MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 16-ranked West Virginia University gymnastics team continues its season-opening homestand at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 14, against No. 14 Arizona State, at 1 p.m.
 
It's Princess and Superhero Day, and free admission will be awarded to all fans in costume. It's also Mountaineer Kids Club Day, and the first 250 youths in attendance will receive a free WVU cape.
 
Tickets for Sunday's meet are available now at WVUGAME.com and also will be available for purchase at the WVU Coliseum Gold Gate Ticket Office. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for youths under 13 and senior citizens and $2 for groups of 10 or more. WVU students are admitted free with a valid WVU Student I.D.
 
To provide a safer environment for Mountaineer fans and to expedite entry into all ticketed WVU athletic events, the West Virginia Department of Intercollegiate Athletics enforces the NFL's Clear Bag Policy. The athletic department invites and encourages fans to visit WVUsports.com/clearbag for more information, to view pictures of permissible and non-permissible items and to obtain answers to frequently asked questions about the clear bag policy.
 
"We want to take down a team ranked higher than us, but that can't be our focus," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "We have to focus on hitting all 24 routines and fixing the little mistakes we worked on this week. We would love to go out Sunday, have a great performance and earn a win for the home crowd. It's going to be just as entertaining this week."
 
The Mountaineers (0-1) are 2-1 all-time against the Sun Devils (2-1). Sixteen years have passed since the teams' last meeting, a 194.75-194.6 Mountaineer victory in 2002 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska finished first at the meet with a 197.15 mark, and all three teams defeated Ohio State (193.6).
 
In their last meeting in Morgantown in 2000, WVU earned a 196.475-195.3 win.
 
WVU, boasting its highest regular-season ranking since 2013, returns to competition following a 195.9-194.425 loss to No. 2 Florida in its season opener on Jan. 5. In front of 2,613 fans, the Mountaineers hit 24-for-24 routines. Senior Jordan Gillette and junior Kirah Koshinski earned the team's top finishes, placing second on floor (9.85) and vault (9.85), respectively. Koshinski ranks No. 14 nationally on vault, while Gillette sits at No. 25 on floor.
 
Senior Zaakira Muhammad finished third in the all-around with a 38.85 mark and ranks No. 32 nationally. The Pennsauken, New Jersey, native also paced WVU on bars against the Gators with a 9.8 mark. Additionally, she and Gillette scored a team-high 9.75 on balance beam.
 
ASU opened its 2018 season with a second place, 194.675 showing at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona, on Jan. 6. The Sun Devils fell to Iowa State (195.125) and defeated No. 14 Auburn (193.95) and No. 20 Iowa (193.0). Junior Anne Kuhm and sophomore Jessica Ginn earned the best finishes for ASU, placing second on bars (9.825) and floor (9.825), respectively.
 
Head coach Jay Santos returns for his second season at ASU after leading the Sun Devils to a 3-10 (1-5 Pac-12) mark in 2017. Associate head coach Jessica Santos (Bartgis) competed for WVU from 2001-05. She scored a 10.0 on vault in 2004, the last Mountaineer gymnast to achieve the perfect mark.