Gymnastics: UW records highest team score since 2004

A person walking into Hec Edmundson Pavilion Friday evening after the scores of the UW-OSU-SPU gymnastics meet were announced might have been confused as to which team had won the competition.

The Oregon State gymnasts were smiling and nodding, but the Washington team was beaming, hugging and nearly jumping up and down with glee.

Oregon State scored a 196.975 against Washington (195.8) and Seattle Pacific (190.050) and swept the top three places in the all-around, but with its highest team score in more than two seasons, it was Washington who celebrated like champions.

"We were excited with the score," coach Joanne Bowers admitted after the meet, reiterating that gymnastics isn't about winning or losing but how your team's numbers stack up to everybody else's. "The only thing is now we're getting very greedy; we want to beat these teams."

Both the Huskies and the Beavers had their best competitions of the season. Oregon State had previously struggled at hitting balance beam on the road, but they didn't show it Friday night, nailing five of six routines during its last rotation to clinch the win.

Junior Nikki Waiss picked up the second individual title of her career on uneven bars (9.925), the first having come last week against Cal. Waiss, who redshirted in 2004 and missed much of last season after rupturing her ACL, competes with her right knee in a thick black knee brace and her left wrapped in an ace bandage.

Bowers said she's been impressed by Waiss' improvement and the way she's been able to handle being the team's anchor on bars, after an injury sidelined specialist Raimey Iselin earlier this season.

"She's really learning how to compete," Bowers said.

The depth of the Husky squad is beginning to show itself. Strong performances from Katie Boyko on vault, Kristen Omori and Natalie Gillan on floor and Kelly Gilbert on beam bolstered the Huskies' team score to nearly a point more than Bowers and the team had been hoping for.

Oregon State performed solidly on uneven bars and built momentum on its next three events before topping it off with five outstanding performances on the balance beam. The Beavers are seeking their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships as a team this year, and with a surprise upset against UCLA last weekend, they may be on their way to accomplishing that goal.

Seattle Pacific veteran Debra Huss was impressive on beam (9.8) but struggled on floor and vault, as did many of her teammates.

Although they are now finished competing at Hec Ed, the Huskies' season is far from over. The team will travel to Arizona State, Minnesota and Oregon State during the next three weeks before returning to Seattle for a rematch with SPU at Seattle Pacific on March 23.

Reach reporter Blythe Lawrence at sports@thedaily.washingtn.edu.