Gymnastics: WVU Narrowly Falls at Georgia
January 09, 2009 10:33 PM | General
January 9, 2009
| #23 West Virginia 194.075, #1 Georgia 195.425 Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Ga. |
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Meet Results |
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| Stat Comparison | ||||||||||||||||
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| Vault | 48.825 | 49.175 | ||||||||||||||
| Bars | 48.475 | 48.85 | ||||||||||||||
| Beam | 48.125 | 48.85 | ||||||||||||||
| Floor | 48.65 | 48.625 | ||||||||||||||
| Top WVU Gymnasts | ||||||||||||||||
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ATHENS, Ga. – Performing in front of a crowd of 8,257, the No. 23 West Virginia University gymnastics team (0-1) was edged out by host No. 1 Georgia, 195.425-194.075, at Stegeman Coliseum this evening in its season opener.
Nine-time overall and four-time defending NCAA champion UGA (1-0) now holds a 6-0 series advantage.
WVU totaled one first-place score, as junior Chelsi Tabor earned 9.875 on the vault. Tabor shared the honor with UGA’s McComb and Tiffany Tolnay.
Senior Mehgan Morris, the 2008 EAGL uneven bars champion, scored 9.85 on the apparatus to lead the Mountaineers to a 48.475 point total in their first rotation. Morris finished with the third best event score. Sophomores Naja Johnson and Amy Bieski were equally strong, scoring 9.75 and 9.725, respectively.
Despite Morris’ strong showing, the Bulldogs took the first rotation, scoring 49.175 on the vault. Cassidy McComb and Tiffany Tolnay both scored 9.875 to pace UGA.
Tabor anchored the vault lineup with her first-place routine in the Mountaineers’ second rotation. Tabor followed an exceptionally strong vault showing from Bieski. The Nanticoke, Pa., native matched a career-high and netted the meet’s second best vault score with 9.850 points. Freshman Tina Maloney, competing in her first meet as a Mountaineer, jump-started WVU’s second rotation with a 9.775.
UGA retained its lead following the conclusion of the second rotation, as Courtney Kupets and Tolnay scored 9.975 and 9.9, respectively, on the uneven bars, and the Bulldogs tallied a 48.85 point total.
Trailing 98.025-97.300 going in to the third rotation, all five counting Mountaineers scored 9.6 or more on the floor exercise for a 48.65 team score. Morris and Bieski paced the Mountaineers, scoring 9.85 and 9.825, respectively, while junior Shelly Purkat performed a clean performance for a 9.7 score. Classmate Kiersten Spoerke finished with a 9.65, and Tabor, competing on the floor for the first time, scored a 9.625.
The Bulldogs netted 48.775 on the beam in the third rotation, as Hilary Mauro and Kupets each scored 9.85.
In WVU’s fourth and final rotation, freshman Jenn Sharon proved steady in her first meet as a Mountaineer, totaling 9.725 on the balance beam towards the team’s total score of 48.125. Morris and Purkat finished second for WVU, as each scored 9.650.
The Bull Dogs ended the meet on the floor with a 48.625. Kupets and Abby Stack each scored +9.0, earning scores of 9.950 and 9.90, respectively.
The Mountaineers stay on the road next week and travel to East Lansing, Mich., on Jan. 17 for a quad meet with Michigan State, Iowa and Illinois State. Competition is set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
