Three Gymnasts Nationally Ranked
March 02, 2015 02:22 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Three West Virginia University gymnasts are nationally ranked in this week’s GymInfo Poll.
Sophomore Alexa Goldberg reenters the rankings after a one-week absence and ranks No. 36 (9.855 RQS) on the uneven bars. The Ivyland, Pennsylvania, native owns five wins on bars this season and has scored below 9.85 just once.
Senior Dayah Haley and junior Melissa Idell are tied at No. 39 (9.86 RQS) on floor. The duo owns a combined six floor wins this season, and each has set career bests on the event, with Haley hitting for a team-high 9.95 on February 8 and Idell scoring 9.925 on February 22.
The Mountaineers (11-7-1, 0-0-1) are up three spots to No. 21 (49.05 RQS) on floor and down one spot to No. 23 (48.98 RQS) on vault.
Oklahoma continues to rank No. 1 (197.74 RQS). LSU is No. 2 (197.485 RQS), and Florida ranks No. 3 (197.455 RQS). Utah (197.295 RQS) and Michigan (197.065 RQS) rank No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
The Mountaineers are up one spot to No. 4 (194.985 RQS) in the Southeast region. The squad also moves up one spot to No. 3 on floor. The team continues to rank No. 5 on vault and No. 6 (48.505 RQS) on beam, and drops to No. 8 (48.535 RQS) on bars.
Haley and Idell own the team’s top regional ranking and check in at No. 5 on floor. Goldberg follows the duo at No. 25 (9.75 RQS). Goldberg also ranks No. 7 on bars, and freshman Zaakira Muhammad trails at No. 21 (9.76 RQS).
Junior Jaida Lawrence is the first of four Mountaineers ranked on vault and sits at No. 11 (9.85 RQS). Muhammad ranks No. 17 (9.825 RQS), while sophomore Nicolette Swoboda ranks No. 21 (9.815 RQS) and Haley ranks No. 25 (9.79 RQS).
Senior Beth Deal and Idell both rank on beam and sit at No. 15 (9.775 RQS) and No. 25 (9.725 RQS), respectively.
There is no movement in the Big 12 Conference this week, as OU continues to rank No. 1 overall and No. 1 on every event. WVU ranks No. 3 overall, No. 2 on vault and floor, and No. 3 on bars and beam.
Haley and Idell rank No. 5 on floor. Lawrence is No. 5 on vault, and Muhammad and Swoboda follow at No. 8 and No. 10, respectively.
Goldberg sits at No. 6 on bars, and Muhammad ranks No. 10. Deal checks in at No. 10 on beam.
The Mountaineers swept the competition at Pitt on February 28, scoring 194.975 and defeating the Panthers (194.875), North Carolina (193.5) and Temple (191.225). Goldberg scored 9.85 on bars and tied for the win, while Idell earned 9.9 on floor, her second straight score of 9.9 or better, and also tied for the win. Additionally, WVU tallied a season-high 48.85 on beam.
The squad returns to the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, March 8, and plays host to No. 11 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 also is a “Gold Rush,” and the first 500 fans will receive a gold shaker, courtesy of Coke Zero.
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