Gymnastics: Mountaineers Edged
February 08, 2003 11:46 PM | General
February 8, 2003
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- West Virginia University's gymnastics team (5-2) went 1-1 at No. 11 Michigan Saturday evening, falling to the Wolverines (6-4) in a close meet that came down to the wire at Cliff Keen Arena, 195.4 to 195.225. The Mountaineers pulled out a victory over No. 19 Kent State who scored a 194.925.
WVU entered the final rotation of the evening on balance beam with a commanding lead on Kent State (6-4) and Michigan.
But West Virginia recorded two falls on the apparatus, one which counted, and scored a poor 48.375. Couple that with a dominant Michigan floor performance (49.4) and the end result was a disappointing loss for WVU.
WVU recorded a season-best 49.025 on uneven bars which gave the Mountaineers their first lead of the night and momentum heading into beam competition. On bars, the Mountaineers were paced by senior co-captain Amanda Halovanic's season-high 9.875, senior Dinorh Boýd's season-high 9.825 and freshman Alyssa DeSantis' career-best 9.8.
On its second event, vault, WVU, which is ranked sixth nationall, scored a 48.9, highlighted by a 9.85 by senior co-captain TeShawne Jackson and a 9.8 by Halovanic. WVU opened the meet on floor exercise with a team score of 48.95 and was paced by freshman Shani Andrews' career-best 9.85 and Boyd's 9.875.
Boyd was WVU's leading all-arounder performer. She scored a season-best 39.35, good for third place in the meet. She also tied for second on beam with a 9.9, WVU's lone 9.9 score on the evening.
Boyd's performance gives her 1,403.35 career points, which moved her into 11th place on the all-time WVU career points list. The Mt. Holly, N.J., native also moved into sole possession of 4th place on the all-time Mountaineer 39.0 or higher all-around scores list with 12.
Jackson recorded a 39.05 on the evening, her 13th career 39.0 or better score, which moved her into sole possession third place on that list. The Summerville, S.C., native tied for third on vault with a 9.85. Halovanic tied for second on bars with a 9.875.
On the night, three Mountaineers set or tied career-bests on the evening highlighted by Andrews' floor performance, DeSantis' bars performance and junior Jessica Bartgis' 9.825 on balance beam.
Despite the loss, many good things came out of the performance. WVU still managed a dominant performance on the road in a hostile Michigan environment where very few opponents score over a 195.
West Virginia returns to action, Friday, Feb. 14, at Maryland, for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Terps at Cole Fieldhouse. The Mountaineers then return to the WVU Coliseum for tri-meet as they host Penn State and EAGL rival Rutgers, Sunday, Feb. 16, at 2 p.m.
