Gymnastics Set for Trip to Pitt
February 27, 2015 11:08 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team closes its 2015 road slate at Pitt, with North Carolina and Temple, on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m., at Fitzgerald Field House.
Saturday is the second meet of the season between the Mountaineers (8-7-1, 0-0-1) and the Tar Heels (12-4, 4-1 EAGL). WVU previously met Pitt (2-8, 0-4 EAGL) and UNC on a yearly basis as members of the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL).
“I expect the team will have a lot of fun this weekend,” said fourth-year coach Jason Butts. “It’s Pitt. This is an easy road trip, and we’re going to see a couple of familiar teams. We haven’t lost to Pitt since I arrived in Morgantown, and I’m certainly not going to let that happen this weekend.”
WVU is 6-4 on the road this season and has scored 195.0 or better in consecutive meets away from Morgantown, including a season-high 195.35 at NC State on January 31.
“I want to see this team hit 24-for-24 routines this weekend. If we can do that, the scores will take care of themselves,” said Butts. “We need a solid showing on the road to help us reach our postseason goals.”
WVU will start on floor for the first time this season. The Mountaineers’ complete rotation is: floor, vault, uneven bars, balance beam. Pitt will open on vault, while Temple will start on bars and UNC will begin on beam.
“I’m fine with ending the meet on beam – I think it’s much harder to start the meet there,” said Butts. “We’ve been pretty consistent staying on the beam, so I think we’re ready for a clutch performance from that lineup. I’m not nervous about this rotation at all.”
The Mountaineers are nationally ranked on two events for the first time this season, checking in at No. 22 (48.98 RQS) on vault and No. 24 (48.94 RQS) on floor. WVU has scored 49.0+ four times on both events, including a season-best 49.225 on floor on February 22.
Senior Dayah Haley and junior Melissa Idell, the reigning Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week, pace the floor lineup and rank No. 45 nationally with matching 9.84 regional qualifying scores (RQS). The duo are the only two gymnasts to score better than 9.9 on any event this year, with Haley owning a career- and season-high 9.95, while Idell hit a career- and season-best 9.925 last Sunday. Junior Jaida Lawrence is the third Mountaineer nationally ranked this week and sits at No. 50 (9.85 RQS) on vault.
WVU owns a commanding 54-12-2 all-time series record against Pitt. Most recently, the Mountaineers earned a 194.45-194.125 win at the WVU Coliseum on Feb. 14, 2014. The squads last met in Pittsburgh in the 2013 season opener on January 11, a 194.675-193.55 victory for the Mountaineers. The score was WVU’s program high in a season opener away from Morgantown. WVU has not lost to Pitt since a 195.275-194.7 defeat at the 2000 EAGL Championship at Pitt.
The Panthers compete at home for the second straight weekend. Pitt recently fell, 196.175-193.35, to No. 12 Penn State on February 21. Senior Lindsay Offutt tied for first on beam with a 9.85 and placed second on floor, also with a 9.85 mark. She sits just outside the top 50 on floor and owns a 9.83 RQS.
The Mountaineers pushed their series advantage to 28-15 against the Tar Heels with their 195.35-194.5 win at NC State on January 31. WVU defeated UNC on all four events. The Mountaineers have not dropped a regular-season meet to the Tar Heels since falling, 192.2-192.1, in Morgantown in 2005.
UNC is coming off a first-place showing at NC State on February 20, scoring 194.95 and defeating Kent State (194.725), NCSU (194.625) and Rutgers (193.95). Freshman Morgan Lane, the reigning EAGL Rookie of the Week, scored a season-high 39.275 and finished first overall. She ranks No. 20 nationally with a 39.15 RQS.
The Mountaineers and the Owls (2-9, 0-3 ECAC) last met in 2013, a 196.375-191.625 victory for WVU in Morgantown on March 3. The squads last met at a neutral site in 2003, and the Mountaineers earned a 191.9-187.625 win at Rhode Island. WVU owns a 41-1 advantage in the series.
The Owls most recently fell at Ursinus, 192.625-187.75, on February 22. Temple owns a season high of 192.15.
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