Gymnastics: WVU Cruises in Final Home Meet
March 18, 2006 04:21 PM | General
March 18, 2006
 |
||
| Burdette |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The 22nd-ranked West Virginia University gymnastics team won its fifth and final home meet of the 2006 season by posting a score of 194.625 and defeating visiting Rutgers (190.225) and Temple (186.175) Saturday at the WVU Coliseum.
West Virginia (17-6) compiled meet-high team scores on all four events as Mountaineer gymnasts placed in the top three on all four apparatuses.
In notching two wins during the meet, WVU head coach Linda Burdette earns her 541 career win and surpasses former Mountaineer baseball coach Dale Ramsburg (540) for the most career coaching wins in all sports at West Virginia.
Freshman Mehgan Morris produced the highest scores at the meet for the Mountaineers as she won uneven bars with a career-high 9.925. The Belle, W.Va., native also tumbled a meet-high score on the floor exercise tying a career high with a 9.9.
Other event winners for West Virginia included freshman Erica Watson, junior Janáe Cox and sophomore Jaime Gold all tying for first place on the vault with scores of 9.8. The Mountaineers’ meet-high vault score of 48.825 is the fifth time the team reached that mark in the last six meets.
West Virginia juniors Amie Bouchier and Tynisha Dennis tied for the win on the balance beam with scores of 9.825. Bouchier’s win is her second of her career and her score is a season high. Dennis’ mark ties a career high and is her first career win on the event.
The Mountaineers’ team score of 48.15 also included senior Gretchen Richter’s 9.8, which placed third overall.
Rounding out West Virginia’s team scores, the Mountaineers swung a 48.65 on the uneven bars and 49.0 on the floor exercise. In addition to Morris’ meet highs on the two events, Cox and Watson tumbled 9.825s on floor for second place. Cox and Watson placed second and third, respectively, on bars with scores of 9.85 and 9.75.
Cox won her sixth all-around title of the season (fifth at home) with a 38.3, tying Rutgers’ Elizabeth Fittery.
West Virginia’s next competition will be the EAGL Championships Saturday, March 25, at Rutgers beginning at 6 p.m. The Mountaineers are the top ranked team in the EAGL.
