There hasn’t been an Oregon State gymnastics meet in the past three years when Chelsea Tang failed to capture the attention of the crowd.
Every time Tang slides into her straddle splits on beam, the fans respond loudly.
It’s been a signature move for Tang going back to her club years and she wasn’t used to all the commotion when she performed it for the first time in Gill Coliseum.
“When I got here it got a big reaction,” Tang said.
“I heard the crowd go crazy and I was like, ‘What?… Oh.’”
It was a big splash for a soft-spoken athlete, but Tang’s strength comes from a strong work ethic and the ability to compete with consistency at a high level.
She has stayed on a steady course during her time as an OSU gymnast.
Last season as a sophomore, Tang was first-team all-Pacific-12 on beam and she made the NCAA Championships in the all-around.
Since then she has worked on fine-tuning the four events and it paid off as she was named to the all-Pac-12 first team as an all-arounder.
Tang had a career-high score of 39.500 at the University of Arizona and a 39.325 at the Pac-12 championships, good for fourth.
“Chelsea has done a remarkable job for us competing in the all-around in every competition,” OSU coach Tanya Chaplin said.
“She’s hit 39 out of 40 routines, so a very consistent performer. We couldn’t ask for more from her and it was great to see her receive an all-conference award for the accomplishments she’s had this year competing throughout the season.”
Tang has a high score of 9.875 on vault, has scored 9.900 twice on bars and once on floor.
Her strongest event is beam. She has one 9.925 and has hit 9.900 twice.
She rarely wobbles and hasn’t had a fall. Her low score was a 9.825 and she averages a 9.863.
“I guess I like beam because it’s challenging,” Tang said. “And when you do really nail a routine there’s no better feeling.”
To stay consistent, Tang said she focuses on her technique.
“Just keeping everything the same no matter where I go, no matter the venue,” she said. “Just trying to do the gymnastics that I do here.”
Tang grew up in Eugene and trained at the National Academy of Artistic Gymnastics.
She watched as older gymnasts Jami Lanz and Becky Colvin went on to compete at OSU.
“So we would go to the meets a lot when I was younger and I heard nothing but great things coming from both of them about the atmosphere here and the coaches,” Tang said. “So ever since I was young, I wanted to go here and it was close to home, so that was good, too.”
Chaplin and Tang’s teammates describe her as someone who is quiet but comes out of her shell as she becomes comfortable.
That’s when she unleashes her sense of humor.
“She is quiet but she’s kind of goofy and she makes them laugh a lot,” Chaplin said. “But you have to get to know her a little bit more to see that side of her.”
Senior Brittany Harris said she’s always laughing with Tang and it makes the hard work fun.
“We just kind of play with each other like, ‘OK, you’re going to do that routine? I’m going to do this,’ ” Harris said. “Or, ‘watch me, look what I’m going to do.’
“She’s quiet, but once you get to know her, she’s so funny. She’s awesome.”
Harris said Tang’s hard work rubs off on the younger athletes.
“She’s a great leader for the underclassmen,” Harris said. “She’s going to make a great senior next year.”