MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team meets a pair of familiar foes this weekend, as the team travels to Washington, D.C., for a tri meet at No. 18 George Washington, with Pitt, on Sunday, March 11, at 1 p.m., at the Charles E. Smith Center.
The Mountaineers (8-9, 0-3) have met both opponents twice this season and are 1-3 against the field. WVU's lone victory came off a season-best effort, as they defeated Pitt, 196.225-195.25, on Feb. 18 at the WVU Coliseum.
"The team came in this week really excited," Mountaineer coach Jason Butt said. "They are motivated. We're on the road the rest of the season, and we need to go into each of these road meets and give 100 percent. If we keep fighting, things will work out."
WVU dropped a pair of matches to the Colonials (15-5, 4-0 EAGL) earlier this season, including a 195.95-194.925 decision at Denver on Feb. 10. WVU is 46-6 all-time against GW.
The Mountaineers last competed in Washington, D.C., on March 10, 2013, and came away with a 195.45-194.5 victory.
WVU opens the meet Sunday on uneven bars. The team's complete rotation order is bars-beam-floor-vault.
"There were more stuck dismounts on bars at Pitt, and we need to replicate that," Butts added. "The team wants to hit those handstands and dismounts. We want to put the exclamation point on our routines. That will keep them motivated as we move around the gym. Sticking dismounts will really get this team fired up and give them momentum for beam. We need to be focused on those events, and then have fun on floor and vault."
Despite a 196.475-196.075 loss at Pitt on March 4, the Mountaineers continue to own a 60-14-2 all-time mark against the Panthers (6-11, 3-1 EAGL). In their last neutral-site match, also at GW, WVU defeated Pitt, 193.725-192.875, at the 2011 East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) Championship. The Mountaineers finished fourth, and the Panthers placed seventh. GW finished eighth (192.575).
The Mountaineers continue to rank No. 31 in the Road to Nationals Rankings with a 195.63 regional qualifying score (RQS). The WVU vault lineup has been hot as of late, scoring 49.0 or better every meet since Feb. 4, including back-to-back 49.2+ scores on the road. The Mountaineers rank No. 14 nationally with a 49.125 RQS. Senior
Robyn Bernard has played a large role in the lineup's success, earning a career-high 9.925 in the leadoff position the last two weeks.
A pair of Mountaineers own three combined national rankings. Junior
Kirah Koshinski ranks No. 12 on vault with a 9.895 RQS and No. 49 on floor with a 9.87 RQS. Senior
Zaakira Muhammad checks-in at No. 49 on vault with a 9.845 RQS. The duo owns a combined nine 9.9+ marks.
Muhammad enters the weekend ranked No. 20 on the WVU Career Points Top 20 List with 1,406.3625 points. Koshinski needs 8.65 points to break the 1,000 career-point plateau, while senior
Jordan Gillette needs 21.25 points to reach the 1,000 career-point mark.
The Colonials scored a season-high 196.825 on March 4 at the Charles E. Smith Center in wins over Maryland (195.825), Towson (195.25) and Rutgers (193.55). The mark was 0.05 points short of the program record.
Senior Cami Drouin-Allaire is the reigning EAGL Gymnast of the Week following a career-best 39.6 showing in the all-around on March 4. She ranks No. 12 nationally with a 39.43 RQS and No. 6 on vault with a 9.91 RQS.
Pitt's second place, 196.475 showing on March 4 was the team's second-best score in program history. The Panthers' 49.175 vault score ranked No. 2 in program history, too.
Freshman Haley Brechwald is the reigning EAGL Rookie of the Week, an honor she has won a record-matching five times this season. She finished first on beam on Sunday with a season-high 9.875. She also tallied a season-best 39.375 in the all-around.
