Smith Earns Pac-10 Vault and Floor Titles;
Lanz Receives Pac-10 Freshman Honors; Beavers Finish Third at Pac-10s

Corvallis, Ore. – The Oregon State women’s gymnastics team scored a 49.00 or higher on three events en route to a 3^rd place finish with a score of 196.400 at the Pac-10 Championships Saturday evening. Along the way freshman Tasha Smith won two individual titles in the vault and the floor exercise, and senior Chrissy Lamun took second place honors on the uneven bars.

Stanford took the first place honors with a score of 197.100 with UCLA coming in second with a score of 196.800.

Smith becomes OSU's third Pac-10 vault champion and the Beavs' eighth Pac-10 floor champ. Prior to Smith's Saturday performance, the last OSU gymnast to earn two Pac-10 titles in the same season was Chari Knight in 1994.

At the conclusion of the meet, OSU freshman Jami Lanz received co-Freshman of the Year honors sharing the award with UCLA’s Ariana Berlin. The honor is voted on by the seven Pac-10 gymnastics coaches.

After sitting out the first rotation on a bye, the Beavers came out ready to perform in the second rotation posting their second highest floor exercise score of 49.175 this season led by Smith’s 9.95 performance. Freshman Megan Devencenzi started out the event posting a solid 9.70, while Lamun and Lanz each scored 9.875.

Following their second bye, the Beavers returned to the competition floor revved up for the vault. OSU scored its second-highest score on vault of the season with a 49.225. Sophomore Courtney Dennison started the Beavers off, sticking her landing and earning a 9.80, tying her season high and senior Angela Morales added a 9.875. Rounding out the event, Lanz and Smith both stuck their landings to score a 9.85 and 9.925, respectively, with Smith receiving a perfect 10 from one of the judges and scoring a career high.

At the midway point, the Beavers went to their final bye with a slim .075 lead before moving onto the uneven bars. Freshman Cassandra Rowell started the team off strong with a career-high score of 9.80. Smith, freshman Kera Bolen, Lanz and Lamun all stuck their landings to help the team to score a 49.025, with Lamun leading the way with a score of 9.90.

In the final rotation, the Beavers needed a 49.375 on the balance beam to catch UCLA for second place. But despite sophomore Claire Pierce’s 9.825 effor and Lamun’s 9.875 score, OSU could only muster a 48.975.

“I’m really proud of these ladies,” Oregon State head coach Tanya Chaplin said. “They did awesome in intense competition and really hung with UCLA and Stanford.”

Stanford sophomore Tabitha Yim captured the all-around title (39.650), balance beam title (9.975) and placed second in the floor exercise (9.925). Cardinal sophomore Liz Tricase took the uneven bars title with a score of 9.925, and finished second on the vault (9.90) and third on the floor exercise (9.90).

Also honored Saturday night was UCLA's Kate Richardson, who was selected as the Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year. The Pac-10 co-Coaches of the Year are Kristen Smyth of Stanford and John Spini of Arizona State.

The Beavers, who have accumulated high enough scores to qualify for NCAA Regionals, will learn their next destination Monday when the NCAA announces regional pairings.

Team Scores: No. 10 Stanford 197.100; No. 11 UCLA 196.800; No. 17 Oregon State 196.400; No. 9 Arizona State 193.900; No. 15 Arizona 193.750; Washington 192.750; California 192.725.

All-Around: 1. Tabitha Yim (STAN) 39.650; 2. Kate Richardson (UCLA) 39.550; 3. Jordan Schwikert (UCLA) 39.500. OSU Scores: Jami Lanz 39.350; Tasha Smith 39.050.

Vault: 1. Tasha Smith (OSU) 9.925; T2. Jordan Schwikert (UCLA), Liz Tricase (STAN) 9.900. Other OSU Scores: Angela Morales 9.875; Jami Lanz 9.850; Courtney Dennison 9.800; Yuki Lamb 9.775; Megan Devencenzi 9.575.

Bars: 1. Liz Tricase (STAN) 9.925; T2. Chrissy Lamun (OSU), Jordan Schwikert (UCLA) 9.900.  Other OSU Scores: Jami Lanz 9.825; Cassandra Rowell 9.800; Tasha Smith 9.750; Kera Bolen 9.750; Keegan Fitzgerald 9.125.

Beam: 1. Tabitha Yim (STAN) 9.975; T2. Kate Richardson (UCLA), Melissa Chan (UCLA), Natalie Foley (STAN), Ashley Kelly (ASU) 9.950. OSU Scores: Chrissy Lamun 9.875; Claire Pierce 9.825; Jami Lanz 9.800; Yuki Lamb 9.750; Courtney Dennison 9.725; Tasha Smith 9.425.

Floor: 1. Tasha Smith (OSU) 9.950; 2. Tabitha Yim (STAN) 9.925; T3. Kate Richardson (UCLA), Liz Tricase (STAN) 9.900. Other OSU Scores: Chrissy Lamun 9.875; Jami Lanz 9.875; Angela Morales 9.775; Megan Devencenzi 9.700; Kera Bolen 9.650.