W. gym to battle Beavers; strong Bruin performance critical
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 15, 1996 9:00 p.m.
W. gym to battle Beavers; strong Bruin performance critical
By Esther Hui
Daily Bruin Staff
The Oregon State women’s gymnastics team is a success story if
there ever was one.
The Beavers were hit hard last season with the previous year’s
graduation of 1994 Pacific 10 Gymnast of the year Chari Knight and
were a young team competing four freshmen and only one senior. The
Beavers struggled through the season, finishing fourth at the 1995
West Regionals.
But all that changed at the 1995 NCAA Championships. A stellar
performance in the preliminary rounds pushed the Beavers past the
University of Florida into the Super Six team finals, giving Oregon
State almost overnight success.
This year, the Beavers have been nearly unstoppable. Undefeated
before last weekend’s loss to No. 3 Utah, the latest polls have the
Beavers ranked fifth in the nation. Last year’s young and
inexperienced team now has seven returning All-Americans, including
Heather Bennet who is top-ranked in the country on the uneven
bars.
"We didn’t expect to do well last year," Beaver coach Jim Turpin
said. "A lot of people didn’t even expect us to make it to
nationals. But the girls worked really hard."
Last weekend the Beavers managed to build a one point lead over
Utah going into the third event. Though they eventually lost
195.60-194.85, Turpin maintains the close meet emphasized to his
gymnasts their own capabilities against top-ranked teams.
Tonight at 7 p.m., No. 10 UCLA will meet the Beavers for the
first time this season in Corvallis, Ore. The Bruins moved up nine
places from last week’s No. 19 ranking, helped by the season high
194.225 scored at the UCLA Invitational last weekend.
For the Bruins, a strong performance is critical tonight, as
well as at the second home meet of the year against Washington and
Santa Barbara Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Wooden Center. If UCLA hopes
to be seeded high at West Regionals or challenge at NCAAs, it must
score consistently in the 194s and 195s.
"It’s extremely important that we continue the momentum started
last week," Kondos said. "These next two meets are crucial."
"UCLA’s a tough, tough team," Turpin said. "They generally start
slow and build momentum, and I think they’re in their transition
right now. I expect one whale of a meet."Comments to
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