Gymnastics Closes Regular Season on Saturday
March 13, 2015 04:03 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team closes out its 2015 regular season against Cornell and Penn on Saturday, March 14, at 4 p.m., at the WVU Coliseum.
Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for youth and senior citizens and $2 for groups of 10 or more. All WVU students are admitted free with a valid WVU student I.D. A free WVU shuttle bus will be available for WVU students from the Mountainlair and the Brooke/Braxton Towers loop at 3 p.m., and return service to the Mountainlair and the Brooke/Braxton Towers loop will be available for an hour at the conclusion of the meet.
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Saturday is “Senior Day,” and WVU’s three four-year seniors – Beth Deal, Dayah Haley and Lia Salzano – will be honored following the competition. Additionally, it is WVU Gymnastics Alumni Weekend, and members of the WVU women’s and men’s gymnastics teams will be recognized prior to the third rotation.
The Mountaineers (11-8-1, 0-0-1) return to competition following a season-best 195.9 showing in a loss to No. 11 Penn State (196.75) on March 8 at the Coliseum. The Mountaineers are 2-4-1 in Morgantown this season.
“We’re still looking for that 196.0+ score,” said coach Jason Butts. “We had some deductions last weekend that we can’t afford to have. We’ve worked hard this week in the gym, and I think we should see some better results on Saturday.”
WVU enters the meet ranked No. 22 nationally on floor with a 49.08 regional qualifying score (RQS). The squad enjoyed a boost in its overall RQS following last week’s season-best performance and currently sits at No. 33 nationally with a 195.135 RQS; the top 36 teams qualify for the NCAA Regional Championships.
Three Mountaineers also are nationally ranked, with Haley leading the trio at No. 28 (9.88 RQS) on floor. Junior Melissa Idell follows at No. 43 (9.87 RQS) on floor, while sophomore Alexa Goldberg ranks No. 42 (9.86 RQS) on bars.
The Mountaineers used season-highs on bars and beam to push them toward their season-best mark last Sunday. WVU tallied 49.225 on bars, the seventh-best mark in program history and its top bars score since 2004, and 48.9 on beam.
“This weekend, we’re hoping to compete the lineups that we will use at the Big 12 Championship next weekend,” said Butts. “They need to gain confidence. I think those routines are strong, so I’m looking for a good showing. We also still need to just iron out the little mistakes. Sticking our landings could be huge for us.”
WVU is 4-0 against Cornell. The teams last met in 2006, a 190.675-181.175 victory for WVU at Penn State. Both teams fell to the Nittany Lions (194.4) and Michigan (194.825).
The Big Red (8-15, 2-5 ECAC) enter Saturday’s meet on the heels of a 192.125-188.875 win against Temple on March 7. Cornell owns a season-high score of 192.7, earned in a third-place finish at Rutgers on February 14. The squad ranks No. 5 in the ECAC, and junior Alicia Bair ranks No. 2 in the conference on vault (9.735 RQS).
WVU and Penn also last met in 2006, a 194.075-185.7 win for the Mountaineers. Both teams fell to UNC (194.375), and WVU defeated Pitt (193.5). The Mountaineers are 9-0 all-time against the Quakers.
Penn (9-5, 6-0 ECAC) most recently fell at New Hampshire on March 7, dropping a 195.475-192.775 decision. The Quakers show a season-high score of 193.775 and rank No. 3 in the ECAC. Junior Amber Hu ranks No. 2 in the conference on beam (9.745 RQS), and freshman Megan Finck ranks No. 2 on floor (9.795 RQS). Junior Elyse Shenberger ranks No. 3 on bars (9.77 RQS).
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