Two OSU wrestlers qualify for national tournament

By ZACHARY HARRIS Sports Contributor

After a convincing victory over Washington State 24 hours earlier, Oregon State took on a rested No. 3 Stanford team who had beaten them in both matchups during the regular season in the second round of the PAC-12 tournament. Down by as much as 20 points, the Beavers could not find their groove until the fourth quarter and lost by a score of 57-68.

Oregon State could not handle the height and post presence of Stanford. The Beavers allowed numerous offensive rebounds which created easy second chance opportunities. While OSU freshman forward Taylor Jones has become a better player every week, the defense and rebounding has not been the same since freshman forward Kennedy Brown tore her ACL almost a month ago.

The loss raises the question of how far can the Beavers advance without much needed post defense and height. The loss to Stanford displayed how vulnerable Oregon State is down low if Jones gets into foul trouble, and other teams will try to take advantage of this.

Despite these shortcomings, the Beavers believe they have the tools to make a deep NCAA run. When Oregon State is playing at their best, they are a dominating team that is able to play lock-down defense and score from anywhere on the court.

“I feel like we’re in the best coach/player learning situation we have been in all year, the receptiveness in practice, the way that they’re evolving, the way that they’re communicating,” OSU head coach Scott Rueck said. “I think we’re as mobile as we have [ever] been.”

Not everything is easy going, as Oregon State has now lost two straight quarterfinals games

in the PAC-12 tournament. OSU senior guard Mikayla Pivec was visibly upset after this heartbreaking loss. While she was put in the spotlight, she echoed the same emotions the rest of the team felt.

“Just sad that we lost. The individual stuff doesn’t really mean as much to me, just sad that our team doesn’t get to play more in this tournament,” Pivec said.

The ‘individual stuff’ she mentioned, was the fact that she has become Oregon State’s all-time leading rebounder. But this is not on Pivec’s mind as she is only focused on the team and how she can help lead them to a deep tournament run.

Stanford’s stringent defense gave the Beavers a glimpse of what will come in The Big Dance. Even though Oregon State did not look prepared at the beginning, junior guard Destiny Slocum believes the Beavers have what it takes to handle the ball pressure down the stretch.

“I don’t think they really did a ton to disrupt us, we have to come off a little bit more confident,” said Slocum.

Confidence will be crucial for the NCAA tournament but this loss will not help their tournament seeding. The Beavers are still on the table to host the first two rounds but the odds have dropped.

A grueling PAC-12 conference featuring six of the top 25 teams has prepared Oregon State for war. The regular season has battle-tested the Beavers and they are prepared to go toe-to-toe with anyone that draws their card. Rueck knows what this team is capable of, and is ready for the next game.

“We’re playing our best,” Rueck said. “We’re more prepared than ever. And the conference has done that for us.”

JADE WEBSTER | ORANGE MEDIA NETWORK OSU senior guard Mikayla Pivec (#0) looks to find a teammate while running a play against Stanford sophomore guard Lexie Hull (#12) at Gill Coliseum on Jan. 19. The Beavers fell against Stanford during both regular season matchups and during their face off in the PAC-12 Tournament quarterfinals.

Two OSU wrestlers qualify for national tournament Beavers finish fourth place overall in this year’s PAC-12 championships

By ANDRES DE LOS SANTOS Sports Contributor

The Oregon State Wrestling team had three finalists in the 2020 PAC-12 wrestling championships in redshirt junior Devan Turner at 133 lbs., redshirt sophomore Grant Willits at 141 lbs. and redshirt junior Colt Doyle at 184 lbs. All three wrestlers knew that a win in the finals would qualify them for the national tournament.

Turner had one thing on his mind entering the tournament: winning it. Last year, Turner finished third in the 133 lb. weight class, and despite still qualifying for the national tournament, he still left the Wells Fargo Arena with a sour taste in his mouth. In the finals match, Turner faced off against junior Paul Bianchi of University of Little Rock, Arkansas, who Turner defeated in their last meeting JADE WEBSTER | ORANGE MEDIA NETWORK Devan Turner, in the 133 lb. weight class, competes against UALR on Saturday at Gill Coliseum on Feb. 15.

by a score of 8-6. Turner was now able to defeat Bianchi by a score of 5-3, and walked away with the PAC-12 title. Turner was the sole champion for Oregon State who qualified for the national tournament for the second year in a row.

Willits won the PAC-12 championship last year at the 141 lb weight class, pinning Brandon Kier of Stanford in the second period. Like Turner, Willits qualified for the national tournament as well. Looking to defend his title at this year’s Pac-12 championships, Willits had to face off against Stanford redshirt freshman Real Woods, who Willits lost to in their last meeting by a score of 9-1.

Despite a hard-fought effort from Willits, he was defeated by Woods by a score of 11-2, finishing second in conference. Willits still qualified for the national tournament as he is ranked in the top 25 in the country.

Doyle placed third at last year’s PAC-12 wrestling championships at 174 lbs. This year, moving up to 184 lb. weight class, Doyle faced off against CSU Bakersfield redshirt

sophomore Josh Loomer, who defeated Doyle by a score of 12-4 during their last meeting.

Loomer defeated Doyle once again in the finals by a score of 7-4. Doyle did not qualify for the national tournament, ending his junior season with a record of 20 wins and nine losses.

Oregon State finished fourth overall in the PAC-12, scoring 92.5 points as a team, with one champion and two national qualifiers. Last year, Oregon State finished third in the conference, scoring 77.5 points as a team, with four champions and six national qualifiers.

Turner and Willits now put their attention towards the NCAA wrestling championships in Minneapolis, Minn. from March 19-21 with the end goal of becoming All-Americans for Oregon State.

Tinkle and Kelley shine, reflect on careers as OSU record holders

By CADE DOAN Sports Contributor

ADVERTISEMENTS Gill Coliseum had a different energy on Saturday afternoon as Oregon State celebrated their two departing senior forwards Tres Tinkle and Kylor Kelley. The two were facing off against the California Bears on March 7 for their senior night.

Tinkle’s sisters, Joslyn and Elle, were in attendance and, as always, cheered on their brother who broke the school’s scoring record on Thursday against Stanford. The oldest, Joslyn, was emotional looking back on Tinkle’s career.

“To kind of go through something like this, the good and the bad, and to have each other’s backs through it all has been really, really awesome. It’s something we’ll cherish forever,” Joslyn Tinkle said.

The Tinkle sisters almost never miss a game and are widely regarded as two of the most passionate supporters within Beaver Nation. They sit court side and never fail to bring the energy.

“There’s so much attention on us on the sidelines but people fail to realize she gets into it just as much as we do,” Joslyn Tinkle said of her mother, Lisa.

The Beavers never looked back following the conclusion of the ceremony as the seniors knew it was their night. The pair was the top two leading scorers for the Beavers as Tinkle went for 24 points and six rebounds while Kelley added 19 points and eight rebounds, leading OSU to a 74-56 win over the California Golden Bears. Kelley realized the importance of blocking out the emotions in order to play an effective game.

“You have to lock in right after the ceremony. We did that, and it showed,” Kelley said.

Tres Tinkle also knew it would be tough to say goodbye to Gill Coliseum but understood that the most important thing was that the Beavers got the win. “I felt like we held it together pretty well at the beginning. I thought I was going to be worse than I was,” Tres Tinkle said.

Oregon State opened up a 20-10 lead with 7:44 remaining in the first half, following consecutive threes. The lowscoring battle ended up being just 26- 21 Beavers at the half. OSU’s defensive

scheme led to 16 turnovers for California while the Beavers only had eight. OSU went with a 1-3-1 zone for most of the game which caused trouble for the Bears. However, this defensive structure was not the game plan going into the matchup according to OSU head coach Wayne Tinkle.

“I had no clue that we were going to play our 1-3-1 today,” Wayne Tinkle said. “We were going to play some man, some 2-3, and I just kind of had some quiet time and I said with the emotion of senior day, my worry was that we’d come out in man and be over-hyped.”

The Beavers never trailed and the game was only tied once throughout. The Beavers’ lead had swelled to 18 with 5:45 remaining at 60-42, but California went on their largest run of the game of 9-0 to pull within single digits at 60-51 with 3:30 to play.

OSU freshman guard Gianni Hunt hit a three on the following possession, sealing the win for the Beavs.

Oregon State finishes 7-11 in conference and 17-13 during the regular season. Both the Beavers and the Bears will be in Las Vegas next week for the PAC-12 tournament from March 11-14. ERICK BRANNER | ORANGE MEDIA NETWORK TOP: OSU senior forward Tres Tinkle smiles along with his family for senior night celebrations on March 7. BOTTOM: OSU senior forward Kylor Kelley enjoys the moment of senior night celebrations with family on March 7.

SPORTS OSU Gymnastics falls short to Washington

Seniors Lacy Dagen and Sabrina Gill bounce back from injuries

By ANDRES DE LOS SANTOS Sports Contributor

Oregon State senior gymnasts Lacy Dagen and Sabrina Gill knew they only have a few weeks left in their OSU gymnastics career. Knowing this, both Dagen and Gill left their hearts out on the floor during the gymnastics meet versus the #12 Washington Huskies.

Dagen was not able to compete in the last gymnastics meet against UCLA on Feb. 29 as an injury sustained during practice had sidelined her from competing. But Dagen bounced back and was able to score a 9.875 on both her vault and beam events.

Although Dagen was proud of her scores since coming back from injury, and the overall team performance, she said she feels that her team has not reached their full potential yet.

“It’s just those little things that we need to really hone on. Those sticks, those pointed feet, those bigger splits,” Dagen said. “We have so much potential, and we just haven’t quite put all it together yet, but I can feel that we’re almost there and we’re on our way. I feel like next week is the one.”

The Oregon State team had improved their vault event score from 48.725 against UCLA to 49.000 against Washington. “I know for vault, we’ve not only been saying we need to do more stick drills, but actually putting it into action, and adding in new ones that we haven’t been doing the rest of the season, like stick drills onto harder landing, and show vaults,” Dagen said.

Gill competed in all four events on the night, earning a 9.725 on vault, 9.900 on bars, 9.850 on beam, and 9.775 on floor, giving her an All-Around score of 39.250. During the gymnastics meet versus UCLA, Gill only competed in the vault event, earning a score of 9.775. She said she had fun competing in all four events.

“I mean, last time I did All-Around was sophomore year,” Gill said. “I’ve only been training floor and vault for three weeks. It’s still fairly new but I’m just happy I get to have fun and do all four.”

Gill, who was also battling some injuries, said her performance on the night improved her confidence. “I definitely had some struggles, dealing with a lot of head injuries and random flukes, but I think I got a good rhythm now and I’m back in the groove,” Gill said. “Even in practice, that’s been getting alot better and my confidence has been building each week.”

Interim Head Coach Michael Chaplin said Gill was a fill in for Oregon State freshman gymnast Kayla Bird, who scored a 9.875 against UCLA.

“Kayla Bird was not feeling well,” Chaplin said. “We weren’t sure how much she was going to be able to do today. And I knew floor would be the hardest event for her. She said ‘Hey look Michael, I just don’t feel strong enough to do floor.’ We said ‘okay,’ and we knew Sabrina had been working really hard, and we thought this would be a good night for her. She got a good floor routine in for us.”

Chaplin said it would depend on who has the better week for if Gill would keep Bird’s place in the floor routine.

“It’s great to have both of them available, the more depth the better,” Chaplin said. “The more people we have available, the better, because you never know what will happen. So we want as many people available as possible. We’ll just see, we’ll watch them this week and see who’s ready to go next week.”

The Beavers return back to Gill for their final home meet against University of Illinois on March 14. This senior night meet for the Beavers is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

MARCH 9, 2020 • DAILYBAROMETER.COM • 9 ANA PEARSE | ORANGE MEDIA NETWORK TOP: OSU senior Isis Lowery finishes her dance-filled, one-of-a-kind floor routine, while her teammates and coach celebrate at the edge of the floor on Friday, March 6. BOTTOM LEFT: OSU junior Kaitlyn Yanish performs a dance portion of her floor routine at Gill Coliseum as her teammates cheer “O-S-U.” BOTTOM RIGHT; OSU senior Sabrina Gill performs a front aerial as part of her front aerial, back handspring step-out acro series during the third rotation of the UW vs OSU meet at Gill Coliseum, Friday, March 6, 2020. Gill received a season-high beam score of 9.850, and OSU left this rotation with a 49.300 team score.

10 • DAILYBAROMETER.COM • MARCH 9, 2020 COOPER BASKINS | ORANGE MEDIA NETWORK Oregon State’s sophomore pitcher Jake Pfennigs mid pitch as the rest of Oregon State’s defense prepares to make a play.

Mitch Canham happy to be back at Goss Stadium Despite slow start for Beavers, OSU Baseball alumnus head coach hopes team is moving ‘in the right direction’

By MICHAEL EUBANKS Sports Contributor

New Oregon State baseball coach Mitch Canham returned to familiar territory this weekend. The Beavers made their home debut at Goss stadium before a sell-out crowd, and Canham managed his first game in the stadium he previously played in from 2004-07.

“It’s home. This is the most amazing place,” Canham said of Goss Stadium. “From a personal standpoint, I get to see my wife and kids and people that helped transform me into the person that I am today. It also means an incredible amount to be out there and compete in front of Beaver Nation.”

While the Beavers received a warm reception in their first home series, the on-field action did not match the initial off-field excitement.

The team made their home debut in an unfamiliar position with a losing record. After posting a 5-6 record in the 11 road games of the season, the Beavers began their first home series with two consecutive losses to UC Santa Barbara.

Despite a great start Friday night by junior right-handed pitcher Christian Chamberlain, the team suffered their first home-opening loss since 2003 and fell 6-0 to the Gauchos. Though UC Santa Barbra scored only one hit, a series of nine walks and four errors by Oregon State allowed them to clinch 11th victory of the season.

Saturday’s game was another shutout for the Beavers, who lost 4-0. But the Beavers did show signs of success in game two. Junior Kyler McMahan’s single in the fifth inning

extended his hit streak to six consecutive games, and freshman Micah McDowell went 2-4 with singles in the fifth and seventh innings. Sophomore Jake Pfennings also pitched a career high 6 innings, allowing three hits and one run.

“Tonight was a good adjustment, we didn’t allow a ton of free bases from the pitching perspective. We only had three walks and a hit batter,” Canham said. “It was good to see Pfennings go out there and fill up the zone for six innings. I anticipate us getting better each and every day.”

While Canham remained optimistic regarding the team’s success moving forward, he acknowledged that losing at home is never an easy feeling.

“It makes it extremely tough on these kinds of nights when we don’t perform like we know we can. You don’t want to let everyone down,” Canham said. “You want to go out there and do the job that you know you can do and our fans deserve to see.”

Canham also said that the players also hate losing streaks because they feel that they’re not performing at the level the program stands for, and compared losing to “getting punched in the gut.” Still, he believes his players have what it takes to return to the winning ways normally associated with the program.

“I love how these guys work together and I love how they hold each other accountable,” Canham said. “More of that is going to be coming, and hopefully in the right direction.” The Beavers will play a three-game series at Arizona from March 13-15. The team’s next home series takes place from March 20-22 versus Arizona State.