Which OSU gymnasts are going to Nationals?

Well, according to this article:
"multiple Oregon State gymnasts may qualify with their scores from the regional. Specifics details will be released as they become available."
Seems like the dust needs to settle from all of the regionals for your question to get answered?
I too am curious, so I went looking....

Go Beavers!

Should we look for a Tonya replacement (after our conference situation is worked out)?

Seems like she's been resting on her laurels lately.

My thoughts exactly with respect to expectations.

For those who do not follow college gymnastics closely, which I am assuming is 99.99%, in my opinion, there are 3 or 4 tiers of programs.  The first tier consists of Oklahoma (arguably in a tier by themselves), LSU, Florida, Utah, and a few other schools like Cal, Alabama, UCLA, etc. that are really close to that.  The next tier consist of schools that on any given year can compete for a spot at Nationals.  The GymBeavs are right in the middle of this tier.  A spot as one of the eight teams at Nationals is always the goal, although some years more realistic than others.

With respect to the Chaplin's, they are one of the most respected coaches in college gymnastics.  They also really care about not only the gymnastics side of things, but have the broader perspective of life after gymnastics.  Again, only my opinion, but there are not better role models in the sport you could have.  The GymBeavs may not consistently compete for national championships, but the program helps produce exceptional human beings that succeed in life.

Sorry for the rant.  I think we should be grateful to have the Chaplin's leading our program.  If you don't believe me, take a look at all that has transpired over the last couple years with respect to abusive coaches, etc., especially at Utah. 

Just my two cents. 

Your input is always appreciated. There are few people that can comment with such knowledge and eloquence here. Many thanks!

Jade 9.95 on the floor. Criminal, she was perfect.

She can't win floor, somebody from LSU got a 9.965 in the afternoon. 

I think one of the things that people need to know is that there is a big difference in the International (Olympic) scoring and college scoring.  In the Olympics, you will see that there is two components to the score.  One is for execution (like college) and one is for difficulty.  The difficulty score is made up of how difficult your skills are.  Each skill has a point value assigned to it and these are added up to get that piece of your score.  Technically, even though she rarely does, Simone Biles could fall a couple times during a competition and still win because she is doing skills that no one else in the world can do.  You will see scores usually ranging from 12-17 whereas in college the maximum is 10.

In college gymnastics, you do certain skills that get you to what they call a "start value".  Once you get to a start value of 10, there is no need to do anything further.  For the high-level programs, most everyone starts with a 10 start value.  Vault is a little different because a lot of girls have a 9.95 start value due to the difficulty of the vault. Then deductions are taken from that start value to get to your score.  It can be maddening because some girls are capable of doing so much more difficulty, but it is not beneficial for the team score so why do it.  Execution is key.  I was actually talking to one ex-coach that said college gymnastics is the only sport where you kind of regress in what you have been doing all your life.  You can't blame the coaches as they are constructing routines to get the best score.

The other aspect are the fans.  We have now come to expect 10's and high scores.  This is arguably more entertaining and draws more people in.  Judging has been affected as deductions for form, etc. have become more relaxed in my opinion.  The amount of 10's given out has increased dramatically even over the past 5 years.  You can find a lot of articles on this with a simple google search.  Now that we have gone down that road, going back would be difficult.  After all, at the end of the day, it can be more of a show than an actual competition.  There is no defense in gymnastics and the other team has no real affect on your performance unlike other sports.

The discrepancies in judging depending on the program and area of the country are also very questionable.  This year, there was a meet in which almost every team of 8 teams I believe scored the highest team score in program history.  I think you could say the judging was inflated.  There is also little argument that the big name programs get more than the benefit of the doubt if you know what I mean, and home cooking is very recurrent.  The GymBeavs benefit from this as well.

Bottom line is you can go crazy comparing scores and it will probably not get you anywhere as I have come to find out.  I do wish some changes would be made to make it so difficulty is rewarded more in college gymnastics as it could help differentiate the teams better.  I don't have an answer as to how to do this because I don't think that going to the international scoring would be the right move either.  Everyone knows what a 10 is and going away from that may cause disinterest from the average fan. 

With respect to the overall judging, I hate to say it but the old adage "it is what it is" comes to mind.  I would suggest trying not to do too much comparison because it probably will get you nowhere, as I have come to find out in following gymnastics in the club and college levels for a long time now.  Try to appreciate the amazing athletes that these girls are.  I would argue that gymnastics is one of the most difficult sports in the world and the skills that these ladies are able to do are second to none.  If you have to treat it as a show instead of an actual competition, then so be it.

Just my two cents.