Gymnasts Look to Rebound on the Road at OSU
Jan. 15, 2004 – Fullerton, Calif. THE SCENARIO The Cal State Fullerton women's gymnastics team (0-1 overall) will
look to rebound from a tough season-opening loss this weekend when the
Titans hit the road for the first time to take on Oregon State on Friday
(Jan. 16) in Corvallis, Ore.
FOLLOW ALONG LIVE Fans will be able to follow the Titans during their trip to the Pacific
Northwest by logging on to the internet at www.osubeavers.com,
where updates will be provided throughout the evening.
IN THE RANKINGS Oregon State is ranked 20th in the nation this week based on team
scores. The Titans are not ranked as a team, but rank in a tie for 13th
on the floor exercise (48.950) and tied for 22nd on vault (48.550).
Seven of the Titans opponents in 2004 were either ranked in the top 25
or receiving votes in the preseason poll: UCLA (No. 1), Arizona State
(No. 9), Oregon State (No. 11), California (No. 21), Boise State (Receiving
Votes), Southern Utah (RV), Utah State (RV).
National rankings will be released every Monday morning and can be found
by logging on to www.troester.com/gym.
THE SERIES... Oregon State leads the all-time series with the Titans, 10-having
won the last three meetings. The two teams last met during the 2002 season
with the Beavers winning in a quad meet at Arizona State and a dual meet
at Titan Gym. Fullerton last defeated Oregon State in 2000 in a quad meet
at UCLA.
LAST WEEK... Cal State Fullerton made a late run on the floor exercise, but could
not overcome a pair of falls on the uneven bars and beam as No. 21 California
escaped with a season-opening victory over the host Titans on Friday night
at Titan Gym.
The Titans trailed by only four-tenths of a point after the first rotation,
but a 48.975 on vault by California increased the Golden Bears' advantage
after the Titans fell three times on bars, having to count two of them.
Solid beam and floor performances in the third rotation gave California
almost a two-point advantage heading into the fourth and final rotation.
Cal State Fullerton finished on floor, and showed why this has been the
Titans' signature event throughout the years.
Fullerton counted four scores above a 9.75, including freshman Erica Ficarotta's
event-winning total of 9.875 in her first career meet, to finish with
a 48.950 on the apparatus and put pressure on Cal, which was competing
beam.
The Golden Bears suffered two falls on the apparatus, counting one of
them, but scored a 47.650, enough to hold off the hard-charging Titans
in the end.
Junior Kristy Parker set a career high on the vault with a 9.80, finishing
fourth in the event, and scored a 9.725 to tie with teammate Kim Runciman
for the individual title on beam.
The Titans finished 1-2 on floor exercise with Ficarotta finishing first
and Latoya Milburn scoring a 9.85 to finish second.
California's Karissa Chock won two events, scoring a 9.90 on vault and
a 9.875 on uneven bars. Junior My-Lan Dodd won the individual all-around
for California with a score of 38.800.
