Gymnastics: WVU Drops to No. 21
January 19, 2009 12:24 PM | General
January 19, 2009
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| Chelsi Tabor |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – On the heels of a 1-2 showing at Michigan State on Jan. 17, the West Virginia University gymnastics team dropped three spots to No. 21 in the Jan. 19 GymInfo Poll.
The Mountaineers (1-3) moved out of the Top 20 due to their third-place showing with 193.700 points in East Lansing. Iowa finished first at the meet with 194.350 points, while the host Spartans took second with 194.200 points. Illinois State finished fourth with 190.700 points.
WVU opened its season with a 195.425-194.075 loss at then-No. 1 Georgia on Jan. 9. Through two weeks of competition, the Mountaineers average 193.887 points per meet.
The Mountaineers still rank in the Top 20 in the nation in three of the four apparatuses – No. 17 on uneven bars (48.625 average), No. 18 on vault (48.737 average) and No. 18 on floor (48.637 average). Those rankings all improve to No. 3 and No. 1 in the Southeast Region and in the EAGL Conference, respectively.
Individually, senior Mehgan Morris, junior Chelsi Tabor and sophomore Amy Bieski own national rankings, as Morris ranks No. 23 on bars (9.837 average), Tabor No. 20 on vault (9.850 average) and Bieski No. 25 on the floor (9.837 average). Those rankings improve to No. 6, No. 4 and No. 4 in the Southeast Region and No. 1 in the EAGL. Additionally, Morris ranks No. 5 in the all-around (38.862 average) in the Southeast Region and No. 1 in the EAGL.
Despite their two defeats on Jan. 17, Morris, Tabor and Bieski finished first overall in their strong events. Morris topped the uneven bars field with 9.825 points, while Bieski finished first on the floor with 9.850 points. Tabor took her second vault title of the season with 9.825 points. The Beckley, W.Va., native also paced the Mountaineers on the balance beam with a team best 9.700 points.
Additionally, the Mountaineers finished first overall on bars with 48.775 points.
WVU opens both its home and conference season when it welcomes Pitt this Friday, Jan. 23, at 8 p.m., at the WVU Coliseum.
GymInfo rankings are based on total season average until Feb. 16, when regional qualifying scores become the basis for rankings.
