MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 18-ranked West Virginia University gymnastics team hit 24-for-24 routines and earned a second place, 195.4 finish at the Wendy M. Roach Pink Meet Invitational this afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.
 
George Washington (6-2, 1-0 EAGL) narrowly edge the Mountaineers and finished first with a 195.575 mark. Towson (2-5, 0-2 EAGL) scored 194.0 and finished in third place, giving WVU (1-3) its first win of the season.
 
Five scores of 9.8 or better in the fourth rotation gave WVU a season-best 49.2 showing on floor, its lone team victory of the day. The Mountaineers finished second on vault (48.95), uneven bars (48.4) and balance beam (48.85).
 
"This was the third meet in a row we've had switch up some of our lineups, and this team is stepping up, filling those gaps and hitting 24-for-24," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "I'm glad we've had these three home meets to get the kinks worked out. We'll get healthy before we get on the road next week. Overall, I just like the fight this team shows. They don't let anything intimidate them – they come out and get the job done."
 
Junior Kirah Koshinski punctuated the Mountaineers' fourth rotation with a season best, winning 9.9 showing in the anchor position. The score is her second 9.9+ mark of the season and moves her into a tie with Mehgan Morris (2006-09) for sixth place in the WVU record book with 22 career 9.9+ scores. The win was her team-best 23rd career victory.
 
Freshman McKenna Linnen and sophomore Erica Fontaine tied for third place on floor with career-high 9.85 marks. Linnen has tallied 9.85 in back-to-back meets. Senior Jordan Gillette and sophomore Abby Kaufman tied for eighth place with 9.8s, a season-best for Kaufman. Additionally, in her first appearance in the floor lineup since 2016, junior Jaquie Tun tallied 9.75 and placed 11th overall.
 
"When we put this floor lineup together, we knew if they hit it would have a 'wow' factor," Butts noted. "They knocked it out of the park. The crowd loved it, and we were happy with that rotation."
 
The Mountaineers opened the meet with a 48.95 showing on vault. Tun paced WVU and finished tied for second overall with a career-high 9.85 score, topping her previous career best of 9.775, earned on Jan. 14. Sophomore Julia Merwin and Koshinski finished in a four-way tie for fourth place with 9.8 marks, a season best for Merwin. Senior Robyn Bernard and Kaufman, in her career vault debut, tied for eighth place with 9.75 scores, the fourth-highest mark awarded today.
 
GW's Camille Drouin-Allaire finished first on vault with a 9.875 mark.
 
WVU pushed its running score to 97.35 in the second rotation following a 48.4 showing on bars. Freshman Sydney Marler paced the Mountaineers and finished tied for third place with a 9.75 score. Gillette tallied 9.7 and tied for seventh place, while Tun, Kaufman and sophomore Chloe Cluchey, making her season debut, all placed 10th with 9.65 marks.
 
Jillian Winstanley of GW scored 9.85 for the uneven bars win.
 
Competing in the lineup's No. 3 position, Linnen set the standard for WVU on beam today, tallying a career-high 9.8 and tying for third place. Junior Carly Galpin and Gillette tied for sixth place with 9.775 marks, a season best for Galpin, while Kaufman and Fontaine, in her event career debut, finished in ninth place with 9.75s. The Mountaineers finished the rotation with a 48.85 team total.
 
Winstanley and Towson's Melissa Temkov earned the event win with matching 9.825 marks.
 
GW took the top three all-around finishes, with Drouin-Allaire placing first with a 39.225 score. Alexandra Zois tallied 39.125 and finished second, and Winstanley placed third with a 39.1 mark. In her career all-around debut, Kaufman scored 38.95 and finished fifth.
 
With the win, WVU improves to 23-11 all-time against the Tigers. The Mountaineers maintain a 46-5 series edge against the Colonials.
 
WVU leaves Morgantown for the first time this season and travels to Davis, California, for a tri-meet against UC Davis and Illinois-Chicago on Friday, Jan. 26, at 10 p.m. EST.