Beavers back on track scoring 9.70 but it was Jones' routine that set the ship straight when she performed a great routine to score 9.85 – tying the highest score of the meet on the beam to that point. Vivian went next with another clutch routine to score 9.875 setting up Mak for the opportunity to send the Beavers to NCAA's. Mak, who is tied for No. 1 in the nation on the beam, confidently negotiated the beam through a great routine and nailed her dismount to score 9.925 and secure the event title and second place for the Beavers.
Oregon State will be back in action April 20-22 at the NCAA Championships at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga. Fans can purchase their tickets to the NCAA Championships by visiting ncaa.com.
Oregon State Notes: Oregon State will compete at the NCAA Championships for the seventh straight year … Georgia advanced as the top seed out of the Auburn Regional.
Team Scores: 1. No. 6 Georgia 197.100; 2. No. 7 Oregon State 196.450; 3. No. 21 Michigan 196.325; 4. No. 18 Auburn 196.100; 5. West Virginia 195.900; 6. Michigan State 194.050.
All-Around: 1. Kat Ding (UGA) 39.500; t2. Leslie Mak (OSU), Noel Couch (UGA) 39.425. Other OSU Scores: Melanie Jones 39.275; Brittany Harris 39.150; Makayla Stambaugh 39.125.
Vault (49.125): t1. Kylie Shields (AUB), Katie Zurales (MICH), Joanna Simpson (MICH) 9.925. Other OSU Scores: Leslie Mak 9.850; Kelsi Blalock 9.850; Makayla Stambaugh 9.825; Chelsea Tang 9.800; Brittany Harris 9.800; Melanie Jones 9.725.
Uneven Bars (49.300): t1. Olivia Vivian (OSU), Leslie Mak (OSU), Gina Nuccio (UGA), Kat Ding (UGA) 9.900. Other OSU Scores: Brittany Harris 9.850; Makayla Stambaugh 9.850; Hannah Casey 9.800; Melanie Jones 9.800.
Balance Beam (48.950): 1. Leslie Mak (OSU) 9.925; 2. Olivia Vivian (OSU) 9.875; t3. Allyson Sandusky (AUB), Melanie Jones (OSU), Katie Zurales (MICH), Hope Sloanhoffer (WVU), Kat Ding (UGA) 9.850. Other OSU Scores: Brittany Harris 9.700; Makayla Stambaugh 9.600; Kelsi Blalock 8.950.
Floor Exercise (49.075): 1. Noel Couch (UGA) 9.925; t2. Melanie Jones (OSU), Chelsea Davis (UGA) 9.900. Other OSU Scores: Makayla Stambaugh 9.850; Brittany Harris 9.800; Kelsi Blalock 9.775; Leslie Mak 9.750; Olivia Vivian 9.650.
Players Mentioned
