The Barometer Online

No. 16 Beavers pull off upset over No. 7 UCLA

Great rotation on floor, coupled with personal best from several athletes, gives Beavers enough to top Bruins in Gill Friday night

Samantha Redmond

Issue date: 2/20/07 Section: Sports

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Yuki Lamb and the No. 16 Beavers rebounded from a tough meet at Stanford last week to pull off a meet victory over UCLA in Gill.

The Oregon State gymnastics team rose to the occasion with a phenomenal floor performance Friday and it was enough to upset No. 7 UCLA, 196.650-196.375 in Gill Coliseum.

Until Friday, the Bruins had defeated the Beavers in all 10 meets since 2003. But with a huge team effort and at least one score of a 9.9 or higher on all four events, the Beavers were able to generate more than 49 points on every event for the first time this season.

"This was an incredible competition for both sides," coach Tanya Chaplin said. "I know both of us have been dealing with injuries and adversity and we are seeing that across the country. To see the fight out on that floor from both teams, nailing routines, that was awesome."

The Beavers started the night on the vault, racking up a solid set of scores for the second meet in a row. Sophomores Jami Lanz and Tasha Smith, consistently high scorers on the vault, both produced a 9.85, while freshman Mandi Rodriguez scored her third 9.9 in a row this season, tying her career best.

"After Stanford, we were more determined than ever," said Rodriguez, referring to OSU's meet with the Cardinal a week ago where the Beavers pretty much fell apart. "We knew what we needed to get done. We wanted to prove to Gill and to other teams that we really are as good as we train."

UCLA also had an exceptional night on the vault, scoring the event high of the night with a 49.375, which helped them maintain the lead for the majority of the competition. Oregon State and UCLA preformed equally on the uneven bars, with Laura-Ann Chong earning a career high of 9.825.

The Bruins held a slim .375 advantage over the Beavers after two rotations, as both teams had put together solid performances on bars and vault. Oregon State began its third rotation on the balance beam, an event the Beavers are ranked third in the nation. Courtney Dennison started the team off with a personal season best of 9.775. After an unexpected fall by Rodriquez on her front tuck-back tuck connection series, Brooke Barclay (9.85), Chong (9.825), Smith (9.825) and Lanz (9.9) tallied high scores to complete the event.

Continued...

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