MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University Director of Athletics Oliver Luck announced today the 2015 gymnastics schedule.

 

Six meets at the WVU Coliseum highlight the slate, including the 2015 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships in April. Additionally, the Mountaineers will face three qualifiers from the 2014 NCAA Championships, including co-National Champion Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma.

 

“Never one to shy away from competition, coach Jason Butts has put together another challenging schedule for the WVU gymnastics team,” Luck said. “I look forward to watching the Mountaineers progress through this difficult slate and advance to the NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships in April.”

 

“I really like this year’s schedule,” Butts said. “We have a lot of regional meets, and that’s going to help this team from a travel standpoint. We will be traveling to a lot of great venues where we have performed well in the past, and I hope that will help us post good road scores. We’re also bringing some really strong teams into the WVU Coliseum, too, and giving our fans a chance to watch some exciting gymnastics.”

 

The Mountaineers open the season on Saturday, Dec. 20, with an intrasquad against Central Michigan at the Atlantis Crown Invitational at the Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, Bahamas. The results from the intrasquad will not count toward the team’s final record or regional qualifying score (RQS).

 

“I think for multiple reasons, the team is very excited to open the season at the Atlantis Crown Invitational,” said Butts. “Everyone welcomes the chance to visit the Bahamas in December. I also think it’s good for us to get pressure experience in a different venue so early in the year. This will help us when we open 2015 with consecutive road trips.”

 

WVU opens its regular season on the road for the third straight year, as the Mountaineers travel to College Park, Maryland, for a tri-meet with the Terrapins and George Washington on Jan. 9.

 

The squad will stay on the road and travel to Big Ten country on Jan. 17 for its second straight tri-meet, this time at Ohio State with Michigan. The Wolverines, a semifinalist at the 2014 NCAA National Championships, finished the year ranked No. 10.

 

WVU opens its home season at the WVU Coliseum on Jan. 25 with a tri-meet against Iowa State and George Washington. The Cyclones narrowly defeated the Mountaineers at the 2014 Big 12 Championship, 196.65-196.375, in Morgantown.

 

Following meets at NC State and New Hampshire, the Mountaineers will return to the WVU Coliseum for two straight home meets. WVU will welcome Denver on Feb. 13 and then face UNH and UMD for the second time on Feb. 22.

 

The squad closes out its regular-season road slate with a quad-meet at Pitt on Feb. 28. The team then returns to Morgantown for meets with Penn State, another semifinalist at the 2014 NCAA Championships, on March 8, and Pennsylvania and Cornell on March 14.

 

The Mountaineers will travel to Norman for the first time since 2009 for the 2015 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship on Saturday, March 21, at the Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners tied Florida for the 2014 NCAA title, their first national championship, and are the seven-time and reigning Big 12 champions.

 

“I’m really familiar with that arena, and I think we’ll have a chance for a great road score at the championship,” said Butts. “By the time we reach the Big 12 Championship, we should be firing on all cylinders.” 

 

WVU will play host to the 2015 NCAA Regional Gymnastics Championships on Saturday, April 4, at 4 p.m. The program last welcomed the six-team meet in 2013, its eighth regional championships, and competed in front of 1,836 fans. The Mountaineers look to qualify for their 31st NCAA regional bid after just-missing a qualification in 2014.

 

“I think this University does a great job hosting the championships – we run a premier event,” explained Butts. “We’ll have an advantage that day, and we will be looking to redeem ourselves in front of the home crowd and advance to the national championship.”

 

Texas Woman’s University will play host to the 2015 National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships at the Fort Worth Convention Center, in Fort Worth, Texas, April 16-19.

 

Eleven gymnasts return for the Mountaineers this season, including seniors Beth Deal, Dayah Haley and Lia Salzano. In total, 10 letterwinners return for WVU, led by individual NCAA Regional Championships qualifiers Deal (balance beam) and sophomores Nicolette Swoboda (all-around) and Alexa Goldberg (uneven bars).

 

Seven newcomers join the Mountaineers this season, including transfers Brittney Harris (Pitt) and Audrey Tolbert (Ohio State). Rounding out this year’s squad are freshmen Robyn Bernard, Amanda Bowman, Jordan Gillette, Zaakira Muhammad and Alexa Phillip.

 

The Mountaineers finished 2014 at 6-11 and placed third at the Big 12 Gymnastics Championship.

 

Find the full 2015 WVU gymnastics schedule HERE.