Gym Blog: Time for Fun on Floor
February 26, 2015 06:43 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Coach Jason Butts stresses one key value to the West Virginia University gymnasts right before the start of each meet – have fun.
The reminder may seem flippant, but it is key to the squad’s sustained success. Just two weeks ago, the Mountaineers were a bit sullen, burdened by a scoring hump they could not overcome in a 195.425-194.6 loss to No. 18 Denver at the WVU Coliseum on February 13.
The situation again looked bleak one week later at the “Wendy M. Roach Invitational” Pink Meet on February 22. Despite building a lead through the first two events, the Mountaineers plummeted to third place following two falls on beam in the third rotation. Knowing they needed a solid score on floor to not only shoot for the quad meet win, but also to hit the 195.0 mark for the first time at the Coliseum this season, Butts gathered his team and issued one reminder – have fun.
It worked.
Four season- and career-best marks powered the team to a 49.225 showing on floor, its best score on the event since earning the same total at the WVU Coliseum on March 15, 2013. All five counting scores were of 9.8 or better, including a winning, career-best 9.925 performance from junior Melissa Idell. The Mountaineers went on to finish second overall with a season-best home score of 195.2.
“We’ve seen a lot of progression on floor, especially from Mel,” said senior Dayah Haley. “She’s done a phenomenal job on floor and is constantly improving. Nicolette (Swoboda) and Alexa (Goldberg) both had their season highs as well. The progression is there and the lineups are there, too. The hard work is really starting to pay off for us, and I think it’s awesome.”
Haley, a powerful gymnast out of Pasadena, Maryland, anchors the lineup and is tied with Idell at No. 45 nationally with a 9.84 regional qualifying score (RQS). She has not scored lower than 9.825 since January 25 and boasts a season-high of 9.95, earned at New Hampshire on February 8. Haley was the first gymnast since 2013 to score 9.95 or better on floor and owns four wins on the event.
The Mountaineers have been consistent on floor over the last month, earning 49.0 or better in four straight meets. Butts believes these scores will continue to increase during the build up to postseason.
“We’re really fine-tuning our choreography,” he said. “We have six quality floor routines each week, and there’s difficulty in each of them. Unlike last season, we’re able to focus on our landings and the little details now, and that’s critical to our success.”
WVU will be in a unique position this weekend at Pitt, as the Mountaineers will open the quad meet on floor. WVU has not opened on floor all season, but it was the first team to compete on the event at Maryland on January 9 and at Ohio State on January 17. Though he preached fun just one week ago, Butts may have to reel in his gymnasts on Saturday night.
“I think when you start on floor, you have to be careful that the gymnasts don’t get too excited because then they may compete too hard,” he explained. “Even though floor is an explosive event, there’s a lot of finesse expected as well, and the judges will be looking for it. The gymnasts must be focused on the little details, and we don’t want to see any uncharacteristic mistakes.
“It’s a challenge to start on floor, but I’m excited. It may not be our strongest event, at least in terms of score potential, but our lineup is deep. We have a lot of confidence on this event after last Sunday’s meet, and that should help us score at least a 49.0 on the road.”
Haley echoes her coach’s thoughts.
“I think it is 100 percent a benefit for our team to start on floor,” she enthused. “We’ll start off strong on floor and progress from there. I think it will be great for us to get a good floor score and move on.”
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Following her career-best floor showing on Sunday, Idell was named the Big 12 Conference Event Specialist of the Week. The honor was the first career recognition for the Newark, Delaware, native, and the first for any WVU gymnast this season.
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| Idell |
Idell’s 9.925 floor score was her first career mark of 9.9 or better, and the mark ranks No. 52 in the WVU record book. The win was the second of her career and second in four weeks. She has not scored below 9.8 on floor since January 17.
Idell and Haley are the only two WVU gymnasts to score better than 9.9 on any event this season.
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The Mountaineers close out their 2015 regular-season road slate at Pitt, with North Carolina and Temple, on Saturday, February 28, at 7 p.m., at Fitzgerald Field House.
The squad has had great success at Pitt as of late, as the Mountaineers opened the 2013 season with a 194.675-193.55 victory over the Panthers on January 11. The score was the program’s top mark earned in a season opener away from Morgantown.
The 2013 season opener came on the heels of the team’s 2012 East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Championship victory, also earned at Fitzgerald Field House. The Mountaineers tallied 196.475 on March 24, 2012, and exited the EAGL with their league-best seventh title. Seniors Lia Salzano, Beth Deal and Haley were freshmen that season, and Deal secured the 2012 EAGL beam title with a winning, 9.9 score.
If history is an indicator, the Mountaineers should feel fairly comfortable Saturday night.
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Finally, Saturday will be a “homecoming” for Mountaineer senior Brittney Harris, as she returns to the Field House for the first time since transferring to WVU over the summer. Harris capped off her successful four-year career at Pitt with a 2014 NCAA Regional Championships all-around individual qualification. Additionally, she was the Panthers’ 2014 EAGL Team MVP.
An Easton, Pennsylvania, native, Harris finished tied for third on floor at the Mountaineers’ meet last Sunday with a season-high 9.825 score.
Let’s Go Mountaineers!
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