MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Despite improving on its season-opening score by 1.45 points, the No. 16-ranked West Virginia University gymnastics team came up just short in a tight battle with No. 14 Arizona State this afternoon, falling 196.475-195.875 at the WVU Coliseum.
 
The Mountaineers (0-2) hit 23-for-24 routines and scored 49.0 or better on two events, including a winning 49.125 score on vault in the first rotation. The Sun Devils (3-1) took the team wins on uneven bars (49.125-48.9), balance beam (49.225-49.0) and floor exercise (49.125-48.85).
 
"We went back into the gym this week and worked on our landings and the little things, and they showed tremendous improvement today," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "You can't ask more of the team than that, especially with this being our second meet of the year. We were calm and confident in warmup today, and that carried over into competition."
 
Senior Zaakira Muhammad earned four podium finishes this afternoon, including a second place, 39.35 showing in the all-around. The Pennsauken, New Jersey, native scored 9.8 or better on all four events for her third-best career all-around score. Dating back to last season, Muhammad has scored 39.0 or better in five of the last six meets.
 
"Zaakira was really determined today to knock it out of the park, and that was clear in her performance," Butts said. "She was confident and having fun today, and she showed a big improvement from last week."
 
ASU's Cairo Leonard-Baker finished first overall with a 39.475 score.
 
Five scores of 9.775 or better pushed WVU to a 49.125 showing on vault in the first rotation. Junior Kirah Koshinski anchored the lineup and finished first overall with a season-best 9.9. The score is the first 9.9 or better mark awarded to a Mountaineer this season. Koshinski now shows 12 career vault scores of 9.9 or better. Muhammad tied for second place with a season-best 9.85 showing. Senior Robyn Bernard opened the meet with a season-high 9.825 vault and tied for fourth place overall. Junior Jaquie Tun and sophomore Julia Merwin tied for seventh place with matching 9.775 scores, a career best and season high, respectively.
 
Fueled by four career- or season-best scores, WVU finished with a season-high 48.9 on bars in the second rotation. Tun paced the Mountaineers and finished second overall with a season-high 9.85, while Muhammad scored 9.825, also a season best, and tied for third place. Freshman Sydney Marler and senior Jordan Gillette chipped in 9.775 scores, a career high for both gymnasts, and finished tied for seventh place. Bernard opened the lineup with a 9.675 mark.
 
Leonard-Baker finished first on bars with a 9.925 score.
 
The Mountaineers hit six-for-six on balance beam for the second straight week for a season-high 49.0 team total. Muhammad matched her career-high score of 9.875 and placed second overall. Koshinski opened the rotation with a 9.85 score, also matching her career high, and placed fourth. Gillette anchored the lineup with a season-best 9.8, good enough for seventh place, and freshman McKenna Linnen placed ninth with a career-high 9.75. Junior Carly Galpin added a 9.725 mark.
 
"We were aggressive today on beam, and I wanted to see that. That lineup really did well today," Butts added.
 
ASU's Ashley Szafranski won beam with a 9.9.  
 
The Mountaineers closed the meet with a season-high 48.85 showing on floor. Linnen paced the Mountaineers and finished third overall with a career-best 9.85, while Muhammad scored 9.8 and tied for fourth place. Koshinski and sophomore Abby Kaufman tied for sixth place with 9.775s, a season best for Kaufman, and sophomore Erica Fontaine added a 9.65 mark.
 
Leonard-Baker earned her second event win with a 9.9 score.
 
Today's result evens the all-time record between the teams at 2-2.
 
The Mountaineers wrap-up their season-opening homestand at the WVU Coliseum next Sunday, Jan. 21, against No. 24 Towson and No. 25 George Washington, with action set to begin at 2 p.m. It's the Wendy M. Roach Pink Meet Invitational, and tickets will be available for $3 each for fans who wear pink to support breast cancer awareness. Additionally, the first 1,000 fans will receive a pink shaker, courtesy of WVU Medicine, and pink WVU Medicine t-shirts will be available for a minimum donation of $10.