Gymnastics: WVU Places Second in Home Opener
January 27, 2008 03:54 PM | General
January 27, 2008
MEET RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY
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| Shelly Purkat |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University gymnastics team placed second with 192.700 points in a quad meet at the WVU Coliseum this afternoon.
Oklahoma won the meet with 196.550 points. George Washington was third with 192.050 points, while William & Mary was fourth with 187.425 points.
"I was pleased to see how our girls came back today after how we started," Head Coach Linda Burdette says. "We then started performing more like we are capable of, especially on bars and floor."
Junior Mehgan Morris led the Mountaineers on the uneven parallel bars and on the balance beam. The Belle, W.Va., native placed third on both events with a score of 9.85 on bars and a score of 9.75 on beam.
West Virginia also had a pair of top performances on the floor exercise from freshman Amy Bieski and sophomore Shelly Purkat as each notched a 9.875 to tie for second in that event. Bieski placed fourth in the all-around with 38.275 points.
The Mountaineers (4-5, 2-0 EAGL) had to battle back from a slow start that led to just 47.050 points on vault in the first rotation.
WVU responded with a season-high score on bars with a combined total of 48.675 points. Morris’ 9.85 was complimented by 9.7 scores from Katie McGregor and Ashley Wilson and a 9.75 from Bieski. Each of those four scores were season bests, respectively.
After tallying 47.900 points on beam, WVU finished the meet on floor in the final rotation. The Mountaineers hit each routine to score build to an impressive score of 49.075 (season-high) points. Senior Margaret Ann Moore hit to tie her career-high of 9.775, while Morris received a 9.825 from the judges. Bieski and Purkat rounded out WVU’s lineup with 9.875s to end competition.
WVU returns to action at Penn State on Feb. 2, at 2 p.m., in University Park, Pa.
