LIVE STATSMORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia gymnastics team returns to the road following a pair of league wins and travels to No. 21 Penn State for a quad-meet with Pitt and Bridgeport on Sunday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m., at Rec Hall in University Park, Pa.
Sunday’s competition is the Mountaineers’ (4-2, 2-1 EAGL) first quad meet of the season.
WVU resumes its road schedule after scoring 194.075 at the WVU Coliseum on Jan. 29 and defeating East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) foes Rutgers (191.15) and Pitt (189.025).
“I think we’re ready for this meet,” says 37-year coach Linda Burdette-Good. “We picked up two good wins last weekend, and we want to keep this streak going. Rec Hall is a hard gym to compete in, but we prepared well this week in practice and are ready for a loud atmosphere.”
Though the Mountaineers trail the Nittany Lions, 33-6, in the all-time series, the last two meetings have been close, with WVU falling, 195.95-194.925, last season at Rec Hall, and 196.225-195.925, in Morgantown in 2009.
PSU (2-4, 0-2 Big Ten) is coming off a season-best 195.3, second-place showing at No. 1 Florida on Jan. 28. The Nittany Lions also recorded season bests of 49.125 on bars and 48.65 on beam in the meet. Sophomore Sharaya Musser, ranked No. 18 in the nation, finished second overall with a season-high score of 39.475.
WVU earned its 50th win over the Panthers last weekend and owns a 50-12-2 series advantage.
Pitt (2-3, 0-3 EAGL) enters tomorrow’s meet trying to recover from its third-place showing in the Mountaineers’ tri-meet. Seniors Molly Moyer and Mallory Brewer each enjoyed strong showings in Morgantown. Moyer finished tied for first on vault with a 9.8, while Brewer scored a career-high 9.825 on floor.
The Mountaineers have never lost to the Purple Knights in their three previous meetings. WVU scored a 194.725-190.85 home victory over UB last season.
Bridgeport (5-3) is coming off a first-place finish at the Rutgers tri-meet last night, having scored 191.975 points for wins over the Scarlet Knights (191.225) and Brown (188.3).
Senior Amy Bieski enters tomorrow’s meet ranked No. 11 on the all-time WVU career points list with 1,668.2 points. The Nanticoke, Pa., native needs 12.725 points to pass Shannon Migli (1992-95, 1,680.925) and break into the Top 10.
In addition to earning two league wins on Jan. 29, the Mountaineers swept the competition on all four events and scored a season-best 49.225 on floor. The score pushed WVU’s season average to 48.755 and the lineup ranks No. 16 in the nation.
Sophomore Kaylyn Millick paced six gymnasts who scored 9.725 or better, finishing first with a career-best 9.9. Freshman Hope Sloanhoffer, ranked No. 21 in the nation, and Bieski, ranked No. 26, finished behind Millick with season-best 9.875 marks.
Sloanhoffer, Bieski and junior Tina Maloney tied for the vault win with 9.8 scores; Sloanhoffer ranks No. 41 in the nation and No. 1 in the EAGL in the event. The Cornwall, N.Y., native also finished first on beam with a 9.8. The three-time EAGL Specialist and Rookie of the Week has scored 9.8 or better in 13 of 15 collegiate routines.
Senior Emily Kerwin also earned an event win, scoring a personal-best 9.825 on bars and finishing first overall. The Central, S.C., native had been building up to the score, as she tallied 9.8 on Jan. 17 and Jan. 21.
Fans wishing to track the Mountaineers tomorrow afternoon can follow live stats at www.GoPSUSports.com.
