OSU gymnastics welcomes fans back with Orange and Black Exhibition

Oregon+State+freshman+gymnasts+Carley+Beeman+sticks+a+landing+on+her+uneven+bars+routine+in+Gil+Coliseum+on+Nov.+20+at+the+Orange+and+Black+Exhibition.+The+Orange+and+Black+Scrimmage+was+the+first+time+fans+were+allowed+at+an+OSU+gymnastics+meet+since+March+24%2C+2020.++

Kayla Jones

Oregon State freshman gymnasts Carley Beeman sticks a landing on her uneven bars routine in Gil Coliseum on Nov. 20 at the Orange and Black Exhibition. The Orange and Black Scrimmage was the first time fans were allowed at an OSU gymnastics meet since March 24, 2020.

The Oregon State gymnastics team Orange and Black Exhibition scrimmage at Gill Coliseum this Friday as a way to kick off their 2021-22 season.

The scrimmage was the entire gymnastics team being divided into two separate teams, Black team and Orange Team, and facing each other in the vault, uneven bars, beam, and floor event. The Black Team won with a score of 10-6.

Team Black consisted of senior Alex McClung, sophomore Sydney Gonzales, freshman Lauren Letzsch, graduate student Kaitlyn Yanish, junior Jenna Domingo, freshman Phoebe Jakubcyzk, freshman Carley Beeman, freshman Karlie Chavez, sophomore Julia Melchert, and freshman Jade Carey.

Team Orange included senior Madi Dagen, freshman Kaitlyn Garcia, sophomore Kaitlyn Hoiland, graduate student Colette Yamaoka, sophomore Ariana Young, freshman Brianna Yamamoto, freshman Natalie Briones, freshman Kristina Garcia, and junior Kayla Bird.

The first event in the scrimmage was the vault routine. Both Team Black and Team Orange tied for vault, ending with a score of 2-2.

Team Black took the lead for uneven bars, ending the event with a 6-3. Round one consisted of McClung and Garcia, where McClung scored a point for Black. Beeman and Domingo both scored points for Black in the second and third round against Hoiland and Dagen. Yamaoka scored a point for Team Orange against Jakubczyk in the fourth round. Finally, Carey scored a point for Black against Bird in round five.

Team Orange and Team Black both scored two points during beam. Young and Garcia both took the point for Orange against Gonzales and Letzsch in rounds one and two. Domingo and Carey scored for Black against Dagen and Bird in rounds three and four.

Team Black won by maintaining their lead as Letzsch and Yanish both scored points. Young scored a point for Team Orange and brought the closing score of 10-6. Carey finished the scrimmage with the dance-only floor routine she did when winning Gold for the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Head gymnastics coach Tanya Chaplin explains that a big goal for this season is to get the team back to the National Championships and continue building off of last year’s season. She explains that this exhibition meet is beneficial to set the athletes up for upcoming meets.

“Our athletes need to get out in front of a crowd and even though [the difficulty of the] routines and some of the skills [are] going to elevate in the next month, this is still a good opportunity to get those nerves out a bit in front of a crowd,” Chaplin says. “We get to see how they compete and how they handle themselves. It’s very beneficial for the athletes and the coaching staff.”

The gymnasts will take this meet as a learning experience to further practice for their upcoming season starting in January. The first official meet is on Jan. 15 at Gill Coliseum at 7 p.m. where the Beavers will host the Boise State University Broncos, the University of Washington Huskies, and the San Jose State University Spartans in a tri-meet.

Was this article helpful?
YesNo