Gymnastics: Home Opener Saturday Night
January 28, 2005 01:18 PM | General
January 28, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team will compete in its first home meet of the season Saturday, Jan. 29, when the Mountaineers entertain North Carolina at the WVU Coliseum beginning at 7 p.m.
The meet pits the top two teams in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) from last year. The Mountaineers lost the regular season meeting, 197.025-195.3, in Raleigh, N.C., but had the upper hand winning the EAGL championships with a 197.050 over the second-place Tar Heels’ sum of 196.725.
This year, North Carolina (7-0) is the only undefeated EAGL team after a 195.1-189.3 win at William & Mary on Friday, Jan. 21, and ranks fifth in the nation with a 49.225 vault average. West Virginia (1-1), also featuring a nationally-ranked vault team with an 18th-rated average of 48.8, is coming off a 192.925-185.5 win over Pitt last Saturday.
West Virginia set season highs in all its event last week at Pitt, while individual highs and event winners included senior Kari Williams landing a 9.9 on vault, senior Jessica Bartgis a 9.7 on bars and 38.575 in the all-around, and sophomores Janáe Cox and Tynisha Dennis with 9.8 on beam and floor, respectively.
The Tar Heels own the second-highest league scoring average with 192.975, compared to the Mountaineers’ fourth-highest average of 191.725. UNC also features reigning national champion and EAGL gymnast of the year Courtney Bumpers, who, as a sophomore last year, won the floor exercise at NCAAs and became the school’s first All-American.
West Virginia leads the all-time series with North Carolina, 18-9, and have not lost a home meet since 2003 after going 7-0-1 at home last year. The Mountaineers are also 44-9 all-time in home openers.
