Gymnastics and Wrestling: Beauty and the Beast Set
January 13, 2011 02:36 PM | General
LIVE STATS
GYMNASTICS FEED
WRESTLING FEED
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 13 West Virginia gymnastics and wrestling teams open their home season and play host to Michigan State on Friday, Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m., at the WVU Coliseum. The event is the first-ever “Beauty and the Beast” meet, with both teams competing simultaneously.
Friday’s event provides Mountaineer fans the opportunity to watch two teams, each coming off upset victories, at the same time. The meet is a “Dollar Night,” with all tickets, hotdogs, popcorn and Coca-Colas available for the purchase of $1. Additionally, fans in attendance will have a chance to sign-up to win two family four pack of tickets to this May’s performance of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at the Creative Arts Center. The tickets will be given away courtesy of WVU Arts and Entertainment.
“I’m excited. Everyone in the athletic department and in the Morgantown and surrounding areas seems to be anticipating the meet,” says 37-year gymnastics coach Linda Burdette-Good. “I look forward to a really great crowd. I think fans want to come watch two teams that just upset nationally ranked squads. I think they also want to see how we’re going to pull this off.”
Wrestling against the third and final team from the Big Ten Conference this season, WVU will look to improve on its 4-3 dual meet mark before Eastern Wrestling League action begins Jan. 21 at Bloomsburg. The Spartans are 7-1 on the year with their only loss being at 29-10 decision to No. 6 Iowa.
“It will be very similar to the match we had against Illinois,” says WVU wrestling coach Craig Turnbull. “We have very equal matchups for most of the weight classes. If things go our way and we wrestle to our potential, we can come away with another victory.”
Tomorrow’s meeting is the third between the gymnastics squads in as many years, with the Spartans (0-3, 0-2 Big Ten) having defeated the Mountaineers (1-0) 194.2-193.7 in 2009 and 193.925-191.225 in 2010; both meets were in East Lansing, Mich. WVU last trumped MSU, 193.15-192.15, in 2007, at Pitt. The all-time series is tied, 10-10-1.
WVU opens its home schedule with a winning record, as it earned a come-from-behind
194.5-191.575 victory over then-No. 13 Missouri in its season opener on Jan. 7, at the Cancun Classic, in Cancun, Mexico.
The Mountaineers’ winning score was their best point total in a season opener since earning 194.8 points in 2007.
“I really liked what I saw from the team this week in practice, and I’m hoping with this
meet being both the home opener and a special and unique event, we will continue to build on last week’s success and get better,” says Burdette-Good. “Until you get that first meet out of the way, you are just making routines. Once we returned from Mexico, we held a video session, saw how we competed and turned our focus toward fixing the little things, like making better handstands, tightening our knees on beam and correcting our landings.”
Several matchups feature ranked wrestlers from both squads as WVU’s redshirt senior Brandon Rader will grapple with MSU’s Dan Osterman at 149 pounds, while No. 21 Matt Ryan of WVU will go against Ian Hinton at 184 pounds.
Rader is coming off his most impressive victory of the season against the Illini, where he gave the team an 18-15 win following his upset defeat of No. 7 Eric Terrazas via fall in 49 seconds. Osterman is 16-4 on the year and is 8-0 in dual meets this season for the Spartans. Rader will look to avenge a victory Osterman had over him last season in East Lansing, where he lost by a 7-6 decision.
Ryan will look to improve on his 12-3 record this season against Hinton, who owns a 10-4 overall record and is 6-1 in dual meets.
At 165 pounds, WVU redshirt senior Donnie Jones will face Spartan Bed Boudro, while senior 197-pounder Kyle Rooney will wrestle MSU’s No. 16 Tyler Dickenson, who is 16-7 this year and recently placed eighth at the Midlands Championships. Rooney defeated Dickenson last season by a 9-6 decision.
“Those are matchups that we will count on for us to be successful,” Turnbull says. “We have to win those if we’re to come out with a team victory.”
WVU has two other ranked wrestlers in No. 23 sophomore Shane Young at 125 pounds and redshirt freshman No. 14 Nathan Pennesi at 133 pounds. Young defeated his opponent, Eric Olanowski, by a 6-2 decision last year.
For the 174-pound class, either redshirt juniors Christian Mory or Robert DeSano will compete for the Mountaineers against the Spartans’ No. 20 Curran Jacobs. WVU heavyweight Philip Mandzik has the difficult challenge of facing No. 16 Mike McClure.
“I see this as another very large challenge for us,” Turnbull says. “Both teams will come ready to wrestle and it will be a matchup that we can win if we pull off some of the close matches.”
The Spartan gymnasts, led by 20-year coach Kathy Klages, enter tomorrow night’s meet after scoring 191.85 in their season opener and finishing fourth to then-No. 9 Michigan, Iowa and Western Michigan. Junior Jackie Berg won bars for MSU with a 9.875 score and is nationally ranked No. 7 in the event.
A trio of Mountaineers boasts top 25 national rankings. Freshman Hope Sloanhoffer, the current East Atlantic Gymnastics League Specialist and Rookie of the Week, is No. 1 on vault, while senior Amy Bieski, the league’s gymnast of the week, is No. 6 on beam. Additionally, junior Tina Maloney is No. 6 on vault.
Sloanhoffer is coming off a strong first meet in which she finished first overall on vault with a 9.925 score. The Cornwall, N.Y., native was the first rookie since 2009 to score at least 9.9 on any event, and also the first vaulter to earn the point total since Chelsi Tabor did so against North Carolina in 2008. Sloanhoffer also tied Bieski for first on floor (9.85) and sophomore Kaylyn Millick for second on beam (9.825).
In addition to her floor win, Bieski also won the all-around (39.025) and beam (9.85); the Nanticoke, Pa., native’s winning beam score matched a career best she set at the 2010 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships.
Bieski now ranks 15th on the all-time WVU career points list with 1,513.925 points; she needs 6.675 points to pass Andrea DeFelice (1987-90) for 14th place.
“Our returning student-athletes did what they needed to do against Missouri, and they will continue to get better,” Burdette-Good says. “I hope our younger girls continue their early success tomorrow. We need our newcomers to push our returnees. Every girl needs to push the teammate ahead of her on the depth chart – that is how we will get better.”
Fans wishing to follow tomorrow night’s event can view a live feed and gymnastics scores at www.MSNsportsNET.com.
GYMNASTICS FEED
WRESTLING FEED
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 13 West Virginia gymnastics and wrestling teams open their home season and play host to Michigan State on Friday, Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m., at the WVU Coliseum. The event is the first-ever “Beauty and the Beast” meet, with both teams competing simultaneously.
Friday’s event provides Mountaineer fans the opportunity to watch two teams, each coming off upset victories, at the same time. The meet is a “Dollar Night,” with all tickets, hotdogs, popcorn and Coca-Colas available for the purchase of $1. Additionally, fans in attendance will have a chance to sign-up to win two family four pack of tickets to this May’s performance of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at the Creative Arts Center. The tickets will be given away courtesy of WVU Arts and Entertainment.
“I’m excited. Everyone in the athletic department and in the Morgantown and surrounding areas seems to be anticipating the meet,” says 37-year gymnastics coach Linda Burdette-Good. “I look forward to a really great crowd. I think fans want to come watch two teams that just upset nationally ranked squads. I think they also want to see how we’re going to pull this off.”
Wrestling against the third and final team from the Big Ten Conference this season, WVU will look to improve on its 4-3 dual meet mark before Eastern Wrestling League action begins Jan. 21 at Bloomsburg. The Spartans are 7-1 on the year with their only loss being at 29-10 decision to No. 6 Iowa.
“It will be very similar to the match we had against Illinois,” says WVU wrestling coach Craig Turnbull. “We have very equal matchups for most of the weight classes. If things go our way and we wrestle to our potential, we can come away with another victory.”
Tomorrow’s meeting is the third between the gymnastics squads in as many years, with the Spartans (0-3, 0-2 Big Ten) having defeated the Mountaineers (1-0) 194.2-193.7 in 2009 and 193.925-191.225 in 2010; both meets were in East Lansing, Mich. WVU last trumped MSU, 193.15-192.15, in 2007, at Pitt. The all-time series is tied, 10-10-1.
WVU opens its home schedule with a winning record, as it earned a come-from-behind
194.5-191.575 victory over then-No. 13 Missouri in its season opener on Jan. 7, at the Cancun Classic, in Cancun, Mexico.
The Mountaineers’ winning score was their best point total in a season opener since earning 194.8 points in 2007.
“I really liked what I saw from the team this week in practice, and I’m hoping with this
meet being both the home opener and a special and unique event, we will continue to build on last week’s success and get better,” says Burdette-Good. “Until you get that first meet out of the way, you are just making routines. Once we returned from Mexico, we held a video session, saw how we competed and turned our focus toward fixing the little things, like making better handstands, tightening our knees on beam and correcting our landings.”
Several matchups feature ranked wrestlers from both squads as WVU’s redshirt senior Brandon Rader will grapple with MSU’s Dan Osterman at 149 pounds, while No. 21 Matt Ryan of WVU will go against Ian Hinton at 184 pounds.
Rader is coming off his most impressive victory of the season against the Illini, where he gave the team an 18-15 win following his upset defeat of No. 7 Eric Terrazas via fall in 49 seconds. Osterman is 16-4 on the year and is 8-0 in dual meets this season for the Spartans. Rader will look to avenge a victory Osterman had over him last season in East Lansing, where he lost by a 7-6 decision.
Ryan will look to improve on his 12-3 record this season against Hinton, who owns a 10-4 overall record and is 6-1 in dual meets.
At 165 pounds, WVU redshirt senior Donnie Jones will face Spartan Bed Boudro, while senior 197-pounder Kyle Rooney will wrestle MSU’s No. 16 Tyler Dickenson, who is 16-7 this year and recently placed eighth at the Midlands Championships. Rooney defeated Dickenson last season by a 9-6 decision.
“Those are matchups that we will count on for us to be successful,” Turnbull says. “We have to win those if we’re to come out with a team victory.”
WVU has two other ranked wrestlers in No. 23 sophomore Shane Young at 125 pounds and redshirt freshman No. 14 Nathan Pennesi at 133 pounds. Young defeated his opponent, Eric Olanowski, by a 6-2 decision last year.
For the 174-pound class, either redshirt juniors Christian Mory or Robert DeSano will compete for the Mountaineers against the Spartans’ No. 20 Curran Jacobs. WVU heavyweight Philip Mandzik has the difficult challenge of facing No. 16 Mike McClure.
“I see this as another very large challenge for us,” Turnbull says. “Both teams will come ready to wrestle and it will be a matchup that we can win if we pull off some of the close matches.”
The Spartan gymnasts, led by 20-year coach Kathy Klages, enter tomorrow night’s meet after scoring 191.85 in their season opener and finishing fourth to then-No. 9 Michigan, Iowa and Western Michigan. Junior Jackie Berg won bars for MSU with a 9.875 score and is nationally ranked No. 7 in the event.
A trio of Mountaineers boasts top 25 national rankings. Freshman Hope Sloanhoffer, the current East Atlantic Gymnastics League Specialist and Rookie of the Week, is No. 1 on vault, while senior Amy Bieski, the league’s gymnast of the week, is No. 6 on beam. Additionally, junior Tina Maloney is No. 6 on vault.
Sloanhoffer is coming off a strong first meet in which she finished first overall on vault with a 9.925 score. The Cornwall, N.Y., native was the first rookie since 2009 to score at least 9.9 on any event, and also the first vaulter to earn the point total since Chelsi Tabor did so against North Carolina in 2008. Sloanhoffer also tied Bieski for first on floor (9.85) and sophomore Kaylyn Millick for second on beam (9.825).
In addition to her floor win, Bieski also won the all-around (39.025) and beam (9.85); the Nanticoke, Pa., native’s winning beam score matched a career best she set at the 2010 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships.
Bieski now ranks 15th on the all-time WVU career points list with 1,513.925 points; she needs 6.675 points to pass Andrea DeFelice (1987-90) for 14th place.
“Our returning student-athletes did what they needed to do against Missouri, and they will continue to get better,” Burdette-Good says. “I hope our younger girls continue their early success tomorrow. We need our newcomers to push our returnees. Every girl needs to push the teammate ahead of her on the depth chart – that is how we will get better.”
Fans wishing to follow tomorrow night’s event can view a live feed and gymnastics scores at www.MSNsportsNET.com.
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