MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team returns to Pittsburgh on Friday, March 3, for the first of two quad meets this weekend.
Friday’s competition against Pitt, Michigan State and Towson begins at 6:30 p.m. inside Fitzgerald Field House. The Mountaineers will return to Morgantown for their 2017 home regular-season finale on Sunday, March 5, against Pitt, No. 16 George Washington and No. 24 Eastern Michigan, at 2 p.m., inside the WVU Coliseum.
“We prepare for these types of weekends in practice,” WVU coach Jason Butts said. “We put the numbers on them in practice this week. We wanted to get their bodies conditioned for the weekend, but more importantly, we wanted to get their minds wrapped around the fact that we have a lot of gymnastics coming up in the next week. They can do it. This is more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge, and I’m confident they’re up to the task.”
The Mountaineers (8-5, 2-1) travel north for the second time this season. A poor showing on uneven bars in the first rotation was too much for WVU to overcome in its first meet at Pitt on Jan. 13, as the team dropped a 194.025-193.875 decision. The loss was the Mountaineers’ first in the series since 1992.
“There’s absolutely a redemption factor that plays into this weekend,” Butts added. “We left Pitt last time with our tails tucked between our legs. We’re going to go up there and be aggressive and fight.”
WVU owns a 57-13-2 all-time series edge over the Panthers (6-10, 0-5 EAGL), a former foe in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL).
Friday is the 23rd meeting between the Mountaineers and the Spartans (4-6, 0-6 Big Ten) and the first since 2011. WVU trails the all-time series, 10-11-1, but earned the win in the last meeting, a 194.0-192.575 victory on Jan. 14, in the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers and the Tigers (7-8, 0-4) meet for the third time this season and the first at a neutral site. The squads each earned a win in their home meets earlier this year, including a 196.3-194.775 Mountaineer victory on Jan. 29, at the WVU Coliseum.
Ranked No. 26 nationally in this week’s Road to Nationals Rankings with a 195.565 regional qualifying score (RQS), WVU is coming off a 195.95 showing in wins against No. 24 Iowa State (195.725) and Maryland (195.45) on Feb. 26, at the WVU Coliseum. Included in the victorious outing was a season-high beam score of 49.1, paced by a winning, career-high 9.875 mark from junior Zaakira Muhammad in her first event appearance of the season. Muhammad also finished first in the all-around with a career-high 39.4 score.
Muhammad is one of two Mountaineers nationally ranked this week, sitting at No. 25 on vault with a 9.855 RQS. Sophomore Kirah Koshinski, who leads WVU this year with nine event wins and 16 podium finishes, ranks No. 17 on vault (9.88) and No. 24 on floor exercise (9.885 RQS).
Koshinski also paces the Mountaineers on balance beam with a 9.77 RQS. The Berwick, Pennsylvania, native recently earned a career-high 9.85 on the event on Feb. 26. Senior Alexa Goldberg and sophomore Tiara Wright pace WVU on uneven bars with matching 9.84 RQSs. Goldberg has scored below 9.825 just once this season.
The Panthers are led by senior Tracey Pearson, who ranks No. 47 nationally on vault with a 9.835 RQS. Pitt is coming off a 195.2-193.525 loss at Penn State on Feb. 25. Pearson finished second on floor with a 9.85 mark, while sophomore Brittany West placed second on beam with a 9.85.
While the Spartans are not nationally ranked in any event, MSU enters Friday night with the field’s top beam RQS, as the team sits at No. 31 nationally (48.76). Most recently, the Spartans defeated No. 21 Arkansas, 195.55-185.275, on Feb. 25, in East Lansing, Michigan. The team total was MSU’s second-best mark of the year.
The Tigers earned a season-high 195.675 in a win against Rutgers (194.275) on Feb. 24, at the SECU Arena, in Towson, Maryland. The score was the team’s top mark in nearly two years and ranks No. 2 in the program’s record book. Junior Gabriella Yarussi finished first in the all-around with a 39.225 total.
