WVU Hopes to Defend EAGL Title
March 20, 2009 10:17 AM | General
March 20, 2009
EAGL Championship Notes
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| Mehgan Morris |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 20 West Virginia University gymnastics team looks to defend its sixth conference title, as it competes at the 2009 EAGL Championship Saturday, March 21, at 3 p.m., at Reynolds Coliseum, in Raleigh, N.C.
The six-time champion Mountaineers (9-7 overall, 4-1 EAGL) enter the championship as the conference’s No. 1 team with a regional qualifying score (RQS) of 195.275; the team has held the No. 1 position all season.
“We have been very consistent throughout the year, with gradual improvement,” veteran Coach Linda Burdette says. “I think we have a chance to repeat. We have competed on the road very well this year.
“We’ve been put in tight situations this season, where we’ve been forced to step-up and stick our routines, and we’ve been able to do that.”
NC State, the tournament host, is ranked No. 2 in the EAGL with a 194.755 RQS, while North Carolina is No. 3 (194.670 RQS), Maryland is No. 4 (194.595 RQS) and New Hampshire is No. 5 (194.375 RQS).
Saturday’s championship will be the Mountaineers’ first meet this season with UNH, UNC and NC State. WVU topped each of the remaining league opponents with the exception of UM, which defeated the Mountaineers, 194.475-193.925, on Jan. 31 in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers look to hold their greatest scoring advantage on both the bars and the floor, where they have been ranked No. 1 each week this season. The team currently holds a 48.900 RQS on the bars, and a 48.935 RQS on the floor.
Senior Mehgan Morris paces the Mountaineers on the bars, as the 2008 EAGL bars champion enters the championship with the league’s No. 1 RQS (9.865). The Belle, W.Va., native is currently riding a streak of 9.90-plus scores on the apparatuses, having earned a season-high 9.925 on March 8 against Penn State, and a 9.90 on March 13 at Iowa State.
Morris is also ranked No. 1 on the floor (9.880 RQS) and the all-around (39.220 RQS), though she is tied with NC State’s Taylor Seaman on the floor, and closely pursued by Seaman in the all-around (39.215 RQS). The Mountaineer co-captained tied Seaman and the Wolfpack’s Leigha Hancock for the EAGL floor title last season.
Morris and Seaman look to be the frontrunners for the league’s Gymnast of the Year honor. Each has received the EAGL Gymnast of the Week award multiple times this season, as Morris has been honored four times, and Seaman three; they are the only two gymnasts to be honored more than once.
“I think Mehgan has just gotten better and better every meet this season,” Burdette says. “I’m hoping that she’ll be able to pull out the win in the all-around.”
Through 49 career meets, Morris has earned 1,506.50 points and ranks 14th on the WVU Career Points List.
Sophomore Amy Bieski enters the championship with potential to place in at least two events, as she ranks No. 4 on the floor (9.850 RQS), No. 6 in the all-around (38.930 RQS) and No. 7 on the vault (9.835 RQS).
The Nanticoke, Pa., native has been quietly consistent throughout the year, as she has scored 39.00-plus points in five of the last eight meets, including a 39.225 point showing on March 1. The score was 0.050 points short of her career-best mark. For her efforts this season, Bieski was named the EAGL Specialist of the Week on Jan. 19 and the EAGL Gymnast of the Week on Jan. 26.
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| Amy Bieski |
“As this season has progressed, Amy has gained more confidence,” Burdette explains. “I think this confidence will help her out-perform the competition this weekend.”
Junior Chelsi Tabor continues to be one of the league’s strongest vaulters, having finished first in six competitions this season. Tabor, runner-up at last year’s championship, scored a season-best 9.90 vault on March 8, and has netted 9.875 points in three meets. The Beckley, W.Va., native enters the meet ranked No. 3 with a 9.865 RQS.
Joining Morris in the Mountaineers’ consistent bars lineup are sophomore Naja Johnson and freshman Nicole Roach. Each as performed at an exceptionally high level this season. Johnson, an Austell, Ga., native, ranks No. 8 (9.800 RQS) in the EAGL, while Roach, a South Lyon, Mich., native, owns the league’s sixth-best average (9.752).
Junior Kiersten Spoerke has been the glue that has held WVU’s beam lineup together. The Suwanee, Ga., native ranks No. 5 (9.805 RQS) with a 9.688 average through 10 meets. Since scoring a season-best 9.90 on Jan. 31, Spoerke has netted three 9.850-plus scores and has not earned less than 9.750.
The Mountaineers boast a deep floor lineup. Joining Morris and Bieski are Johnson, Spoerke and junior Shelly Purkat. Johnson ranks No. 13 (9.805 RQS), while Spoerke holds the league’s fifth-best average (9.770). Additionally, Purkat has been solid, earning five 9.80-plus scores in nine meets, including a season-best 9.85 on Jan. 23.
Additionally, for only the third week of the season, the Mountaineers will be at full strength, as senior Erica Watson returned to the lineup on March 8, and has contributed on each event but the vault since her return. The Levittown, Pa., native has nabbed two season-best scores in two weeks, as she scored a 9.80 on the floor on March 8, and a 9.825 on the bars on March 13.
“I think having a full lineup makes a difference,” Burdette explains. “We’re especially lucky to have Erica back. She’s a very confident performer, and I think she will be a difference maker on Saturday.”
WVU won its league record sixth championship last season, scoring 196.050 points and edging defending champion NC State (195.475) in Morgantown. With her individual bars and floor titles, Morris became WVU’s 11th EAGL champion in 13 years.
The Mountaineers have amassed a 65-19-1 (.771) record in the championship’s 13-year history, and boasts a 195.496 championship average.
Fans can follow the Mountaineers in action this weekend, as live stats will be available HERE, and free live streaming will be available HERE.
