Rodriguez Finishes Third on Vault, Stambaugh 12th on Floor
April 24, 2010 GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Oregon State senior Mandi Rodriguez medaled at the NCAA Championships' Individual Event Fianls Saturday night with a third place finish on the vault and freshman Makayla Stambaugh wrapped up her first season in Corvallis with a 12th place finish on the floor exercise. Rodriguez received a good draw as the 11th vaulter out of 18 behind a couple other big vaulters in Florida's Ashanée Dickerson and UCLA's Vanessa Zamarripa. Rodriguez performed her customary Yurchenko with a full twist as her first vault to score 9.875 from the six judge panel. She came back with a Yurchenko with a half twist, which she had worked on in practice for a few days leading up to the trip to Florida, to score 9.8125 to finish with an average of 9.84375. "This was great! I just wanted to finish on the awards stand, so to finish third was great," Rodriguez said. "A lot of hard work over the last 14 years went into everything I've done to get to this point and it is a great way to go out." On the floor exercise, Stambaugh drew the second slot in the first flight of gymnasts. In an otherwise brilliant routine Stambaugh under-rotated on her first tumbling pass causing her to take a step back on the landing. She finished 12th in the first Individual Event Final of her career. "I learned a lot tonight," Stambaugh said. "I might have let my nerves get to me a little, but performing on the podium is a great experience and now that I've done it, I'll know what to expect in the future." For the second year in a row, Rodriguez earned three All-American awards at the NCAA Championships earning first team honors on vault and second team on the floor exercise and in the all-around. This marks the fifth straight year that Oregon State has had an All-American on the vault. Tasha Smith earned All-American honors in 2006 and 2007, Rodriguez earned All-American status in 2007 and 2009, and Yuki Lamb was honored in 2008.
Vault Results 1. Vanessa Zamarripa (UCLA), 9.92500 2. Susan Jackson (LSU), 9.89375 3. Mandi Rodriguez (Oregon State), 9.84375 4. Marissa King (Florida), 9.82500 5. Sarah Shire (Missouri), 9.81875 6. Ashanée Dickerson (Florida) 9.80000 7. Kylee Botterman (Michigan), 9.79375 8. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs (UCLA), 9.78125 9. Mary Atkinson (Arizona State), Blair Ryland (Stanford), Ashley Lee (LSU), 9.76250 12. Brittnee Martinez (Michigan), Jaime Pisani (Arkansas) 9.71875 14. Anna Li (UCLA), 9.66875 15. Geralen Stack-Eaton (Alabama), 9.66250 16. Allison Buckley (Illinois), 9.50625 17. Sharaya Musser (Penn State), 9.48125 18. Lora Evenstad (Nebraska), 8.75625 Uneven Bars Results Balance Beam results Floor Exercise results |
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