The Barometer Online

Issue date: 2/6/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Curtis Barnard Oregon State sophomore Jereme Bigelow and the Beavers will wear pink to raise awareness for breast and cervical cancer tonight at the fourth annual "Pink Out" meet.

Legendary Gill Coliseum will take on a shade of pink tonight as Oregon State hosts the fourth annual "Pink Out" against Arizona State.

The No. 10 Beavers are looking to raise money and awareness for breast and cervical cancer, specifically benefiting Women Investing in Samaritan Health and Project H.E.R. Last season, more than 5,000 fans shuffled into Gill to support the Beavers and cancer awareness.

"It is the fourth year we are doing it, and it brings in the largest crowd, which is great," junior Mandi Rodriguez said. "The proceeds go to some great organizations and help find a cure for breast and cervical cancer. It is great when the visiting team supports it, too, and you have female athletes competing for a great cause. It is our favorite meet of the year."

Tonight, Oregon State plays host to the No. 23 Gym Devils. OSU is fresh off a loss to then-No. 2 Utah, in which the 196.65 scored by the Beavers was the second-highest score in the nation behind only Utah.

"It was really exciting because no team was better than us except for Utah," Rodriguez said. "I think that gave us confidence; we were just as good as every other top-10 team in the nation that night. It showed us we are right up there."

Last week, OSU nearly swept the individual competition with freshman Leslie Mak winning the bars and beam, while junior Mandi Rodriguez took the floor and all-around titles.

Mak is one of many underclassmen stepping up for the Beavers as sophomore Jereme Bigelow scored a career-high 9.875 on floor against Utah and sophomore Jen Kesler is ranked No. 10 in the nation on the uneven bars. Mak is ranked No. 14 on the bars, while upperclassmen Rodriguez and senior Jami Lanz are No. 6 and No. 28, respectively, on the floor.

"We are still working on trying to build," head coach Tanya Chaplin said. "We had a few missteps, but we are working on correcting those. It is a building process, and every season is a journey and they have done a great job on the journey so far. We are going to be working on the improvements we saw against Utah, and we want to make those improvements against Arizona State."

Continued...

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