No. 24 Mountaineers Earn Sweep

Friday, January 26

Davis, Calif.

10:00 PM

West Virginia University

195.05

194.2

UC Davis

Photo by: Steven Prunty

January 27, 2018 01:05 AM | Gymnastics

Results

By: Shannon McNamara

DAVIS, Calif. – The No. 24-ranked West Virginia University gymnastics team earned two victories tonight with a first place, 195.05 showing in a tri-meet at UC Davis.

The host Aggies finished second with a 194.2 total, and Illinois-Chicago placed third with a 193.025 mark.

"Jason always talks about fight, and I thought the team did an incredible job despite some adversity we faced tonight," Mountaineer associate head coach Travis Doak said. "Their leadership this evening showed how these Mountaineers can be a championship team. From the freshmen class to the senior class, we saw so much maturity, and that's exciting for the future growth of the program.

"Again, we changed our lineups, and again we're seeing consistency from this team. Hitting 24-for-24 is always our goal."

The Mountaineers (3-3) finished first as a team on vault (48.8) and floor (49.075) tonight. WVU also placed second on balance beam (48.575) and third on uneven bars (48.6).

"We opened the meet on bars and moved to beam tonight. That was new for the team this year, and they did fantastic," Doak added. "They put forth several no-bobble routines, and I couldn't have asked for more."

Following a week's rest, senior Zaakira Muhammad returned to the lineup tonight and paced the Mountaineers on bars with a fifth place, 9.8 showing. The score was the second highest awarded. Junior Jaquie Tun preceded Muhammad in the lineup with a 9.775 mark, good enough for seventh place, while senior Jordan Gillette competed in the No. 4 spot and placed 13th with a 9.7. Freshman Sydney Marler and senior Robyn Bernard added scores of 9.675 and 9.65, respectively.

Four gymnasts tied for first place on bars with matching 9.85s – Alexis Brown of UC Davis and Toni Alicke, Serena Baker and Mikailla Northern of Illinois-Chicago.

In the second rotation, the Mountaineers hit a solid six-for-six on balance beam and scored 48.575. Gillette paced WVU and finished third overall with a 9.775 mark. Junior Carly Galpin and freshman McKenna Linnen tied for fourth place with 9.75s. Sophomore Abby Kaufman scored 9.675 and placed 10th, and in her season event debut, classmate Kassidy Cumber tallied 9.625 and placed 11th.

Brown finished first with a 9.85.

Five explosive routines on floor in the third rotation pushed WVU to a 49.075 showing, the team's second-highest mark of the season. Gillette and junior Kirah Koshinski tied for first with 9.875 marks, a career-high matching score for Gillette and her first career win on floor. Sophomore Erica Fontaine finished fourth overall with a 9.825, while Kaufman tallied 9.775 and placed fifth. Linnen opened the rotation with a 9.725 and finished in ninth place.

"The energy from this team on the sidelines was just as exciting as the routines," Doak said. "Our floor routines were captivating to watch, and their showmanship this early in the season is so impressive. We're going to see great things from this lineup this year."

A season-high matching 9.9. from Koshinski in the anchor position pushed WVU to a 48.8 on vault in the fourth rotation. Koshinski earned the event win outright, her second win of the year. Muhammad and Tun tied for second place with matching 9.8s. Bernard and sophomore Julia Merwin added marks of 9.675 and 9.625, respectively.

WVU did not have a gymnast compete in the all-around tonight. Brown finished first overall with a 39.25 mark.

With the wins, the Mountaineers improve to 4-0 against the Flames and 3-0 against the Aggies.

The Mountaineers open Big 12 Conference action next weekend, traveling to No. 25 Iowa State for a tri-meet with Northern Illinois on Friday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 p.m. EST, at Hilton Coliseum, in Ames, Iowa.