Gymnast Tracy Kerner capped off her illustrious evening standing up straight, her right hand pointing majestically into the air.

After the senior tri-captain's march to the beat of the Blue Band, the women's gymnastics team marched to a victory over Oregon State and a second-place finish to Alabama Friday.

Kerner and the No. 11 Lady Lions (2-1) finished the night with a final score of 193.025. No. 2 Alabama (3-0) placed first (193.9), while No. 6 Oregon State (0-2) took third (191.55).

Kerner's night began on the uneven bars. She was almost perfect and when the judges posted the 9.9 score, the Rec Hall crowd erupted. The score tied Kerner with former Lady Lion Jada Hildabrand's school record, set in 1992.

Kerner was not as impressive on the balance beam (9.25), but finished strong on the floor exercise (9.6). For the second time in two meets, the audience offered its displeasure with what they believed to be a low score.

But Kerner did not complain.

"I thought it was pretty fairly judged," Kerner said. "I'm not focused on the score."

Two other contributors to the Lady Lions' finish were junior Bridget Foley and freshman all-arounder Joanna Knox.

Last weekend, Foley received a 9.7 on the floor and a standing ovation in the process. Foley talked with the judges to find out how she could improve. This time she was ready, scoring a slightly improved 9.725.

"It's a pumping routine." she said. "You can let your adrenaline go."

Foley also performed well on the uneven bars (9.85) and the beam (9.675). Her performance earned her the Anne Carr Award, an honor given at every home meet to the female gymnast whose performance was most inspirational.

Knox also had another spectacular meet. In just her second collegiate meet, the freshman sensation won her second all-around, this time with a score of 39.00.

Knox led her team in two of the four events. She placed first on beam (9.775) and floor (9.85), second on vault (9.775) and fourth on bars (9.6).

"I was really focused," Knox said. "I focus so that the meet is just like practice."

Knox's performance was all the more impressive because she beat out Alabama's Kim Kelly in the process. Kelly was a second-alternate for the 1992 U.S. Olympic team that competed in Barcelona, Spain.

Knox's performances are making her coach proud.

"She's a damned good gymnast," Lady Lion Coach Steve Shephard said. "She's something you always hope for."

Although he said he accepted the team's second-place finish over the Beavers, Shephard was unhappy.

"I was disappointed that we didn't beat Alabama," he said. "Our goal was to win. We came close -- we had a chance to beat them."

Senior tri-captain Kerry Slattery, who struggled last weekend because of an ankle injury, performed well, scoring a 9.575 on bars, 9.375 on floor and 9.35 on beam.

"We have room to improve," Slattery said. "I think we have a lot farther to go, but I think we're on the right track."