Gymnastics Set for Atlantis Crown Invite
December 18, 2014 03:26 PM | General
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| Butts |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team will travel to Paradise Island, Bahamas, for the 2014 Atlantis Crown Invitational, set for Saturday, Dec. 20, at 7:45 p.m., inside the Imperial Ballroom at the Atlantis Resort.
The Mountaineers were scheduled to meet Central Michigan at the preseason invite, but an administrative decision forced the Chippewas to withdraw. Saturday’s meet will now be an intrasquad.
“I checked the weather (Monday) and it was sunny and 75 degrees,” laughed fourth-year coach Jason Butts. “We’re really looking forward to this trip. Most importantly, this is good exposure for this team and for us to get a trip under our belt.”
Saturday’s intrasquad will be the team’s lone opportunity to compete its routines in front of judges before its 2014 season opener on Jan. 9 at Maryland.
“It’s going to be great to get this team in front of the judges and on the road,” said Butts. “It’s always good to get a meet like this out of the way when the scores don’t count toward our season. We’re going to put them under pressure and see how they react.”
Eighteen Mountaineers will travel to the Bahamas, with returning seniors Beth Deal, a 2014 NCAA Athens Regional Championships individual qualifier, Dayah Haley and Lia Salzano leading the team in competition. Additional key returners include juniors Jaida Lawrence and Melissa Idell and sophomores Nicolette Swoboda and Alexa Goldberg, also Athens Regional qualifiers.
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“We’ve been working really hard throughout the preseason – the routines are there,” explained Butts. “We have more depth this year than we’ve had before. We need to put this team in front of judges, get feedback from them and see how this team handles the pressure.”
Following Saturday’s intrasquad, the Mountaineers will return to Morgantown on Dec. 23. The squad will continue preseason training on Dec. 28.
WVU returns to competition following a 6-11 2014 campaign that saw the team finish third at the Big 12 Gymnastics Championship with a 196.375 score, nearly two points better than the team’s 2013 showing.
Gold Team
Beth Deal
Brittney Harris
Audrey Tolbert
Nicolette Swoboda
Alexa Goldberg
Robyn Bernard
Zaakira Muhammad
Jordan Gillette
Alexa Phillip
Blue Team
Dayah Haley
Lia Salzano
Jaida Lawrence
Melissa Idell
Lindsey Litten
Mackenzie Myers
Emma Lasker
Brooklyn Doggette
Amanda Bowman
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