Friday, January 5
Morgantown, W.Va.
7:00 PM
West Virginia University
vs
Florida
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Mountaineers Open 2018 Season Friday
January 04, 2018 05:35 PM | Gymnastics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team opens its 2018 season at the WVU Coliseum on Friday, Jan. 5, against No. 2-ranked Florida, at 7 p.m.
It's a Dollar Night, and all tickets and select concessions will be available for $1 each. WVU students are admitted free with a valid WVU Student I.D. Tickets are available for purchase now at WVUGAME.com and also will be available at the WVU Coliseum Gold Gate Ticket Office.
"Stick-It" loyalty cards will be available for pickup prior to the meet, and fans will receive their first sticker Friday night. A completed card with stickers from each of the first three home meets will earn fans free admittance to the team's home season finale on Feb. 18. Additionally, the first 150 youths Friday night will receive a free leotard t-shirt, and the first 1,500 fans will receive light-up sticks.
Links for a free video stream and live scores can be found at WVUsports.com.
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've been in various types of practice modes since August, and the team is ready to go," seventh-year coach Jason Butts said. "I'm looking for 24 hit routines. We have more depth this year than we ever have, and they all have been working really hard. I just want to see them go out there, have fun, be confident and show off everything they've been working on in the gym.
"Florida is a great team, and we're very proud of what we're going to be putting on the floor. We're giving away glow sticks and t-shirts for the kids – it's going to be a great family atmosphere."
The Mountaineers are 5-6 in season-opening meets under Butts. Friday marks the first time since Jan. 8, 2012, the Mountaineers open a season at the WVU Coliseum. That year, the first under Butts, the Mountaineers fell to Penn State (195.775) and defeated Maryland (194.225) with a 195.1 score, the program's best mark in a season opener.
Friday night also is the season opener for the Gators. WVU and UF have met 15 times since 1982, and the Gators own a 13-2 series advantage.
In their last meeting, the No. 22-ranked Mountaineers earned their top road score of the 2017 season in a 197.6-196.1 loss at No. 3 Florida on March 10, inside the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. In their last meeting in Morgantown, top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Florida finished first at the 2015 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships on April 4 with a 197.475 mark. The sixth-seeded Mountaineers scored 195.65 and placed fifth.
Twelve gymnasts return for the Mountaineers following a 13-10 (3-3) showing last year. WVU finished third at the 2017 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships with a program regional-record score of 196.325, also the squad's season-best mark. The Mountaineers also placed third at the 2017 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship with a score of 195.575. WVU ended the year ranked No. 20 in the Road to Nationals Rankings, the team's first postseason ranking since 2012 and its highest position since sitting at No. 18 in 2007.
For the first time in program history, the Mountaineers' roster will feature two All-Americans in senior Zaakira Muhammad and junior Kirah Koshinski. Muhammad, a 2017 NCAA National Championships individual qualifier in the all-around, paces the team with 1,143.4125 career points. She ranked No. 1 on the team last year with 478.8875 points, and she and Koshinski paced the team with 23 podium finishes each. Koshinski also earned 12 event wins.
A native of Berwick, Pennsylvania, Koshinski paced the Mountaineers in 2017 on vault and floor with season averages of 9.869 and 9.888, respectively. With the loss of junior Tiara Wright to a season-ending injury, senior Robyn Bernard is the top returning gymnast on uneven bars, as she posted a 9.725 average last season. Junior Carly Galpin paced the Mountaineers on balance beam last year with a 9.775 average.
The Gators are coming off a third-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Super Six competition and a runner-up finish at the Southeastern Conference Championship. UF finished the year with a 15-5 (5-2 SEC) record.
Five All-Americans return for third-year coach Jenny Rowland, including Alex McMurtry, who won the NCAA all-around title in 2017 with a 39.8125 mark and was one of six gymnasts to tie for the bars title. She is the reigning Honda Award, SEC Gymnast and SEC Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree.
It's a Dollar Night, and all tickets and select concessions will be available for $1 each. WVU students are admitted free with a valid WVU Student I.D. Tickets are available for purchase now at WVUGAME.com and also will be available at the WVU Coliseum Gold Gate Ticket Office.
"Stick-It" loyalty cards will be available for pickup prior to the meet, and fans will receive their first sticker Friday night. A completed card with stickers from each of the first three home meets will earn fans free admittance to the team's home season finale on Feb. 18. Additionally, the first 150 youths Friday night will receive a free leotard t-shirt, and the first 1,500 fans will receive light-up sticks.
Links for a free video stream and live scores can be found at WVUsports.com.
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've been in various types of practice modes since August, and the team is ready to go," seventh-year coach Jason Butts said. "I'm looking for 24 hit routines. We have more depth this year than we ever have, and they all have been working really hard. I just want to see them go out there, have fun, be confident and show off everything they've been working on in the gym.
"Florida is a great team, and we're very proud of what we're going to be putting on the floor. We're giving away glow sticks and t-shirts for the kids – it's going to be a great family atmosphere."
The Mountaineers are 5-6 in season-opening meets under Butts. Friday marks the first time since Jan. 8, 2012, the Mountaineers open a season at the WVU Coliseum. That year, the first under Butts, the Mountaineers fell to Penn State (195.775) and defeated Maryland (194.225) with a 195.1 score, the program's best mark in a season opener.
Friday night also is the season opener for the Gators. WVU and UF have met 15 times since 1982, and the Gators own a 13-2 series advantage.
In their last meeting, the No. 22-ranked Mountaineers earned their top road score of the 2017 season in a 197.6-196.1 loss at No. 3 Florida on March 10, inside the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. In their last meeting in Morgantown, top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Florida finished first at the 2015 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships on April 4 with a 197.475 mark. The sixth-seeded Mountaineers scored 195.65 and placed fifth.
Twelve gymnasts return for the Mountaineers following a 13-10 (3-3) showing last year. WVU finished third at the 2017 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships with a program regional-record score of 196.325, also the squad's season-best mark. The Mountaineers also placed third at the 2017 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship with a score of 195.575. WVU ended the year ranked No. 20 in the Road to Nationals Rankings, the team's first postseason ranking since 2012 and its highest position since sitting at No. 18 in 2007.
For the first time in program history, the Mountaineers' roster will feature two All-Americans in senior Zaakira Muhammad and junior Kirah Koshinski. Muhammad, a 2017 NCAA National Championships individual qualifier in the all-around, paces the team with 1,143.4125 career points. She ranked No. 1 on the team last year with 478.8875 points, and she and Koshinski paced the team with 23 podium finishes each. Koshinski also earned 12 event wins.
A native of Berwick, Pennsylvania, Koshinski paced the Mountaineers in 2017 on vault and floor with season averages of 9.869 and 9.888, respectively. With the loss of junior Tiara Wright to a season-ending injury, senior Robyn Bernard is the top returning gymnast on uneven bars, as she posted a 9.725 average last season. Junior Carly Galpin paced the Mountaineers on balance beam last year with a 9.775 average.
The Gators are coming off a third-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Super Six competition and a runner-up finish at the Southeastern Conference Championship. UF finished the year with a 15-5 (5-2 SEC) record.
Five All-Americans return for third-year coach Jenny Rowland, including Alex McMurtry, who won the NCAA all-around title in 2017 with a 39.8125 mark and was one of six gymnasts to tie for the bars title. She is the reigning Honda Award, SEC Gymnast and SEC Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree.
Players Mentioned
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