Gymnastics: WVU Bulldozes BGSU
March 06, 2010 05:03 PM | General
March 6, 2010
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| Chelsi Tabor |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team excelled infront of a home crowd and triumphed over the Falcons from Bowling Green with a 194.725-191.55 victory this afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.
The win is the Mountaineers’ (12-7, 6-0 EAGL) first since a resounding 195.65-192.8 victory over Ohio State on Feb. 12.
WVU swept the Falcons (5-5) with wins on each apparatus and scored season-highs on vault (49.125) and beam (48.8).
Junior Amy Bieski finished first overall with 39.1 points. The point total is the fifth 39.0-plus mark of the season for the Nanticoke, Pa., native, and the 12th of her career; she is now tied for seventh place with Dinorh Boyd (2000-03) for the most career 39.0-plus scores. Additionally, with 1,318.725 career points, Bieski inched closer to breaking onto the WVU all-time career points list – she needs 58.525 points to overtake Susie Pierce (1,377.25 points) for 19th place.
Senior Chelsi Tabor had arguably the single-best routine of the meet, as the Beckley, W.Va., native stuck an almost-perfect vault and finished first overall with a career-best 9.95 score; she is the first Mountaineer to earn the score since 2004. Tabor had not scored better than 9.9 since achieving a 9.925 score on Feb. 15, 2008. With six 9.9-plus vault scores to her name, she now sits in a three-way tie for sixth place on the vault all-time list.
In total, four Mountaineers achieved career-best scores this afternoon, with four additional gymnasts tallying season-best marks.
A season-high 49.125 vault score gave the Mountaineers the early advantage. The Falcons opened on bars and tallied 47.425 points.
Tabor anchored the Mountaineers’ first rotation and finished first overall with her career-best 9.95 score. Bieski preceded Tabor with a season-best 9.875 and finished in second place. Freshman Alaska Richardson finished third with a career-best 9.8. Additionally, juniors Stephanie Keaton and Emily Kerwin matched season-highs with 9.75 scores and tied for sixth place.
WVU continued to steamroll BGSU in the second rotation, scoring 48.525 on bars and pushing its team total to 97.65. The Falcons tallied 48.05 on vault for a 95.475 running score.
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| Kiersten Spoerke |
Bieski paced the Mountaineers on bars with a first-place 9.8 showing. Sophomore Nicole Roach finished in second place with 9.775 points, while junior Alysha Pretzello reached the podium for the first time in her career and finished in third place with 9.725 points.
WVU increased its lead to almost three points in the third rotation, 146.45-143.225. The Mountaineers matched a season-best on beam with 48.8 points, while the Falcons earned 47.75 on floor.
Senior Kiersten Spoerke, back in the lineup after a two-week absence, tallied a season-best 9.875 and anchored the Mountaineers’ rotation with a first-place finish. Roach finished third with 9.775 points, and Bieski tied for fourth place with a 9.75 score. Also of note, sophomore Tina Maloney finished fifth on the team, seventh overall, with a season-best 9.675 score.
The Mountaineers cushioned their win in the fourth rotation with a 48.275 floor score. BGSU closed the meet on beam and scored 48.325 points.
Freshman Chelsea Goldschrafe pulled through for the Mountaineers on floor, finishing first overall and matching a career-best score with 9.75 points. Maloney anchored the Mountaineers’ lineup and tied for second place with a 9.725 score. Bieski finished fourth overall with a 9.675 score.
This afternoon’s win pushes the Mountaineers’ series advantage to 7-5.
WVU closes out its regular-season road schedule at East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) foe North Carolina on Saturday, March 13, at 1 p.m.
