Gymnastics Sweeps Competition at Pitt
February 28, 2015 09:34 PM | General
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team swept its second road quad meet of the season, scoring 194.975 and finishing first at Pitt tonight, at the Fitzgerald Field House.
The Mountaineers’ three wins push their program win total to 700. Additionally, coach Jason Butts now shows 51 career victories.
“We battled it out today for these three wins,” said Butts. “It’s always great to get a win over our neighbor up north – I couldn’t think of a better way for this program to earn win No. 700. This was a roller coaster of a competition tonight, and I’m happy we’re going home victorious.”
Pitt finished second with a score of 194.875. North Carolina tallied 193.5 and finished third, while Temple placed fourth with a 191.225. Tonight’s victory was the Mountaineers’ second of the season against the Tar Heels.
WVU (11-7-1, 0-0-1) opened the meet with a strong 49.1 showing on floor, its second-best road mark of the year, and took command of the meet after one event. The final three gymnasts scored 9.85 or better, with junior Melissa Idell tallying a winning 9.9 score, her second straight 9.9+ mark on the event. The Newark, Delaware, native received a 9.95 from one judge. Senior Dayah Haley followed her in the lineup with a third place, 9.875 routine, and sophomore Mackenzie Myers preceded her with a season-high 9.85, good enough for fifth place. Additionally, sophomore Alexa Goldberg tallied 9.775, her third-best mark of the season, and sophomore Nicolette Swoboda opened the lineup with a 9.725.
“I thought we came out strong on floor tonight. We hadn’t started a meet on that event all season, and to score 49.1 really shows our potential on the event moving into March,” said Butts.
The Mountaineers maintained their lead through two events, scoring 48.75 on vault and pushing their team total to 97.85. Freshmen Robyn Bernard and Zaakira Muhammad paced the team and finished second overall with 9.775 marks, the second-best career score for Bernard. Swoboda opened the rotation with a 9.75 and placed fifth, while freshman Amanda Bowman and Jaida Lawrence each earned 9.725s; the mark is a season high for Bowman.
WVU faced unexpected adversity in the third rotation, as an equipment issue with the uneven bars forced the team to delay its touch by 15 minutes. Despite the change of pace, the Mountaineers still hit five-of-six routines and scored 48.275. Goldberg paced the team and finished first overall with a 9.85 mark, and Muhammad finished sixth with a 9.7. Haley and Swoboda earned matching 9.675s, good enough for eighth place.
“We can’t use the equipment issues as an excuse on this event – we need to improve,” said Butts. “Having said that, I was really happy to see Alexa win the event tonight. Also, Dayah really came through for us with a hit routine in the leadoff position.”
The Mountaineers stormed back on balance beam in the fourth rotation, tallying a season-best 48.85 with five hit routines. Senior Beth Deal anchored with a 9.85, her best score since earning a season-high 9.875 on January 17. The Parkersburg, West Virginia, native finished in fourth place with the meet’s third-highest score. Goldberg placed seventh with a career-best 9.775, while Swoboda and freshman Jordan Gillette tallied 9.75s and finished in eighth place. Additionally, sophomore Brooklyn Doggette opened the rotation with a career-high 9.725.
“Beth was so great in the anchor position tonight – her routine brought back memories from our 2012 EAGL Championship victory here,” said Butts. “The whole team really fought back on beam tonight, and I am proud of their effort.”
Swoboda competed in the all-around for the third time this season and finished third with a 38.875 showing.
WVU improves to 55-12-2 against Pitt (4-9, 1-4 EAGL), 29-15 against UNC (13-6, 4-2 EAGL) and 42-1 against Temple (2-12, 0-3 ECAC).
The Mountaineers return to the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, March 8, and play host to No. 13 Penn State at 2 p.m. It’s a “Dollar Day,” and all tickets, hot dogs, popcorn and Coca Colas will be available for $1 each. It is also a “Gold Rush,” and the first 500 fans will receive a gold shaker, courtesy of Coke Zero.
You Can Never Have Too Many Headlocks
Wednesday, April 01
Cam Cook | March 30
Tuesday, March 31
Coach Jay Boulware | March 30
Tuesday, March 31
Coach Rich Rodriguez | March 30
Tuesday, March 31
