It has been a whirlwind of a week for the 20th-ranked OSU gymnastics. 

First, they beat high-quality competition on Feb. 29 against Stanford, relying on freshman McKenna Singley to deliver the victory. With the season almost wrapped up, the meet carried extra importance as a source of momentum going forward.

“We were tied going into the last routine on floor. Our freshman McKenna Singley nailed her routine, and that put us over and helped us win the competition,” said head coach Tanya Chaplin. “They were in the Super Six last year, so it was a big win for the girls and a big confidence booster.”  

Tonight at 7:00 pm, OSU will be honoring seniors Jamie Radermacher and Risa Perez as they take on Ball State and Seattle Pacific in their final home meet at Gill Coliseum.  

Despite the fact that Perez transferred to OSU as a junior, she has still competed in Gill Coliseum throughout her collegiate career. The senior attended fellow Pac-12 school Arizona State her first two years of college, meaning the first two years of competing at Gill came in a different uniform. Anyhow, Perez has come to love the fan base and atmosphere all the same.

“I have competed in Gill for four years, and it’s an amazing fan base. With all of our students and all of our alum, leaving that is gonna be really tough,” Perez said. “There’s a special aura in the air, definitely. I’m just cherishing the moment.”

Radermacher, who also transferred to OSU in 2015, is similarly doing her best to seize the moment. 

“I’m excited to be competing (today,) because I love competing, but at the same time it’s kinda sad because I don’t want it to end,” Radermacher said. “I just want to never leave this place.”

At the very least, the seniors can feel good about leaving the program in good hands. Evident from Singley’s performance against Stanford, the freshmen class has been stepping it up of late for OSU.

“Our freshmen have been working extremely hard. We’ve really seen them come out of their shell, and I’m so excited to see what they do in the next three years,” Perez said. “I’m incredibly proud of all of them.”

Going into today’s meet and beyond, OSU will need all the help it can get. Although the opponents won’t be of the usual tough Pac-12 variety, Ball State and Seattle Pacific will not be any pushovers. The competition for the Beavers does not end there, either.

“It’s going to be good. (Seattle Pacific) is one of the top D-II programs and Ball State is right up there,” Chaplin said.  “Plus, the fact that you aren’t just competing against those two schools. Our (competition) is score-based, so you’re competing against everyone in the country—and we know that.”

Expectations for the meet are high, and the seniors will look to put on one last show for the Gill Coliseum crowd. 

“We’re gonna do great. We have an amazing crowd, we have an amazing team, we know how to conquer adversity and I think especially going against Stanford this last week, it really showed just how much fight this team has,” Perez said. “We’re going to do incredible things this year. We already have.”

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