Feb. 23, 2007

Box Score

SEATTLE - Nikki Waiss won the uneven bars and No. 28 Washington posted its highest team score in nearly three years Friday to take second place in a three-way meet at Bank of America Arena. Fifteenth-ranked Oregon State earned the team title with a 196.975, ahead of Washington's 195.800 and the 190.050 of third-place Seattle Pacific.

Despite missing one of its top scorers in three events, senior Chelsea Bakken, Washington (3-5) posted season-highs on all four events, and counted at least two scorers above 9.800 in each. The Huskies' team score of 195.800 was a full beyond the season-best of 194.800 set in last week's win at California, and was Washington's highest overall team score since the 2004 Pac-10 Championships.

Junior Nikki Waiss lit the spark for Washington's explosive night with a win on bars in the team's second rotation, her score of 9.925 a career-best and equal to the highest individual score by a Husky this year. Waiss' win -- her second in as many weeks -- helped the Huskies to a season-high 48.725 on bars, with Bakken adding a career-best 9.825 in her lone appearance of the night.

Washington also established season-highs on vault (49.100), beam (48.850) and floor (49.125), the latter mark UW's highest in any event in nearly two years. In all, the Huskies scored 12 routines over 9.800, including four such marks on vault, two on bars, three on beam and three on floor.

"The girls are really starting to learn how to compete," said first-year head coach Joanne Bowers, "They're gaining confidence and they're able to compete at a higher level when they have that confidence. Different girls stepped up tonight -- when one girl had a bad routine, someone else was right there to cover her back. Each girl is an important piece of the puzzle and they're really starting to come together."

The bad routines were few and far between for Washington on Friday, with the Huskies just twice counting scores below 9.700. Freshman Cassidy Lance was the Huskies' top scorer onb vault (9.875), Waiss led UW on bars, sophomore Kelly Gilbert was Washington's top finisher on beam (9.850), while junior Natalie Gillan and sophomore Kristen Omori shared top UW honors on floor (9.850).

It's a testament to the strength of competition in the Pac-10 Conference, however, that even a record-setting night for the nation's 28th-ranked team wasn't enough to top Oregon State, which won on vault, beam, and floor, and posted a blistering team score of 196.975. The Beavers were unstoppable on vault, counting three scores at or above 9.900, while Tasha Smith made herself comfortable on the floor with a crowd-pleasing routine that scored a meet-high 9.995.

Friday's meet marked the home finale for Washington this season, which will hit the road for the six-straight weeks beginning next Saturday at Minnesota. For complete results from Friday's meet or for more information on Husky gymnastics, visit www.GoHuskies.com.

Quick Hits: Nine Huskies recorded career-highs Friday, including Katie Boyko (9.700) on vault, Nikki Waiss (9.925) and Chelsea Bakken (9.825) on bars, Kelly Gilbert (9.850) and Celia Short (9.675) on beam, Kristen Omori (9.875), Gilbert (9.850) and Short (9.775) on floor and Gillan (38.875) in the all-around ... with the win over SPU, Washington improved to 62-3 all-time vs. their in-town rivals, and to 81-15-1 all-time against non-conferenec foes at home.

Team Scoring          Vault     Bars     Beam    Floor     Total
 1. Oregon State     49.375   49.200   49.000   49.400   196.975
 2. Washington       49.100   48.725   48.850   49.125   195.800
 3. Seattle Pacific  48.150   46.125   47.700   48.075   190.050
Vault
 1. Mandi Rodriguez, OSU        9.950
 2. Tasha Smith, OSU            9.925
 3. Megan Devencenzi, OSU       9.900
 4. Cassidy Lance, UW           9.875
 5. Ashley Houghting, UW        9.850
 6. Kristen Omori, UW           9.825
    Yuki Lamb, OSU              9.825
 8. Nikki Waiss, UW             9.800
 9. Jami Lanz, OSU              9.775
    Kristin Bryant, SPU         9.775
11. Natalie Gillan, UW          9.750
12. Sarah Sullivan, SPU         9.725
13. Katie Boyko, UW             9.700
14. Whitney Watson, OSU         9.650
15. Melissa Daniels, SPU        9.625
16. Brianna Schwartz, SPU       9.575
17. Amber Lundgren, SPU         9.450
18. Debra Huss, SPU             8.700
    Darcee Schiller, UW         9.575 (exh.)
Bars
 1. Nikki Waiss, UW             9.925
 2. Jami Lanz, OSU              9.900
 3. Tasha Smith, OSU            9.850
    Laura-Ann Chong, OSU        9.850
 5. Chelsea Bakken, UW          9.825
 6. Mandi Rodriguez, OSU        9.800
    Keegan Fitzgerald, OSU      9.800
 8. Darcee Schiller, UW         9.725
 9. Natalie Gillan, UW          9.650
    Debra Huss, SPU             9.650
11. Tori Quandt, UW             9.600
12. Christie Chinaka, SPU       9.575
13. Brianna Schwartz, SPU       9.525
14. Kera Bolen, OSU             9.350
15. Ashley Houghting, UW        8.950
16. Sadie Johnston, SPU         8.725
17. Sarah Sullivan, SPU         8.650
18. Ashley Domres, SPU          8.450
    D'Anna Piro, OSU            9.625 (exh.)
Beam
 1. Ashley Kelly, OSU           9.875
 2. Brooke Barclay, OSU         9.900
 3. Laura-Ann Chong, OSU        9.875
 4. Kelly Gilbert, UW           9.850
 5. Tasha Smith, OSU            9.825
 6. Kristen Omori, UW           9.800
    Ashley Houghting, UW        9.800
    Debra Huss, SPU             9.800
 9. Courtney Dennison, OSU      9.775
10. Tori Quandt, UW             9.725
11. Celia Short, UW             9.675
12. Mandi Rodriguez, OSU        9.625
    Sarah Sullivan, SPU         9.625
14. Natalie Gillan, UW          9.600
15. Brianna Schwartz, SPU       9.475
16. Ashley Domres, SPU          9.450
17. Jami Lanz, OSU              9.350
    Christie Chinaka, SPU       9.350
19. Kristin Bryant, SPU         8.850
    Yuki Lamb, OSU              9.675 (exh.)
    Jenni Chang, UW             9.525 (exh.)
Floor
 1. Tasha Smith, OSU            9.995
 2. Jami Lanz, OSU              9.900
 3. Natalie Gillan, UW          9.875
    Kristen Omori, UW           9.875
    Kera Bolen, OSU             9.875
    Yuki Lamb, OSU              9.875
 7. Kelly Gilbert, UW           9.850
 8. Mandi Rodriguez, OSU        9.800
 9. Celia Short, UW             9.775
    Megan Devencenzi, OSU       9.775
    Sarah Sullivan, SPU         9.775
12. Ashley Houghting, UW        9.750
    Kristin Bryant, SPU         9.750
    Brianna Schwartz, SPU       9.750
15. Tori Quandt, UW             9.550
16. Ashley Domres, SPU          9.525
17. Amber Lundgren, SPU         9.275
18. Debra Huss, SPU             9.200
    Laura-Ann Chong, OSU        9.650 (exh.)
    Darcee Schiller, UW         8.900 (exh.)
All-Around
 1. Tasha Smith, OSU            39.550
 2. Mandi Rodriguez, OSU        39.175
 3. Jami Lanz, OSU              38.925
 4. Natalie Gillan, UW          38.875
 5. Brianna Schwartz, SPU       38.375
 6. Ashley Houghting, UW        38.350
 7. Debra Huss, SPU             37.350
 8. Sarah Sullivan, SPU         37.775