Gymnastics: Blue Team Wins Intrasquad
January 02, 2010 09:42 PM | General
January 2, 2010
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| Naja Johnson |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The Blue team went 11-for-11 on the vault and floor and defeated the Gold team, 21-16, this evening in the WVU gymnastics team’s annual Gold-Blue intrasquad meet at the WVU Coliseum.
Each gymnast was awarded one point for a hit routine. Tonight’s meet is the only time the Mountaineers, ranked No. 21 in the Women’s GymInfo Preseason Coaches’ Poll, will perform in front of a crowd before opening their 2010 season.
The Blue team jumped out to a 4-3 advantage after a solid vault rotation. Freshman Alaska Richardson highlighted the middle of the team's lineup with an explosive vault in her first meet as a Mountaineer. Sophomore Nicole Roach anchored the Gold team's bars lineup and earned one point for her squad.
The Gold squad, anchored by reigning East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) vault champion Chelsi Tabor, went 4-for-5 on vault and remained one point behind the Blue team, 8-7, through two rotations. Senior Ashley Wilson opened the Blue team's bars rotation with a stick, while all-EAGL first team bars honoree, junior Naja Johnson, anchored the lineup with a solid routine.
The Blue team pulled ahead, 14-11, following an exceptional beam rotation. Six Mountaineers hit routines, with 2009 EAGL co-champion Shelly Purkat closing the rotation with a stick. All-EAGL first team floor honorees Kiersten Spoerke and Amy Bieski anchored the Gold team's floor lineup and each earned one point.
The Blue team secured its win in the fourth rotation with a perfect 7-for-7 showing on the floor
The Mountaineers open their regular season at No. 24-ranked Michigan State on Friday, Jan. 8, at 6 p.m., at the Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Mich. WVU will also face No. 11-ranked Penn State and Western Michigan.
