Gymnastics Returns to Road at NC State
January 30, 2015 09:25 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team returns to the road against NC State, North Carolina and William & Mary on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m., at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Saturday’s contest is the first quad-meet of the season for the Mountaineers (1-4-1, 0-0-1). The Mountaineers will meet a pair of familiar foes, as WVU battled NCSU and UNC yearly in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL).
The Mountaineers are 1-3 on the road this season. The squad scored a season-high road mark of 194.175 in a third-place finish at then-No. 15 Ohio State on January 17. The Mountaineers have improved their team score by 0.675 each week, culminating in a season-best mark of 194.85 in their home opener on January 25.
“We hit 23-of-24 routines last week, and it was a better performance than our season opener when we also hit the same mark,” said Mountaineer coach Jason Butts. “My goal for this weekend is for the team to replicate that performance, but also to find the tenths we’re giving away. I really feel like we’re on the cusp of earning a phenomenal score. I want that solid 195.0 score, and we don’t have to change a lot to hit it.”
The Mountaineers rank No.15 nationally on vault with a 49.017 season average. The squad jumped up to No. 35 on floor, boasting a season average of 48.6 following a season-best 48.95 mark last weekend.
Junior Jaida Lawrence owns three podium finishes, all on vault. Nationally ranked No. 41 on the event, the Rocky Hill, Connecticut, native earned her first win of the year last Sunday with a 9.875 showing. She owns a season-high score of 9.9, the lone 9.9+ mark earned by the Mountaineers this season.
Sophomore Alexa Goldberg shows two wins on uneven bars this season and has not scored below 9.85. She is nationally ranked No. 20 for the second consecutive week.
Rivals in the EAGL, the Mountaineers and the Wolfpack (1-2) have met five times since 2011, with WVU owning a 3-2 edge, including a victory in their last meeting, a 195.425-195.4 decision at the WVU Coliseum on Jan. 26, 2014. NCSU earned the victory the last time the teams met in Raleigh, walking away with a 195.2-195.15 win on Jan. 25, 2013. WVU owns a 25-14 all-time series advantage.
NCSU tallied a season-best 196.175 in its first road meet of the season, a victory at Texas Woman’s (193.275) on January 25. The squad has not scored higher than 194.15 at home this year. Junior Brittni Watkins is ranked No. 21 (9.883 avg.) on vault and No. 25 (39.175 avg.) in the all-around.
Three years have passed since WVU and UNC (6-2, 2-1 EAGL) last met in the regular season – a 195.725-194.325 victory for WVU in Morgantown on Feb. 26, 2011. WVU last defeated the Tar Heels on the road in 2012, a 196.475-195.55 win at the EAGL Championship at Pitt on March 24. The Mountaineers lead the all-time series, 27-15.
The Tar Heels pushed their 2015 win total to six with a season-best 195.35 showing at Towson on January 25. Morgan Lane, the EAGL Rookie of the Week, won the all-around with a 39.25 score. She ranks No. 44 on floor with a 9.833 average.
Saturday is the first meeting between WVU and W&M since a 196.05-192.225 Mountaineer win on Feb. 1, 2013, at the WVU Coliseum. The Mountaineers are 15-0 all-time against the Tribe (2-2).
W&M competed against UNC at Towson last weekend and finished third with a 190.9 score. Junior Brittany Stover ranks No. 33 nationally on vault with a 9.836 average.
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