Gym Blog: Myers Makes Chance Count
February 13, 2015 12:11 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Each of the West Virginia University gymnasts understands one hard rule – at any given moment, she may be called upon at the last minute to fill a lineup spot.
Such was the case last Sunday for sophomore Mackenzie Myers, as the Middletown, Maryland, native was thrust into the No. 6 spot on beam following a lineup adjustment near the end of open warm-ups. Myers had only competed beam once before, and while she stayed on the equipment, the result was not what she hoped for, as she tallied an 8.8 at Maryland on January 9.
There wasn’t much time for Myers to dwell on the past, though, as the Mountaineers (6-5-1, 0-0-1) opened the competition at New Hampshire on beam. The pressure was instantly amped up once sophomore Nicolette Swoboda suffered an uncommon fall in the No. 2 spot. The next three gymnasts hit their sets, setting up Myers for a strong anchor. She pulled through with a solid 9.55 score.
A graceful gymnast with pretty lines, Myers pushed for a spot in the beam lineup following a rookie season that saw her compete nine times on floor and score 86.575 points with three podium finishes.
“With beam, it’s been a lot of consistency and perseverance,” the NACGC/W Scholastic All-America explained. “We changed our training habits, and it’s been working – we’ve been hitting beam routines like no other this season, and that was one of our problems last year. For me, it’s all about making practice perfect so we can compete perfect, too.”
Following a three-meet absence, Myers is back in the floor lineup this year and competing with an extra bounce, hitting both of her routines so far, including a season-best 9.8 showing at UNH. Her score helped push WVU to a season-high 49.175 event total.
“That floor rotation was definitely one of our best this year,” she recalled. “We had a lot of energy last week, and we pulled together as a team, making it a lot of fun. Dayah (Haley) scored a career-high (9.95), and we built on that excitement and took it from there.
“It feels great to be back in the lineup. Patience was a big thing for me this year. I’m back in now, and it’s an amazing feeling to be out on the floor, doing what we love and feeling the energy from my team and our fans. It’s great!”
Myers and her teammates return to the WVU Coliseum tonight on the heels of consecutive 195.0+ showings on the road and will face No. 18 Denver at 7 p.m. It’s a “Dollar Night,” and all tickets, hot dogs, popcorn and Coca-Colas will be available for $1 each. Tickets are available for purchase at the Blue Gate.
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Sometimes, even the best of plans can go haywire.
The Mountaineer coaching staff spends several hours at the beginning of each month planning the team’s daily schedule, making sure every minute is accounted for as the squad treks through its five-month season.
Unfortunately, one hiccup few can plan for is a travel disaster. The Mountaineers encountered such an issue this past week, as Winter Storm Marcus pummeled New England, ensuring that the team’s Monday morning flight out of Manchester, New Hampshire, would be cancelled even before WVU had finished putting together its 195.3 showing at UNH Sunday afternoon.
Thankfully, the team’s travel coordinator, Tammy Cavender, was quick to help from Morgantown, rebooking the team at the Portsmouth Sheraton Hotel for one additional night and franticly searching for new flights. Two flight options were found for Tuesday, and the travel party was divided, with the 15 student-athletes and associate head coach Travis Doak flying out at 1:15 p.m., and the remaining staff members departing at 4:15 p.m.
As is often the case, both flight plans ran into delays, with the first group sitting on the runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport for over 90 minutes, and the second suffering through two separate one-hour delays. Yet, by 11 p.m. Tuesday evening, all were accounted for in Morgantown, and everyone was ecstatic to enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep in his and her own bed.
“Adversity gets us all,” said coach Jason Butts. “Yeah, we’re tired, but we just have to stay focused on our common goal – success and a continued climb.
“I think the bonding time was good for this team. Some of the best moments with your teammates are the downtimes in the hotel room. This squad really gets along, and I know they took advantage of the extra time together.”
The team’s practice schedule was adjusted to account for the lost day, with the squad going through its paces on Wednesday before a lighter day on Thursday. Thankfully, after a short week with a lot of travel, the Mountaineers will enjoy eight days away from competition before their next meet, the Wendy M. Roach Invitational on February 22 at the WVU Coliseum.
“This week was a challenge – the team isn’t used to having just one real day of practice before a meet,” Butts explained. “But, I also reminded the gymnasts that we’ve faced adversity before and withstood the pressure. We have four days of practice next week, so we can rest then.”
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Make sure you’re in your seats early tonight, fans! The squad’s 2015 entrance video has been revamped, and you won’t want to miss the new action shots.
Let’s Go Mountaineers!
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