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Muhammad Debuts on National Stage
April 13, 2017 02:23 PM | Gymnastics
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – West Virginia University junior Zaakira Muhammad will compete in the all-around in the second semifinal session of the 2017 NCAA National Gymnastics Championships on Friday, April 14, at 8 p.m., EST inside Chaifetz Arena.
Friday’s competition will be televised on ESPNU before sliding over to ESPN at 9 p.m. Dedicated links for all four events, as well as an all-around feed, will be available on WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
Muhammad is the Mountaineers’ first individual qualifier since 2014 and the second under sixth-year coach Jason Butts. A native of Pennsauken, New Jersey, she will rotate with No. 6-ranked Alabama. The group opens the meet on floor exercise. The complete rotation order is Floor Exercise-Vault-BYE-Uneven Bars-Balance Beam-BYE.
“Zaakira has really shown a lot of maturity and confidence this season, both in her training and in her consistency at practice,” Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. “The team is really excited for her, and the coaching staff is excited to see her represent West Virginia on the national stage.”
“I’m so excited to go out and compete with the best of the best,” Muhammad added. “I feel as though I’m not only competing for myself, but also West Virginia gymnastics as a whole. Even though my team won’t be with me, they’ll always be in my mind because I know they’ll be watching.”
Six teams, as well as five additional all-around competitors and four event specialists, will compete in the second practice session. Fourteen of the gymnasts competing in the session rank in the top 50 nationally in the all-around in the Road to Nationals final regular-season rankings. Muhammad did not compete in the all-around in enough meets this year to earn a regional qualifying score (RQS), but she shows a 39.2 season average, which unofficially ranks No. 24 nationally.
All-around and event NCAA champions will be determined following the conclusion of the second semifinal session Friday by combining the results from both semifinals. The top eight gymnasts in each event, as well as the all-around, will be honored. All-America honors also will be awarded.
The 19th WVU individual qualifier and the 16th Mountaineer gymnast to compete in the all-around, Muhammad earned the highest all-around qualification score for the 2017 NCAA National Championships, finishing in fourth place at the 2017 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships on April 1 with a 39.325 mark. She also tied for third place on floor exercise with a season-high matching 9.9 score and placed ninth on vault (9.825), 11th on uneven bars (9.85) and 18th on balance beam (9.75).
Muhammad ranks No. 32 nationally, No. 7 in the Southeast Region and No. 7 in the Big 12 Conference in vault with a 9.86 RQS. She also ranks No. 13 in the Big 12 in floor (9.85) and bars (9.84).
Tops on the team in 2017 with 439.85 points, Muhammad earned six event victories this season and owns 15 career event wins, including eight on vault, and a team-best 58 podium finishes. She set or matched career highs on each event but floor, including a 39.4 all-around score.
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