History
The program began in 1966; competing the first time in 1967, with Sylvia Moore taking the lead as the first gymnastics coach of the modern era of Oregon State. She headed the program until 1975, when Ron Ludwig succeeded her – the Beavers finished sixth at the AIAW Regional in Monmouth, Oregon. With Ludwig at the helm, the Beavers won the Regional Championship five times, not placing below fourth the whole ten years he was leading. In 1979, Oregon State finished seventh at the AIAW Championships. [3] The next season the Beavers finished in a record fourth in the team competition, with two representatives in event finals. [4] In 1981, Mary Ayotte finished in a record seventh place in the all-around at Nationals as the Beavers placed seventh but, the Beavers' first National champion was Laurie Carter, who won the balance beam. [5] Mary Ayotte soon became Oregon State's second National champion when, in 1982, she was the National floor champion. [6] 1983 saw the Beavers finish ninth at Nationals. [7] Heidi Anderson, a transfer from Penn State, won the balance beam title in 1984. [8] Oregon State were sixth in 1985. [9] Ludwig resigned in June 1985, citing health problems. [10]
Jim Turpin succeeded Ludwig, taking time for the program to adjust with no representation at the 1986 Nationals; the program did finish third at Regionals though. The program didn't advance to Nationals again in 1987, but were seventh in 1988, advancing following their Regional win at home in Corvallis. Joy Selig was fourteenth in the all-around and took a silver medal in the floor exercise. [11] Selig proved to be a strong Beaver gymnast with a beam national title in 1989. [12] 1990 was another great year for Selig as she defended her beam title, as well as gaining the floor title too. [13] In 1991, the Beavers were fourth in the team competition and saw medals from Chari Knight and Joy Selig. [14] Amy Durham tied with two gymnasts in 1993 for the National floor title. [15] Turpin left the Beavers program following the 1997 season, and former UCLA standout Tanya Chaplin became his successor. [16] In 2001, Katrina Severin was second on the vault. [17] The Beavers won the 2008 West Regional, held in Corvallis. [18] Mandi Rodriguez was third on vault at the 2010 Nationals. [19] [20] 2011 saw the Beavers win the NCAA Regional and [21] Jen Kesler and Makayla Stambaugh make the uneven bars podium. [22] In 2012, Melanie Jones took a bronze on floor. [23] In 2014, Madeline Gardiner took a bronze medal in the beam. Junior Risa Perez who transferred from Arizona State in 2015 was top 3 at Pac-12 championships on Floor Routine, in 2016 Gardner along with now senior Risa Perez won the Pac-12 Beam Championships, Perez won the Regional Beam Georgia Championships finished 8th overall at Texas Nationals. [24] Gardiner then repeated this the following year in 2015. [25]
One of the highest rated recruits in all sports in Oregon States history and a future 2-time gold medal Olympian Jade Carey verbally committed to compete in NCAA gymnastics at Oregon State University, starting in the 2018-19 school year. [26] She officially signed with the Oregon State Beavers on November 9, 2017. [27] She deferred enrollment until after the 2020 Olympics, starting in the 2020–21 school year. [28] However, due to the postponement of the Olympics, Carey enrolled in classes for the 2020–21 school year but deferred competing for the Beavers until after the Olympics in 2021. [29]
Carey made her long awaited NCAA debut on January 15, 2022, 1528 days after she signed her national letter of intent with Oregon State University. [30]
Due to the new NIL rule change for NCAA athletes in the summer of 2021, Carey was eligible to profit off of her name, image, and likeness. It was later reported that Carey had earned the biggest deal of all athletes from Oregon-based universities. [31]
On February 5, in a meet against Arizona State, Carey earned her first career perfect ten on the uneven bars. Her all-around score of 39.825 beat Oregon State's all-around program record that she had set two weeks prior. Additionally she outright won all five contested titles [32] and was named Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week for the second time. [33] On February 13 Carey earned her second career perfect 10 and first on floor exercise; [34] she was once again named both Pac-12 gymnast and freshman of the week. [35] On February 25, in a meet against Stanford, Carey score another perfect ten on floor exercise. Additionally she posted an all-around score of 39.825, tying Oregon State's program all-around record that she set earlier in the month. [36] Carey ended the regular season competing at a quad meet in Denver on March 13. She posted a 9.95 on all four apparatuses and won her ninth consecutive all-around title. [37] She was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the sixth time. [38]
Carey was named Pac-12 gymnast of the year and freshman of the year. [39] At the Pac-12 Championships Carey led Oregon State to a third place finish. Individually she won the all-around title and co-won the title on floor exercise alongside Olympic teammate Grace McCallum. She placed second on the remaining three apparatuses. [40] At the NCAA regional semifinal in Seattle, Carey earned an all-around score of 39.850, beating her previous record. Although Oregon State was eliminated after finishing third behind Utah and Stanford, Carey earned an individual all-around berth to compete at the upcoming NCAA Championship. [41]
In the 2023-2024 season, in a meet on March 4 at Arizona State University, Carey earned her first perfect ten on balance beam. In doing so she became the thirteenth gymnast to complete a gym slam, the accomplishment of scoring a perfect 10.0 on each apparatus. [42]
At the Pac-12 Championships Carey earned an all-around score of 39.750 to win the all-around competition for the second straight year. Additionally she co-won the titles on balance beam and floor exercise alongside Mya Luazon and Jordan Chiles respectively. [43] Additionally Carey was named Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year for the second time. [44]
