Friday, February 23
Norman, Okla.
7:45 PM
West Virginia University
at
Oklahoma
Photo by: Steven Prunty
Mountaineers Meet No. 1 Sooners Friday
February 22, 2018 11:48 AM | Gymnastics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team concludes its regular-season Big 12 Conference slate at No. 1-ranked Oklahoma on Friday, Feb. 23, at 7:45 p.m. EST, inside the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
Friday's meet will be broadcast regionally on FOX Sports Oklahoma and FOX College Sports. Links for a video stream and live scores are available at WVUsports.com.
The Mountaineers (7-6, 0-2) return to the road following a season-best showing in their WVU Coliseum finale, tallying 196.225 in wins over Maryland (195.825) and Pitt (195.25) on Feb. 18.
"Sunday was a boost in the arm for this team," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "We only had two practices this week, so there wasn't a lot of turnaround time or training. Clearly, we're not going to change much. We had a winning formula for the most part Sunday, and we want to keep a lot of that the same this weekend. We want to put up the most consistent team and hit our routines."
The Mountaineers are 0-9 against the two-time reigning NCAA Champion Sooners (6-1, 1-0) since joining the Big 12 in 2013. WVU is 1-14 all-time against OU.
"Oklahoma is a daunting place to compete," Butts added. "We're going up against the No. 1 team and reigning national champion on TV. Those are all things you can't worry about. We have to remove that from our thoughts and focus on ourselves. I actually think the intense atmosphere will help this team just do its thing – be light and be West Virginia. We just need to have fun Friday night."
WVU dropped two decisions to OU in 2017, including a 197.85-195.575 decision at the Big 12 Gymnastics Championship on March 18, at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas. OU claimed its sixth straight conference title that day. In their last meeting in Norman, the No. 23 Mountaineers earned a then-season high road score in a 197.9-195.25 loss to the No. 2 Sooners on Feb. 7, 2016.
The Mountaineers' season-best showing Sunday pushed the team's average to 195.275, and WVU moved up two spots to No. 29 in the Road to Nationals Rankings. Junior Kirah Koshinski and senior Zaakira Muhammad rank No. 11 (9.875 avg.) and No. 48 (9.842 avg.), respectively, on vault. The duo paces the team on the podium, with Muhammad showing 11 podium finishes and Koshinski posting six event wins.
Muhammad finished first in the all-around against Maryland and Pitt with a career-high matching 39.4. The Pennsauken, New Jersey, native also placed second on vault (9.85) and floor (9.9), third on balance beam (9.85) and a team-best seventh on bars (9.8). Koshinski took the vault and floor wins with season-high marks of 9.9 and 9.925, respectively. Junior Carly Galpin paced the Mountaineers on beam with a winning, career-high matching score of 9.875.
The Sooners rank within the top three nationally on every event and sit at No. 1 on vault (49.454 avg.) and bars (49.5 avg.). The team also ranks No. 2 on beam (49.296 avg.) and No. 3 on floor (49.388 avg.). Sophomore Maggie Nichols paces OU on every event and ranks No. 1 nationally on beam (9.938 avg.) and the all-around (39.715 avg.), No. 2 on vault (9.925 avg.) and bars (9.925 avg.) and No. 9 on floor (9.913 avg.).
OU has scored 198.0 or better three times this season. In their last outing, the Sooners earned a 196.425-196.175 win over No. 12 Nebraska at the Perfect 10 Challenge on Feb. 16, at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. An OU gymnast finished first on each event but vault, and Nichols won beam (9.95), floor (9.95) and the all-around (39.6).
Friday's meet will be broadcast regionally on FOX Sports Oklahoma and FOX College Sports. Links for a video stream and live scores are available at WVUsports.com.
The Mountaineers (7-6, 0-2) return to the road following a season-best showing in their WVU Coliseum finale, tallying 196.225 in wins over Maryland (195.825) and Pitt (195.25) on Feb. 18.
"Sunday was a boost in the arm for this team," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "We only had two practices this week, so there wasn't a lot of turnaround time or training. Clearly, we're not going to change much. We had a winning formula for the most part Sunday, and we want to keep a lot of that the same this weekend. We want to put up the most consistent team and hit our routines."
The Mountaineers are 0-9 against the two-time reigning NCAA Champion Sooners (6-1, 1-0) since joining the Big 12 in 2013. WVU is 1-14 all-time against OU.
"Oklahoma is a daunting place to compete," Butts added. "We're going up against the No. 1 team and reigning national champion on TV. Those are all things you can't worry about. We have to remove that from our thoughts and focus on ourselves. I actually think the intense atmosphere will help this team just do its thing – be light and be West Virginia. We just need to have fun Friday night."
WVU dropped two decisions to OU in 2017, including a 197.85-195.575 decision at the Big 12 Gymnastics Championship on March 18, at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas. OU claimed its sixth straight conference title that day. In their last meeting in Norman, the No. 23 Mountaineers earned a then-season high road score in a 197.9-195.25 loss to the No. 2 Sooners on Feb. 7, 2016.
The Mountaineers' season-best showing Sunday pushed the team's average to 195.275, and WVU moved up two spots to No. 29 in the Road to Nationals Rankings. Junior Kirah Koshinski and senior Zaakira Muhammad rank No. 11 (9.875 avg.) and No. 48 (9.842 avg.), respectively, on vault. The duo paces the team on the podium, with Muhammad showing 11 podium finishes and Koshinski posting six event wins.
Muhammad finished first in the all-around against Maryland and Pitt with a career-high matching 39.4. The Pennsauken, New Jersey, native also placed second on vault (9.85) and floor (9.9), third on balance beam (9.85) and a team-best seventh on bars (9.8). Koshinski took the vault and floor wins with season-high marks of 9.9 and 9.925, respectively. Junior Carly Galpin paced the Mountaineers on beam with a winning, career-high matching score of 9.875.
The Sooners rank within the top three nationally on every event and sit at No. 1 on vault (49.454 avg.) and bars (49.5 avg.). The team also ranks No. 2 on beam (49.296 avg.) and No. 3 on floor (49.388 avg.). Sophomore Maggie Nichols paces OU on every event and ranks No. 1 nationally on beam (9.938 avg.) and the all-around (39.715 avg.), No. 2 on vault (9.925 avg.) and bars (9.925 avg.) and No. 9 on floor (9.913 avg.).
OU has scored 198.0 or better three times this season. In their last outing, the Sooners earned a 196.425-196.175 win over No. 12 Nebraska at the Perfect 10 Challenge on Feb. 16, at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. An OU gymnast finished first on each event but vault, and Nichols won beam (9.95), floor (9.95) and the all-around (39.6).
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