March 19, 2011

LOS ANGELES -

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Oregon State junior Leslie Mak was announced as the Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year and Tanya Chaplin received Pac-10 Coach of the Year Saturday evening at the conclusion of the Pac-10 Championships meet hosted by UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.

Mak and Chaplin were selected for their respective awards by the conference's head coaches prior to the championship meet.

Mak, a native of Toronto, Ontario, was named Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week during the second week of the season, for the week of Jan. 10-16, after scoring 39.100 and adding a career-high tying 9.925 on the balance beam to win individual titles in a meet at home against Ohio State. With the award Mak's name goes on an elite list of Oregon State gymnastics icons to have earned Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year award joining Joy Selig (1991), Chari Knight (1992 and '94), and Mandi Rodriguez (2009) as recipients.

"It's really humbling and gratifying at the same time," Mak said. "I'm proud to be recognized but this is really a team award and I wouldn't be in this position without my teammates."

For Chaplin, this is the fifth time in her career and second in a row, that she's been recognized by her peers as the Pac-10 Coach of the Year. In 2011, the Beavers beat three top 10 teams in the final month of the regular season including then-No. 10 UCLA, then-No. 2 Stanford and then-No. 6 Utah - a feat not accomplished by an Oregon State team since 1992. Chaplin's previous coach of the year awards came in 1999, 2005, 2008 and 2010. Chaplin, who is in the midst of her 14th season at Oregon State, recently signed a new five-year contract, which went into effect in July, that takes her through the 2015 season.

"This award is really rewarding to be recognized by my peers," Chaplin said. "But this type of an honor is a really an award that I share with my entire staff."

The Beavers host the NCAA Corvallis Regional Championships Saturday, April 2. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS, online at osubeavers.com or in person at the OSU Ticket Office located in Room 107 of Gill Coliseum.

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