Oregon State Duo Combines for Three Pac-10 Titles

Oregon State took the early lead with UCLA and Stanford beginning on a bye when the Beavers scored 49.075 on vault in the first rotation.

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SEATTLE - Oregon State juniors Tasha Smith and Jami Lanz combined to win three individual titles and the seventh-ranked Beavers finished second at the Pac-10 Championships Saturday evening and Tanya Chaplin was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year.

OSU, which has now beaten every team in the Pac-10 this season, improves its record to 17-4.

“There were three top 10 teams on the floor tonight and finishing second with this competition is great,” said Chaplin. “This is a good jumping off point heading into the NCAA postseason. We had a lot of positives tonight and the team really hung in there and fought for every tenth (of a point) they could get.”

Oregon State took the early lead with UCLA and Stanford beginning on a bye when the Beavers scored 49.075 on vault in the first rotation. OSU opened the meet by hitting all six vaults beginning with solid performances from Brooke Barclay and Jen Kesler each of which posted scores of 9.725. Yuki Lamb nailed one of the most brilliant vaults of her career earning a score of 9.85 and Lanz added a 9.75. Mandi Rodriguez followed with a 9.85 to set up Smith’s winning performance. Smith absolutely stuck her powerful vault to earn a 9.9, a score which held up through the next six rotations.

Following a bye, OSU returned to the floor tied for second with the Bruins. The Beavers went five-for-six on bars with Whitney Watson righting the ship with a 9.775 following a fall by Kera Bolen on the opening routine. Sophomores Laura-Ann Chong and Rodriguez followed with matching scores of 9.825. Lanz kept the momentum moving forward for the Beavers sticking her landing and scoring 9.875. Kesler finished out the scoring for the Beavers with a 9.8 after taking a step on her landing.

The beam team was great once again for the Orange and Black tallying its second-highest team score of the season with a 49.3. Lamb performed an outstanding routine that earned a score of 9.8 and Kesler followed with only one wobble and an identical 9.8. Chong’s beam routine had a minor wobble that cost and she finished with a score of 9.775. Smith and Claire Pierce followed excellent routines and a pair of 9.875’s. Then came Lanz, who ranked third in the nation coming into the meet. She was nearly-perfect for the fourth time this season scoring a 9.95 to tie Stanford’s Carly Janiga for the Pac-10 beam title.

Oregon State had the good fortune to finish its performance on the floor exercise. Chong opened for the Beavers with a 9.625 after taking a step out of bounds. Kesler, a freshman from Kenmore, Wash. performing in front of her home crowd for the first time, came through in the clutch once again giving OSU a solid performance and a score of 9.775. Another out of bounds deduction cost Kera Bolen, who finished with a score of 9.625 before back end of the floor rotation went to work. Lanz came through with another great routine and a score of 9.85 and Rodriguez, who ranked first in the conference on floor entering the meet, added a 9.875. Then Smith stole the show, dancing and tumbling to a score of 9.95 and the individual title.

OSU hosts the NCAA West Regional Championships April 12, 2008. Tickets for the regional meet can be purchased by online, by calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS, or at the Gill Coliseum Ticket Office, room 107.

Notes: Laura-Ann Chong competed on the floor exercise for the first time this season ... head coach Tanya Chaplin was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year for the third time in career ... by finishing ahead of UCLA Saturday, the Beavers have now beaten all of the other teams in the Pac-10 this season ... Smith won Pac-10 titles on the vault and floor as a freshman as well.

Source: OSU Athletics

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