Gymnastics: Gold-Blue Set for Friday
December 09, 2010 02:43 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia gymnastics team opens its 2011 campaign with its annual Gold-Blue intrasquad meet on Friday, Dec. 10, at 7:30 p.m., at the WVU Coliseum.
The meet provides the Mountaineers their only opportunity to compete their routines in front of a crowd prior to the start of the regular season. Though scores will not be awarded by judges, gymnasts will earn one point for each hit routine.
“We have been working very hard this fall to get our routines ready,” says coach Linda Burdette-Good. “You are going to see some good gymnastics Friday. We aren’t going to have perfection yet because it’s still too early, but fans will still see some very good routines.”
Tomorrow’s meet marks a change in the Mountaineers’ yearly schedule, as they still will have four weeks to train prior to their regular-season opener against No. 13 Missouri on Friday, Jan. 7, in Cancun, Mexico.
Seventeen Mountaineers will compete tomorrow, including six seniors back for their final year at WVU. Tops among the class is all-arounder Amy Bieski, a five-time 2010 all-East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) honoree. The Nanticoke, Pa., native returns ranked No. 16 on the all-time WVU career points list with 1,474.9 points.
Classmate Naja Johnson, a 2009 first team all-EAGL bars honoree, also makes her return to the lineup tomorrow after suffering through a season-ending ACL injury last year.
Also among the returning Mountaineers are juniors Tina Maloney and Nicole Roach, both 2010 all-EAGL honorees.
Six newcomers will join the 11 returning Mountaineers tomorrow, including Eastern Michigan transfer Kaylyn Millick, an individual all-around qualifier at last year’s NCAA Central Regional Championships.
Burdette-Good returns for her 37th season at the helm and owns a 631-253-4 (.713) career record. Including the team’s fourth-place finish at the 2010 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships, she has led 32 squads to regional tournaments and made multiple NCAA National Championships appearances.
Fans can follow the Mountaineers tomorrow via a live feed, available at www.MSNsportsNET.com.
2011 Gold-Blue Meet Rosters
Blue Team
Amy Bieski, Sr., Nanticoke, Pa.
Stephanie Keaton, Sr., Medina, Ohio
Tina Maloney, Jr., Hanover, Ind.
Faye Meaden, Sr., Milton Keynes, England
Alysha Pretzello, Sr., Diamondhead, Miss.
Alaska Richardson, So., Dayton, Ohio
Nicole Roach, Jr., South Lyon, Mich.
Janna Salim, Fr., Beltsville, Md.
Bethany Yurko, Fr., Cumberland, Md.
Gold Team
Makenzie Bristol, Fr., Prosper, Texas
Marina Galante, Fr., Cary, N.C.
Chelsea Goldschrafe, So., Franklin Lakes, N.J.
Arlene Hathaway, So., Walled Lake, Mich.
Naja Johnson, Sr., Austell, Ga.
Emily Kerwin, Sr., Central, S.C.
Kaylyn Millick, So., Washington, Pa.
Hope Sloanhoffer, Fr., Cornwall, N.Y.
The meet provides the Mountaineers their only opportunity to compete their routines in front of a crowd prior to the start of the regular season. Though scores will not be awarded by judges, gymnasts will earn one point for each hit routine.
“We have been working very hard this fall to get our routines ready,” says coach Linda Burdette-Good. “You are going to see some good gymnastics Friday. We aren’t going to have perfection yet because it’s still too early, but fans will still see some very good routines.”
Tomorrow’s meet marks a change in the Mountaineers’ yearly schedule, as they still will have four weeks to train prior to their regular-season opener against No. 13 Missouri on Friday, Jan. 7, in Cancun, Mexico.
Seventeen Mountaineers will compete tomorrow, including six seniors back for their final year at WVU. Tops among the class is all-arounder Amy Bieski, a five-time 2010 all-East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) honoree. The Nanticoke, Pa., native returns ranked No. 16 on the all-time WVU career points list with 1,474.9 points.
Classmate Naja Johnson, a 2009 first team all-EAGL bars honoree, also makes her return to the lineup tomorrow after suffering through a season-ending ACL injury last year.
Also among the returning Mountaineers are juniors Tina Maloney and Nicole Roach, both 2010 all-EAGL honorees.
Six newcomers will join the 11 returning Mountaineers tomorrow, including Eastern Michigan transfer Kaylyn Millick, an individual all-around qualifier at last year’s NCAA Central Regional Championships.
Burdette-Good returns for her 37th season at the helm and owns a 631-253-4 (.713) career record. Including the team’s fourth-place finish at the 2010 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships, she has led 32 squads to regional tournaments and made multiple NCAA National Championships appearances.
Fans can follow the Mountaineers tomorrow via a live feed, available at www.MSNsportsNET.com.
2011 Gold-Blue Meet Rosters
Blue Team
Amy Bieski, Sr., Nanticoke, Pa.
Stephanie Keaton, Sr., Medina, Ohio
Tina Maloney, Jr., Hanover, Ind.
Faye Meaden, Sr., Milton Keynes, England
Alysha Pretzello, Sr., Diamondhead, Miss.
Alaska Richardson, So., Dayton, Ohio
Nicole Roach, Jr., South Lyon, Mich.
Janna Salim, Fr., Beltsville, Md.
Bethany Yurko, Fr., Cumberland, Md.
Gold Team
Makenzie Bristol, Fr., Prosper, Texas
Marina Galante, Fr., Cary, N.C.
Chelsea Goldschrafe, So., Franklin Lakes, N.J.
Arlene Hathaway, So., Walled Lake, Mich.
Naja Johnson, Sr., Austell, Ga.
Emily Kerwin, Sr., Central, S.C.
Kaylyn Millick, So., Washington, Pa.
Hope Sloanhoffer, Fr., Cornwall, N.Y.
Alumni Series | Violet Hewett
Friday, May 01
SWIM: What it Means to Represent West Virginia
Wednesday, April 29
SWIM: What it Means to Become a Mountaineer
Wednesday, April 29
Gold-Blue Spring Festival Fan Recap
Sunday, April 19
