Gold Trumps Blue at Atlantis Crown Invite
December 20, 2014 10:21 PM | General
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| Haley |
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Gold hit 20 routines and tallied a 20-18 victory over Blue in the WVU gymnastics team’s intrasquad at the Atlantis Crown Invitational, tonight, inside the Imperial Ballroom, at the Atlantis Resort in front of 400 spectators.
“Overall, I thought tonight was a good showing,” said fourth-year coach Jason Butts. “The first meet is always stressful for a team, whether it’s the hard landings or the foreign equipment. This trip was an even bigger curveball, but I’m very proud of how this team handled the adversity.”
Teams were awarded one point tonight for each hit routine. Gold defeated Blue on uneven bars (4-1), while Blue trumped Gold on balance beam (7-6). Both squads hit five routines on vault and floor.
“I was really disappointed with our whole team’s performance on bars,” said Butts. “That’s been our most consistent event the last two years, and we’ve been hitting in the gym throughout preseason. Clearly, we will have to figure out what happened on that event tonight – I think the team is too comfortable. We’ll address those issues in Cary Gym and fix them before January.
“Having said that, I was happy to see the team put the pieces back together in the last two rotations and hit on beam and floor.”
The upperclassmen set the tone for the Blue Team on vault in the first rotation, with senior Dayah Haley and junior Jaida Lawrence anchoring with near sticks. Freshman Amanda Bowman preceded the duo with a strong vault.
Sophomore Alexa Goldberg and freshman Zaakira Muhammad were the solid showing for the Gold Team on bars.
The Blue Team fell behind in the second rotation, with only Haley hitting her bars routine.
Conversely, the Gold Team was perfect on vault, with all five gymnasts hitting their routines. Muhammad and classmate Robyn Bernard were the lineup’s highlights.
The Blue Team hit seven-for-seven on balance beam in the third rotation. Sophomore Brooklyn Doggette anchored with a strong showing. Junior Melissa Idell preceded her in the lineup with an equally solid performance.
Redshirt-senior Brittney Harris, a Pitt transfer, paced the Gold Team on floor in the third rotation, and freshman Jordan Gillette looked solid in the opening spot.
Mackenzie Myers, Idell and Haley anchored and highlighted the Blue Team’s floor lineup in the fourth rotation. On beam, senior Beth Deal hit in the anchor position to ensure the Gold Team’s victory.
“Dayah had an amazing day, and I feel like she’s picked up right where she left off at last year’s Big 12 Championship,” Butts added. “Zaakira handled her nerves well as a freshman, as did Robyn. Jaida had a phenomenal vault, and that was good to see.”
The Mountaineers officially open the 2015 season at Maryland, with George Washington, on Friday, January 9, at 7 p.m., at the Xfinity Center, in College Park, Maryland.
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