Gymnastics Scores Season Best in Sweep
March 14, 2015 07:41 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team tallied a season-best 196.075 in its sweep of Penn and Cornell, today, at the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers’ (13-8-1, 0-0-1) score ranks No. 23 in program history. It is the team’s first 196.0+ of the year and its top score since earning 196.375 at the 2014 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship on March 22.
WVU swept all four events and tallied season highs on beam (49.0) and floor (49.275). The squad also earned 48.9 on bars, its second-best score of the season, and 48.9 on vault, its top mark since earning 48.95 on February 22.
“We weren’t given anything today – we went out there and earned our score,” said coach Jason Butts. “Overall, I’m so happy with this performance. We hit 23-of-24 routines, and that’s something to be proud of. We’ve worked hard on fixing those little mistakes, and the culmination of that work was todays’ performance. There’s still room for improvement, too. This is a performance that we can definitely repeat and improve on at next week’s Big 12 Championship.”
Penn (10-6, 7-0 ECAC) scored 193.175 and finished second, while Cornell (8-17, 2-6 ECAC) earned 191.3 and finished third.
Competing in her final regular-season meet at the WVU Coliseum, senior Dayah Haley earned 39.075 in her first all-around appearance of the year and finished first overall.
“We weren’t sure if Dayah was going to compete in the all-around until the end of warmups. She had a phenomenal warmup, so it was a no-brainer,” explained Butts. “This decision was based on her ability, and I would love to see her stay in that spot – she did a great job today.”
The Mountaineers opened the meet with a 48.9 showing on vault. Junior Jaida Lawrence and freshman Zaakira Muhammad tied for the win with 9.85s. Sophomore Nicolette Swoboda finished third with a 9.75, and Haley opened with a 9.725, a mark matched by freshman Amanda Bowman; the duo tied for fourth place. Of note, senior Lia Salzano made her season debut today on vault.
WVU earned its second-best bars mark in the second rotation, tallying 48.9 and pushing its two-event score to 97.8. Sophomore Alexa Goldberg anchored the lineup with a winning 9.9 mark, her second straight score of 9.9 or better and her seventh bars win of the year. Muhammad preceded Goldberg in the lineup with a second place, 9.825 score. Swoboda opened the rotation with a career-high 9.775, good enough for fourth place. Haley, sophomore Brooklyn Doggette and junior Lindsey Litten followed with three 9.7s and tied for sixth place; the mark is a season high for Haley.
The Mountaineers were rock solid on beam, taking the top six finishes and putting together a season-high 49.0 score, pushing their three-rotation total to 146.8. Junior Melissa Idell, freshman Jordan Gillette and Goldberg all scored a career-high 9.825 and tied for the event win; it is the first career victory on any event for Gillette. Senior Beth Deal scored 9.775 and finished fourth, while Doggette and Haley tied for fifth place with 9.75s; the routine was Haley’s first beam appearance of 2015.
“Beam is the great equalizer, and we’re looking more and more confident each week,” said Butts. “We have so much depth on that event. Today’s performance speaks volumes of this team’s practice habits. It’s a hard event to compete consistently, and they’re doing a great job.”
Comfortably in the lead, WVU maintained its momentum in the fourth rotation and scored a season-best 49.275 to clinch its 196.0+ score. The floor score is the Mountaineers’ top mark on the event since tallying the same total at the WVU Coliseum on March 3, 2013.
Idell equaled her career high of 9.925 and scored her fourth career floor win. Haley followed her in the lineup with a second place, 9.9 showing, her third 9.9+ score of the season. Goldberg tied for third place with a career-high 9.875. Swoboda opened the lineup with a career-best 9.825 mark and finished fifth overall.
With the wins, WVU remains a perfect 10-0 and 5-0 against Penn and Cornell, respectively.
Of note, today was the final regular-season meet for Haley, Deal and Salzano, and the three were honored following the competition.
The Mountaineers travel to Norman, Oklahoma, on Thursday for the 2015 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship, set for Saturday, March 21, at 5 p.m., at Oklahoma’s Lloyd Noble Center at 6 p.m. EDT.
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