Mountaineers Overwhelm Ohio State
February 12, 2010 11:05 PM | General
February 12, 2010
MEET RESULTS | PHOTOS
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| Amy Bieski |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team put forth its best effort of the year and trounced Ohio State, 195.65-192.8, this evening in front of 803 fans at the WVU Coliseum.
With season-best scores across the gym, the Mountaineers (11-3, 6-0 EAGL) earned their highest team total of the season. Additionally, the mark is the 28th-best score in program history; WVU last achieved the score in 2009 in a home victory over Temple.
Tonight’s win is WVU’s first over OSU since 2006; the Buckeyes still lead the series, 14-11.
The Mountaineers brushed past the Buckeyes (1-5, 0-2 Big Ten) on each event, scoring 48.875 on vault, 48.9 on bars, 48.8 on beam and 49.075 on floor; the floor point total is the team’s first 49.0-plus score of the year.
In total, seven Mountaineers set or matched eight career-best scores tonight.
Junior Amy Bieski was stellar again, finishing first overall with a season-best 39.25 score. The point total is the second-straight 39.0-plus score for the Nanticoke, Pa., native, and brings her season total to three and career total to 10.
Bieski’s evening included wins on bars and floor with respective season-best scores of 9.825 and 9.875; the bars total matches a career-high. Additionally, she finished third on beam with a career-best 9.8 and tied for fourth on vault with a 9.75 score.
The Mountaineers jumped out to the early lead thanks to their 48.875 vault showing. The Buckeyes tallied 48.475 on bars.
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| Ashley Wilson |
West Virginia natives Ashley Wilson and Chelsi Tabor, both seniors, bookended WVU’s strong first rotation with first-place 9.8s; the score is a career high for Wilson. Freshman Alaska Richardson finished third overall with a season-best 9.775, while Bieski and classmate Stephanie Keaton, in her first-career routine, tied for fourth place with 9.75 points.
The Mountaineers increased their advantage in the second rotation, scoring 48.9 on bars and pushing their team total to 97.775. The Buckeyes tallied 48.45 on vault and brought their team total to 96.925.
Bieski and sophomore Nicole Roach tied for first overall with season-high 9.825 bars scores. Junior Faye Meaden also notched a career-high, scoring 9.775 and tying for third place.
WVU’s lead grew to almost one point, 146.575-145.6, in the third rotation. The Mountaineers tallied 48.8 on beam, while the Buckeyes earned 48.675 on floor.
A senior duo again set the standard for WVU, as Shelly Purkat and Kiersten Spoerke earned season-best 9.825 scores and finished first overall. Bieski finished third with 9.8, and Tabor followed in fifth place with 9.725 points.
The Mountaineers’ No. 17-ranked floor lineup pulled through this evening with its triumphant 49.075 mark. Sophomore Tina Maloney finished second to Bieski with a career-best 9.85, while Purkat, in only her second appearance of the season on the apparatus, finished third with 9.825 points.
The Buckeyes tallied 47.2 on beam in their final rotation.
This evening’s contest was a designated Pink Meet, and the Mountaineers donned their pink uniforms to increase breast cancer awareness.
The Mountaineers venture away from the Coliseum next week and travel to State College, Pa., on Saturday, Feb. 20, for a 7 p.m. meet at No. 15 Penn State. The contest will be the second of the season between WVU and PSU; the Nittany Lions scored a 193.9-191.225 win over the Mountaineers at Michigan State on Jan. 8.
