NORMAN, Okla. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team will compete for the conference crown at the 2015 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship on Saturday, March 21, at 6 p.m. EDT, at Oklahoma’s Lloyd Noble Center.
FOX Sports Network will broadcast the championship live, and ROOT SPORTS Pittsburgh will carry the meet locally on Saturday night and air a repeat on Wednesday, March 25, at 3 p.m. Ron Thulin will cover the play-by-play, three-time Olympian John Roethlisberger will serve as the analyst and Kelly Funderburk will report from the sideline.
The Mountaineers (13-8-1, 0-0-1) will battle the No. 1-ranked Sooners, the three-time defending conference champions and reigning NCAA Champions, and Iowa State for their first Big 12 title. WVU has never finished better than third at the Big 12 Gymnastics Championship.
“My goal for this team is for it to improve on previous finishes at the Big 12 Championship,” said fourth-year coach Jason Butts. “Our performance at last year’s championship was good, but I still think there’s room for improvement. If we replicate our road performances from earlier this season, I think we have a great shot at a program-best finish. At the end of the day, I want this team to focus on its own performance Saturday – we’re looking for a solid score that will help us solidify our position in the NCAA Championships.”
WVU tallied its best score at the conference championship in 2014, a 196.375 mark at the WVU Coliseum on March 22. Former Mountaineer Hope Sloanhoffer finished first in the all-around (39.425) and was the program’s first Big 12 champion; she also finished third (9.9) on floor. Senior Dayah Haley placed third overall (39.125) in her first career all-around appearance, while classmate Beth Deal finished second on beam (9.9); all three gymnasts scored All-Big 12 Championship Team honors.
“Saturday’s individual finishes are all going to come down to landings, handstands and balance checks on beam,” explained Butts. “I think any one of our gymnasts has a great chance of winning a Big 12 title. Having said that, I want the gymnasts to focus on having fun and relying on their past road performances – the scores will fall where they should.”
Saturday is the first meeting of the season between WVU and OU (14-0, 2-0). The Sooners own a 9-1 all-time series advantage, including a 4-0 mark since 2013, WVU’s first season in the Big 12 Conference. WVU last competed in Norman in 2009 and earned a 195.25, third-place finish against OU (196.375), Missouri (196.225) and Brown (189.95).
The Mountaineers and the Cyclones (7-10-1, 0-2-1) meet for the second time this season. The squads each scored 194.85 and finished second to No. 25 George Washington at the WVU Coliseum on January 25; the draw was WVU’s first since 2005. ISU owns a 4-2-1 all-time series advantage, with the Mountaineers’ last win coming in 2013, a 196.15-194.825 decision at the Coliseum on February 10, WVU’s first win in the Big 12 Conference.
The Mountaineers enter the championship on a high, having scored a season-best 196.075 in their regular-season finale on March 14 against Penn (193.175) and Cornell (191.3) at the Coliseum. The Mountaineers swept all four events, scoring season highs on beam (49.0) and floor (49.275); the team also scored 48.9 on vault and bars. Sophomore Alexa Goldberg, the reigning Big 12 Gymnast of the Week, earned her seventh bars victory of the season with a 9.9 score. Junior Melissa Idell, the reigning Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week, matched her floor career high of 9.925 for the event victory. The duo, along with freshman Jordan Gillette, scored 9.825 on beam, a career-best mark for all three gymnasts, and placed first. Additionally, junior Jaida Lawrence and freshman Zaakira Muhammad tied for the vault win with 9.85s, and Haley tallied 39.075 in her first all-around appearance of the season and finished first.
WVU ranks No. 3 in the Big 12, No. 33 nationally, with a 195.345 regional qualifying score (RQS). The Mountaineers boast a 49.125 floor RQS and rank No. 2 in the conference, No. 21 nationally. WVU also is No. 2 in the Big 12 on vault (48.995 RQS), and No. 3 on bars (48.635 RQS) and beam (48.71 RQS). Individually, Haley ranks No. 30 on floor, No. 5 in the Big 12, on floor (9.89 RQS), and Idell follows at No. 34 nationally, No. 6 in the Big 12 (9.885 RQS). Goldberg ranks No. 42 nationally, No. 6 in the Big 12, on bars (9.87 RQS).
The Sooners have ranked No. 1 in the nation all 10 weeks of the 2015 season and own a 197.86 RQS. OU ranks No. 1 nationally on beam (49.48 RQS), No. 2 on floor (49.47 RQS), No. 3 on bars (49.475 RQS) and No. 4 on vault (49.495 RQS). Sophomore Chayse Capps ranks No. 1 nationally on beam (9.993 RQS), and classmate McKenzie Wofford ranks No. 2 on bars (9.94 RQS). Junior Haley Scaman ranks No. 3 on vault (9.945 RQS) and No. 5 on floor (9.94 RQS).
The Cyclones rank just three spots better than the Mountaineers and sit at No. 30 nationally with a 195.39 RQS. Senior Caitlin Brown ranks No. 1 in the Big 12, No. 25 nationally, in the all-around (39.315 RQS). She also ranks No. 9 nationally on beam (9.9 RQS).
