Oregon State
Stanford
Beavers Score Season-High 197.175, Take Second at Stanford
March 02, 2013 | Women's Gymnastics
March 2, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 9 Oregon State gymnastics team performed lights out Friday night scoring a season-best 197.175 on The Farm finishing second to No. 12 Stanford (197.200) and ahead of California (195.000). Makayla Stambaugh led the Beavers scoring 39.525 to win in the all-around, and Kelsi Blalock, Melanie Jones and Stambaugh each tallied scores of 9.95.
The meet marked the first time the Beavers have reached the 197-point mark this season and their record moved to 11-6. The Cardinal improved to 10-3 while the Bears fell to 8-6.
“We had to make some changes to our line up this evening due to minor injuries. This opened the door for some of our younger athletes to compete.” head coach Tanya Chaplin said. “All the athletes responded to the changes very well, everyone came through when it counted. It really shows how far they've come since the beginning of the season and is an indicator of what they're capable of in the future.”
Oregon State rocked the uneven bars in the opening rotation notching a season-high team score of 49.450. The lineup was littered with career-highs from every gymnast whose score counted – Hannah Casey (9.825), Brittany Harris (9.925) and Stambaugh (9.950).
Holding a slim 49.450-49.425 lead over the Cardinal after the first event, OSU moved to the beam where a series of small checks and wobbles resulted in a team score of 48.975. Jones led the Beavers beam team with a score of 9.875, while Blalock and Stambaugh each added scores of 9.80.
At the midway point OSU trailed 98.825-98.425 but the Beavers proved they weren't quite through posting a season-best 49.325 as a team on the floor exercise. Tang registered her second career-high score of the night with a 9.875 early in the rotation, but a fall by Brittany Harris put the pressure on freshman Nicole Turner who was in the lineup for the second time. With her teammates behind her, Turner came through with a career-best 9.875 to set up the Beavers' one-two punch on the floor of Jones and Stambaugh. Both gymnasts performed stellar routines to tie for meet-high honors with matching 9.95's.
Heading into the final rotation, the Beavers had regained the lead 147.750-147.700. Once again, OSU's vaulters put forth an amazing set of vaults with Tang registering the first 9.90 of her career – on any event. Hailey Gaspar followed immediately by nailing her vault to tally a 9.925, her best score at OSU. Blalock closed the meet for the Beavers with a career-high tying 9.95. Despite a season-high 49.425 on the vault, the Beavers came up short by .025 at the end.
The Beavers return to Corvallis to host the Comfort Suites Invitational when Washington and Sacramento State visit Gill Coliseum Saturday, Mar. 9. Doors open one hour early for a 7 p.m. start.
Tickets are available for the 2013 Pac-12 Championships in Corvallis and the NCAA Corvallis Regional Championships. Fans purchasing tickets to either event can get their seats allocated beginning Monday, Feb. 25. Tickets are available by calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS, online at www.BeaverTickets.com or in person at the OSU Ticket Office inside Gill Coliseum.
Note: During warm-ups, senior all-arounder Kelsi Blalock aggravated a knee injury suffered Wednesday in practice and was scratched from the bars and floor lineups … In a scheduling oddity it had been four years since the Beavers last traveled to Stanford. Only fifth-year senior Stephanie McGregor had previously competed at The Farm.
Team Scores: No. 12 Stanford 197.200; No. 9 Oregon State 197.175; California 195.000.
All-Around: 1. Makayla Stambaugh (OSU) 39.525; 2. Chelsea Tang (OSU) 39.375; 3. Mariesah Pierce (CAL) 39.200.
Vault (49.425): 1. Makayla Stambaugh 9.825; Stephanie McGregor 9.750 (Exhibition – Taylor Keeker 8.750).
Uneven Bars (49.450): 1. Makayla Stambaugh (OSU) 9.950; T2. Hannah Casey 9.825; Stephanie McGregor 9.750.
Balance Beam (48.975): 1. Ivana Hong (STAN) 9.925; T2. Amanda Spinner (STAN), Shona Morgan (STAN) 9.900. Other OSU Scores: Makayla Stambaugh 9.800; Kelsi Blalock 9.800; Brittany Harris 9.700.
Floor Exercise (49.325): T1. Makayla Stambaugh (OSU) ; T3. Shona Morgan (STAN), Ashley Morgan (STAN) 9.925. Other OSU Scores: Brittany Harris 9.000.
Players Mentioned
