Goldberg-Main-61715.jpg
Tumblers' Tales: Goldberg's Growing Smile
January 17, 2016 09:35 AM | Gymnastics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – One of the smallest gymnasts sporting the West Virginia University leotard last week in the Mountaineers’ season opener at No. 16 Denver produced one of the largest smiles late in the meet.
Junior Alexa Goldberg was on the cusp of completing just her third career meet as an all-arounder. She had worked her way around the gym, scoring a team-best 9.85 on the uneven bars in the first rotation, 9.725 on balance beam and 9.7 on floor. Only vault remained for the Ivyland, Pennsylvania, native – easily her least favorite event. Goldberg entered the 2016 season having only competed on vault twice before, both times earning a score of 9.6 or less.
That all changed last Saturday.
Competing second in the lineup, and following a 9.75 from sophomore Robyn Bernard, Goldberg executed her best vault to date, scoring a solid 9.7.
“Vault is not my strongest event, so I was happy I made it around and landed well,” Goldberg said in her trademark soft-spoken voice. “I had to smile because I was just so happy. I wasn’t happy coming off floor because I didn’t think I competed my routine that well. I really just wanted to get my vault done, and when I landed it I was really happy.”
The vault score pushed Goldberg’s all-around total to a career-best 38.975, good enough for third place. One of the team’s most-consistent competitors, she entered the year knowing the Mountaineer coaches would depend on her to compete in the all-around each week. Knowing that she would be needed to step up as an in-meet leader this year, Goldberg spent preseason working with assistant coach Kaylyn Millick on correcting her form on vault.
“Kaylyn and I worked on a lot of drills during the fall,” Goldberg explained. “We focused on making sure I can get speed off my round off. I’m happy with where it is right now. It can always get better, and I’m working on it.”
Goldberg hopes to build on her early all-around success as the 2016 season progresses. Known primarily as the “bars queen” throughout her first two seasons as a Mountaineer, the athletic coaching education major is buying in to her coaches’ confidence in her.
“I’m really excited to compete all-around more,” Goldberg said. “As long as I’m confident in myself, and my coaches and my teammates remain confident in me, I think I’ll do a good job.”
Goldberg leads the Mountaineers into their 2016 home season opener at the WVU Coliseum later this afternoon, as WVU plays host to No. 18-ranked New Hampshire in a Beauty and the Beast meet at 4 p.m. WVU looks to bounce back from a nerve-induced season-opening performance at Denver; the squad finished in third place with a 193.65 score.
GYMNASTICS VIDEO STREAM | GYMNASTICS LIVE SCORES | GYMNASTICS MEET NOTES
“I think we got all the fears and little ticks out of our systems last weekend,” Goldberg explained. “I think we’re going to compete strong because we’re so excited to be at the Coliseum in front of our fans. The fact that it’s a Beauty and the Beast meet and we’re competing with the wrestling team, too, has really added to the team’s excitement.”
Wrestling fans attending the Mountaineer gymnasts’ home opener today should keep an eye on Goldberg during the team’s second rotation on bars. One of the nation’s strongest bars workers, she shows a team-best 12 career victories on the event and has scored below 9.8 just five times since her collegiate debut in 2014. In fact, Goldberg ranks No. 2 in program history, as she posted a career-best 9.95 on bars in the Coliseum on March 8, 2015; she was the first Mountaineer gymnast to hit the mark since 2008.
When reminded of just how strong she is on bars, Goldberg is quick to put the spotlight back on her team, specifically sophomore Zaakira Muhammad, who matched Goldberg’s 9.85, third-place showing at Denver last week.
“Z is really good,” Goldberg deflected. “We have strong routines this year, and that’s good. I think that will help with our team’s overall confidence.”
As the Mountaineers’ and Goldberg’s confidence continues to grow throughout the 2016 season, so should the rare smile that follows a strong routine from WVU’s diminutive, focused leader.
Stay tuned!
GYM: Florida Quad Recap
Tuesday, January 13
Assistant Coach Kaylyn Millick | Intro
Tuesday, September 09
Assistant Coach Jessica Yamzon | Intro
Tuesday, September 09
Associate Head Coach Travis Doak | Intro
Tuesday, September 09
