Huskies Place Fourth at NCAA Gymnastics Regional
April 1, 2000
Corvallis, OR - The Washington women's gymnastics team placed fourth at the six-team NCAA Region I championships to finish the season with an even 11-11 record. Only the top two teams from the regional, UCLA and Oregon State, advance to the 12-team NCAA Championships in Boise on April 13. The Huskies turned in a score of 192.250.
The top-ranked Bruins easily won the meet with a score of 197.025. In an upset, the Beavers edged 15th-ranked Stanford by a 196.175 to 195.975 margin to claim the second berth in the nationals. Oregon State entered the competition ranked 20th nationally. Boise State placed fifth with a score of 193.650 and 12th-ranked Oklahoma was sixth with a score of 193.000.
"Our goal this year was to place in the top two at the regional and return to the NCAA and we just did not get it done," said Husky coach Bob Levesque. "I'm proud of the effort this team made. They gave it a good shot, but it does not help that you finish the meet with a bye. I also think the judging started to go up after the first two rotations, and, unfortunately, we had already been on two events by that time.
Husky senior Lauren Riesenman placed seventh in the all-around competition with a score of 39.075 to advance to the NCAA Championships as an all-around competitor. Washington senior Tiffany Simpson just missed out on an at-large berth with a score of 38.975 in the all-around. Simpson and Riesenman both placed ninth in the floor exercise with scores of 9.875. Simpson was 10th in the vault with a 9.850 performance. Lanna Apisukh and Leah Waaramaki tied for ninth on uneven bars with scores of 9.750.
"This will be the fourth year in a row that Lauren has competed at the NCAAs and that puts her in rare company in our program's history," Levesque says. "She had had to battle through some knee problems this year, but I'm excited she will get to conclude her career at nationals. It will not seem like the NCAAs without Tiffany in the field, but she had a great career at Washington. I was very pleased that she decided to come back this year and compete after missing last year with an injury."
NCAA Region 1 Gymnastics Championships Results
Team Scores: 1. UCLA, 197.025, 2. Oregon State, 196.175, 3. Stanford, 195.975, 4. Washington, 195.975, 5. Boise State, 193.650, 6. Oklahoma, 193.00
Vault: 1. Lena Degteva (UCLA), 9.975, 2. Larissa Fontaine (Stan.), 9.925, T3. Katrina Severin (OSU), Onnie Willis (UCLA), 9.90, T5. Lara Degenhardt (OSU), Mohini Bhardwaj (UCLA), Heidi Moneymaker (UCLA), Kristin Parker (UCLA), Joanna Hughes (CSF), 9.875
Bars: T1. Mohini Bhardwaj (UCLA), Degteva, 9.925, 3. Moneymaker (UCLA), 9.875, T4. Fontaine (Stan.), Willis (UCLA), 9.85
Beam: T1. Katy Herbert (Stan.), Bhardwaj (UCLA), 9.925, T3. Ricioli (OSU), Jen Exaltacion (Stan.), 9.90, T5. Bea Tistu-Whisenhunt (OSU), Severin (OSU), Moneymaker (UCLA), Parker (UCLA), Ginger Russell (OU), Hughes (CSF), 9.875
Floor: 1. Moneymaker (UCLA), 9.95, T2. Bhardwaj (UCLA), Degteva (UCLA), 9.925, T4. Sarah Harding (Stan.), Tiffany Weston (BSU), Parker (UCLA), Leila Khoury (Cal), Amber McCracken (OU), 9.90
All-Around: 1. Bhardwaj (UCLA), 39.650, 2. Moneymaker (UCLA), 39.575, T3. Exaltacion (Stan.), Degteva (UCLA), 39.300, T5. McCrack
