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Lyons Reveals 2017 Schedule
September 28, 2016 11:20 AM | Gymnastics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University Director of Athletics Shane Lyons announced today the 2017 gymnastics slate.
The Mountaineers’ five-meet home slate at the WVU Coliseum is highlighted by a season-opening competition against reigning National Champion Oklahoma in January and the 2017 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships in April.
“I really like this schedule, as we’ll benefit from having each of our Big 12 Conference opponents travel to Morgantown this year,” sixth-year Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. “We won’t be as fatigued from travel as we may have been in the past. Having said that, I think we still have a lot of great opportunities for strong, important road scores this year.
“Most importantly, I think this schedule is really going to excite our fans. We have excellent competition coming to the WVU Coliseum this season, and we will cap our home slate with the NCAA Regional Championships, which is always a fan-favorite meet.”
For the fifth straight season, the Mountaineers will open on the road, as the team travels to College Park, Maryland, for a dual-meet against the Terrapins on Sunday, Jan. 8, at 2 p.m. WVU will stay on the road and compete at Pitt on Friday, Jan. 13, at 6:30 p.m.
Following the home season opener against the Sooners on Jan. 21 at 7 p.m., the Mountaineers will compete in the first quad-meet of 2016 with a competition against Denver, Towson and Temple at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. It marks the Mountaineers’ first home meet against the Pioneers as affiliate members of the Big 12 Conference.
“The Coliseum is going to offer a whole new experience for our fans this season because of the on-going renovations, and I think our team is excited to compete at home because of the amped-up environment,” Butts said. “Oklahoma is already looking phenomenal, and I know they’ll come in ready to compete. I’m expecting big shows from OU and Denver.”
The Mountaineers will then take to the road for three straight meets away from Morgantown. First up, a trip to Kent State on Saturday, Feb. 4, for a 2 p.m. meet. WVU will visit Towson one week later for a 2 p.m. dual meet on Sunday, Feb. 12, and the Mountaineers will conclude their road swing with a 4 p.m. dual meet at Ohio State on Saturday, Feb. 18.
WVU returns to the Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 26, for a tri-meet against Iowa State and Maryland on Feb. 26, at 1 p.m.
The Mountaineers again travel to Pitt on Friday, March 3 for a 6:30 p.m. dual-meet before playing host to the Panthers, George Washington and Eastern Michigan at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, March 5, at 2 p.m.
WVU closes its regular-season slate at Florida on Friday, March 10, at 7 p.m. The Gators, the reigning Southeastern Conference champions, finished in fourth place at the 2016 NCAA National Championships.
“I’m really excited about the regular-season finale at Florida,” Butts noted. “I love competing in an SEC arena, and Florida always has a great crowd. I think this meet will be a great launching point for our postseason run.”
For the second straight season, the Big 12 Gymnastics Championship will be held at the Dr. Pepper Arena, in Frisco, Texas, with this year’s meet set for Saturday, March 18. The Mountaineers finished third at last year’s championship with a 195.925 mark, the squad’s second-best mark at the conference championship. Sophomore Kirah Koshinski, the reigning Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, led the team with a third-place finish on vault and earned All-Big 12 Championship Team accolades.
The Mountaineers will return to Morgantown to play host to the 2017 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships on Saturday, April 1, at 4 p.m. This will be the 10th regional championships WVU has played host to since 1983, and this year’s championship will be the third in Morgantown in five seasons.
“I’m so excited to bring a regional championship back to Morgantown, and I know the team is, too,” Butts concluded. “There are a lot of advantages to playing host to an NCAA regional, and I think we’re all looking forward to having our home crowd behind us.”
The NCAA National Championships are set for April 14-16, at the Chaifetz Arena, in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Mountaineers opened preseason on Sept. 15 with their first official practice at Cary Gym. Twelve Mountaineers, including seniors Alexa Goldberg and Brooklyn Doggette, as well as All-American Koshinski and junior all-arounder Zaakira Muhammad, return from a 2016 squad which posted an 11-8 record.
Assistant Coach Kaylyn Millick | Intro
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Assistant Coach Jessica Yamzon | Intro
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Associate Head Coach Travis Doak | Intro
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Head Coach Jason Butts | Intro
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