Kaytianna McMillan has not shied from big moments in her final year at Oregon State. After lifting the Beavers to a win over Utah with a clutch final floor routine in January, the senior was once again called upon to deliver at the Champaign, IL, regional on April 1.

Needing a 9.80 to advance to the NCAA Championships, McMillan came through with 9.875 to clinch Oregon State's spot in St. Louis this weekend.

McMillan has been to the NCAA Championships as an individual on balance beam in 2014. She was injured in the Beavers' team appearance in 2015 after a devastating knee injury suffered at regionals.

She has competed in the all-around in all 12 meets this season and posted a season-best 39.650 against Illinois-Chicago on March 11. McMillan really stands out on floor exercise and balance beam with her a dramatic floor routine and unique skills on balance beam. She notched the first perfect 10 of her career on the uneven bars on senior night.

Nail @beavergym's first Perfect 10 in nine years? On Senior Day? That'll earn Kaytianna McMillan #Pac12Gym Gymnast of the Week honors. pic.twitter.com/QYayY1bloY

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 14, 2017

The Beavers will take on Pac-12 rivals UCLA, Utah, and Washington as well as Denver and defending champion Oklahoma in Friday's first semifinal session.

FloGymnastics: What is your favorite event to perform on and why?
Kaytianna McMillan: My favorite event to perform on is definitely floor. I love how it brings different elements of dance and power and tumbling all into one. You can really bring in your audience and engage those around you while you're competing. So it's more than just yourself; you can really bring others into your performance, which I think is super fun. Having your teammates dance alongside of you is also such a great atmosphere.

What is your favorite skill to perform on any event?
I think my favorite skill to perform is my one-arm front handspring on beam just because nobody does it [and] it's kind of unique. No one's really expecting it, and then you get that crowd enthusiasm with it.

What's the most challenging skill that you've learned and what made it challenging for you?
The most challenging skill I think I've learned is a hop on bars into my Jaeger. I had never done that before college. It was really the only thing I needed to completely learn from scratch.

Is it more difficult to learn something completely new in college as opposed to when you're first starting out in the sport?
I think it really depends what skill and what event you're trying to learn. It's definitely easy to learn when you're younger and little and you're just starting out. But it's not too much harder when you're older and in college.

What lessons have you taken away from this season?
This season I think I've learned so much about how a team works together and how we flow as one unit. I think that [that's] so important for having a successful season. Learning the different personalities of the girls on the team was really important to mesh together as one. I think that's been extremely influential this season for me and for the team.

What does it mean to you both personally and as a team to make it to nationals this year?
It's so incredible to make it to nationals. This team is really special. It's one of the best teams I've ever been a part of. We work so hard inside and outside of the gym to do what we need to do to be in the best situations. Making it to nationals is really just icing on the cake to see all of our hard work pay off. Especially being a senior, it's my last year, and we have such a big senior class. It's so exciting for us to go out at nationals.

After fighting back from all of the injuries throughout your career, what does it mean for you personally to finish your career at nationals?
It's so incredible. I have had so much adversity in my career here at Oregon State with injuries. I know all the other seniors have as well. Just going out there is such a celebration. It's a celebration of the past four years, even of your whole career since you start when you're five. Just going out there and putting it all on the floor and celebrating what you've done.

How does the adversity that your team faces during the regular season help prepare you for the postseason?
We have had adversity this season, but it has prepared us for nationals because we're really ready for anything. We have such a strong mindset, such strong mental choreography that we can face whatever is thrown at us, whether it's other teams or something that happens on our team. We've become very mentally tough this season. We've worked a lot on that, and I think we're really ready to go in with a confident mindset to nationals.

What your biggest takeaway from regionals, especially with it being so close?
I think we really, as a team, need to focus on ourselves and what we can control rather than the uncontrollables of what other teams do. I think it was a big reminder for our team to go out and have fun. We do our best gymnastics when we're having fun, and we're enjoying each other's company and each other's routines. I think we got away from that a little bit at regionals, because we wanted to make nationals so bad. So going into nationals we're just going with a mindset of go out there and do your best, do what you know how to do, and have fun, enjoy each other.

How do you bounce back from a fall?
I think we practice this all the time in the gym that we have each other's backs. That's what we're there for. If somebody falls, it's not the end of the world because people make mistakes all the time. You just need to go up and do exactly what you know how to do--nothing more, nothing less--and try and keep that calm mindset.

How would you describe yourself in three words?
Hard-working, goofy, and a leader.

What are you most looking forward to about nationals this week?
I'm just excited for the memories we're going to make as a team. Traveling, especially for a long weekend is so fun. Going to the banquet, staying in the hotel with your friends and teammates, having all of our fans come out and support us, just the whole atmosphere is so positive and uplifting and nothing compares to that time.

Has it hit you yet that your career is almost over?
I think it hits me in waves. We talk about it as a senior class all the time. But we have countdowns on our board and when you see that countdown for five practices left it does hit you. It just makes you realize how much you need to appreciate every day and you need to live in the moment. But we're excited to go out at nationals and just have so much fun.


Related:
2017 NCAA Championships Rotation Order For Semifinals & Super Six
2017 NCAA Championships Field Set