Gymnastics: Did You Know....?
March 30, 2012 02:10 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – With all of the excitement that surrounded the West Virginia University gymnastics team’s victory at the 2012 East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Championship on March 24, several historical facts and achievements were overlooked.
Fear no more, Mountaineer fans! Below are several “Did you know?” facts that should help you further enjoy the team’s seventh league title. With all that the Mountaineers have already achieved this season, there’s no limit on the excitement they will bring to the NCAA Regional Championships.
Seeded fifth, WVU will compete at the Auburn Regional on Saturday, April 7, at 7 p.m. ET, at the Auburn Arena, in Auburn, Ala.
Did You Know…?
With its victory at the 2012 EAGL Championship, WVU upheld one of its most-respected traditions – never going more than four years without a league title. The Mountaineers have now won a league-best seven EAGL Championships in 17 years (1996-98, 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012). Every gymnast to don the WVU leotard in the last 17 years has won at least one league title.
The Mountaineers clinched the EAGL title with a season-best 196.475 score. The team total matched the 10th-best score in program history and was the squad’s best mark since scoring 196.05 at the 2008 EAGL Championship.
Only 18 teams have scored higher than 196.475 this season. Seven teams currently ranked in the nation’s Top 25 have not hit that high of a mark, including No. 21 Michigan, the No. 4 seed at the Auburn Regional.
With the championship win, coach Jason Butts joined an elite group at WVU, as he became the third current Mountaineer head coach to win a conference championship in his first season. Football coach Dana Holgorsen won the BIG EAST title in 2011, while cross country coach Sean Cleary won the BIG EAST crown in 2007.
Nine Mountaineers earned a combined 16 Top-10 finishes at the championship, with sophomore Hope Sloanhoffer scoring one on each event. Juniors Kaylyn Millick and Chelsea Goldschrafe earned three and two, respectively.
Six Mountaineers set or matched career bests at the championship. Sloanhoffer set new marks on bars (9.9), floor (9.9) and the all-around (39.5), while Millick matched hers on vault (9.8) and floor (9.9).
The Mountaineers earned five scores of 9.9 or better at the championship. Maryland paced the field with six, while North Carolina earned three and Rutgers and New Hampshire each scored one.
With its seven wins at the championship, WVU pushed its season record to 21-5, giving the squad its first 20-win season since 2008. Since 1981, 16 teams have earned 20 or more wins in one season.
WVU’s 196.475-196.0 win over No. 20 NC State pushed the team’s record against ranked opponents to 5-4. Since 2006, the Mountaineers have not won more than three meets a season against ranked teams.
The Mountaineers scored season highs on three events – vault (49.25), bars (49.175) and floor (49.2).
Less than 24 hours after receiving the EAGL’s top annual award – Gymnast of the Year –Sloanhoffer won the league’s all-around title with a career-best 39.5 score. The sixth Mountaineer to earn the honor, she is only the third WVU gymnast to also win the league’s all-around crown in the same season. Kristin Quackenbush (1997) and Umme Salim (1998) also achieved the feat.
Sloanhoffer’s career-best all-around score matches the 13th-best mark in school history. Her score is tops among all WVU gymnasts since 2009, when NCAA individual qualifier Mehgan Morris hit for a 39.5 and also won the all-around crown at the EAGL Championship. She was the last WVU EAGL all-around champion.
Entering the regional championships, Sloanhoffer has nine 39.0-plus scores to her name and ranks 11th on the WVU all-time career list.
In addition to her all-around victory, Sloanhoffer also tied for the vault title (9.9) and won the bars crown (9.9) outright. Amy Bieski was the last WVU EAGL bars champion (2011), while Chelsi Tabor and Tina Maloney tied for the vault title in 2009.
With the championship on the line, freshman Beth Deal nailed a career-best 9.9 beam routine and secured the EAGL title for the Mountaineers. The score, a career best for the Parkersburg, W.Va., native, is only the team’s second 9.9-plus beam mark of the season; Sloanhoffer scored a career-best 9.95 on March 10.
Deal is the second freshman in four years to earn an EAGL title, as Maloney scored a share of the vault crown in 2009. She also is the third Mountain State native in four years to win an individual league championship. Morris took the bars, floor and all-around titles in 2009, while Tabor tied for the vault title. The last Mountaineer to win the EAGL beam title was Shelly Purkat (2009).
Maloney became the 19th Mountaineer gymnast to compete in at least 50 career meets on March 24.
Fear no more, Mountaineer fans! Below are several “Did you know?” facts that should help you further enjoy the team’s seventh league title. With all that the Mountaineers have already achieved this season, there’s no limit on the excitement they will bring to the NCAA Regional Championships.
Seeded fifth, WVU will compete at the Auburn Regional on Saturday, April 7, at 7 p.m. ET, at the Auburn Arena, in Auburn, Ala.
Did You Know…?
With its victory at the 2012 EAGL Championship, WVU upheld one of its most-respected traditions – never going more than four years without a league title. The Mountaineers have now won a league-best seven EAGL Championships in 17 years (1996-98, 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012). Every gymnast to don the WVU leotard in the last 17 years has won at least one league title.
The Mountaineers clinched the EAGL title with a season-best 196.475 score. The team total matched the 10th-best score in program history and was the squad’s best mark since scoring 196.05 at the 2008 EAGL Championship.
Only 18 teams have scored higher than 196.475 this season. Seven teams currently ranked in the nation’s Top 25 have not hit that high of a mark, including No. 21 Michigan, the No. 4 seed at the Auburn Regional.
With the championship win, coach Jason Butts joined an elite group at WVU, as he became the third current Mountaineer head coach to win a conference championship in his first season. Football coach Dana Holgorsen won the BIG EAST title in 2011, while cross country coach Sean Cleary won the BIG EAST crown in 2007.
Nine Mountaineers earned a combined 16 Top-10 finishes at the championship, with sophomore Hope Sloanhoffer scoring one on each event. Juniors Kaylyn Millick and Chelsea Goldschrafe earned three and two, respectively.
Six Mountaineers set or matched career bests at the championship. Sloanhoffer set new marks on bars (9.9), floor (9.9) and the all-around (39.5), while Millick matched hers on vault (9.8) and floor (9.9).
The Mountaineers earned five scores of 9.9 or better at the championship. Maryland paced the field with six, while North Carolina earned three and Rutgers and New Hampshire each scored one.
With its seven wins at the championship, WVU pushed its season record to 21-5, giving the squad its first 20-win season since 2008. Since 1981, 16 teams have earned 20 or more wins in one season.
WVU’s 196.475-196.0 win over No. 20 NC State pushed the team’s record against ranked opponents to 5-4. Since 2006, the Mountaineers have not won more than three meets a season against ranked teams.
The Mountaineers scored season highs on three events – vault (49.25), bars (49.175) and floor (49.2).
Less than 24 hours after receiving the EAGL’s top annual award – Gymnast of the Year –Sloanhoffer won the league’s all-around title with a career-best 39.5 score. The sixth Mountaineer to earn the honor, she is only the third WVU gymnast to also win the league’s all-around crown in the same season. Kristin Quackenbush (1997) and Umme Salim (1998) also achieved the feat.
Sloanhoffer’s career-best all-around score matches the 13th-best mark in school history. Her score is tops among all WVU gymnasts since 2009, when NCAA individual qualifier Mehgan Morris hit for a 39.5 and also won the all-around crown at the EAGL Championship. She was the last WVU EAGL all-around champion.
Entering the regional championships, Sloanhoffer has nine 39.0-plus scores to her name and ranks 11th on the WVU all-time career list.
In addition to her all-around victory, Sloanhoffer also tied for the vault title (9.9) and won the bars crown (9.9) outright. Amy Bieski was the last WVU EAGL bars champion (2011), while Chelsi Tabor and Tina Maloney tied for the vault title in 2009.
With the championship on the line, freshman Beth Deal nailed a career-best 9.9 beam routine and secured the EAGL title for the Mountaineers. The score, a career best for the Parkersburg, W.Va., native, is only the team’s second 9.9-plus beam mark of the season; Sloanhoffer scored a career-best 9.95 on March 10.
Deal is the second freshman in four years to earn an EAGL title, as Maloney scored a share of the vault crown in 2009. She also is the third Mountain State native in four years to win an individual league championship. Morris took the bars, floor and all-around titles in 2009, while Tabor tied for the vault title. The last Mountaineer to win the EAGL beam title was Shelly Purkat (2009).
Maloney became the 19th Mountaineer gymnast to compete in at least 50 career meets on March 24.
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