Mountaineers Roll to Pair of Wins

Saturday, January 19

Colorado Springs, Colo.

8:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

194.75

193.675

Air Force

January 19, 2019 10:54 PM | Gymnastics

Results

By: Shannon Wolfgang

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the meet never in doubt, the West Virginia University gymnastics team cruised to a winning, 194.75 mark at Air Force this evening inside Cadet West Gym.

The host Falcons placed second with a 193.675 total, and Cortland finished third with a 180.475 mark.

The Mountaineers (6-2, 0-1) finished first on each event but balance beam, scoring 48.85 on vault and floor exercise and 48.425 on uneven bars. WVU finished second on beam with a 48.625 total.

"I'm very proud of this team. They came in to this meet and hit 23 very solid routines," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "This team persevered against a lot of different conditions, and they never gave up their fight or spirit. We still have small mistakes we need to fix, but it's only the third meet of the season, and I see improvement every competition; I like the direction we're moving.

"After three long weeks on the road, I'm excited to finally get this team back to Morgantown and in front of Mountaineer Nation."

For the second consecutive week, the Mountaineers opened a meet on balance beam, and again, WVU produced, as all six gymnasts hit for a 48.625 total. Freshman Rachel Hornung continues to set the standard for WVU, as she paced the team for the third time in as many meets and earned her first career victory with a season-best 9.825 mark. Senior Kirah Koshinski preceded Hornung in the lineup and finished third with a season-high 9.75 score, while classmate Carly Galpin anchored the lineup with a 9.7 and tied for sixth place. Sophomore McKenna Linnen opened the meet with a 9.675 score, a mark matched by sophomore Sydney Marler in her career debut, and the pair tied for ninth place.

The Mountaineers tightened their grip on the lead in the second rotation, scoring 48.85 on floor exercise. Koshinski and Tun anchored the lineup with the top two scores of the meet, finishing first and third, respectively, with 9.85 and 9.825 marks. Air Force's Tyler Davis tied Koshinski for the event win. Kaufman finished fourth overall with a 9.775 score, while junior Erica Fontaine and Linnen tied for fifth place with 9.7s.

On vault in the third rotation, the Mountaineers earned a boost from Koshinski in the anchor position, as her winning, career-high matching 9.95 score pushed WVU to a 48.85 score. Tun tallied 9.775 and placed third, while junior Julia Merwin and Hornung tied for fourth place with matching 9.725s. Kaufman chipped in a 9.675 and finished eighth overall.

The Mountaineers finished the meet with a 48.425 showing on uneven bars. For the third consecutive meet, freshman Esperanza Abarca matched her career-high score of 9.8 from the lineup's No. 1 position. Tonight, she placed first overall for her first career victory. Merwin finished in third place with a career-best 9.725. Marler tallied 9.675 and placed fourth, while Cluchey finished fifth with a 9.625. Tun and Kaufman chipped in scores of 9.6 and tied for sixth place.

"Esperanza continues to lead us off on bars with a solid 9.8 score, and it's just incredible consistency from a freshman," Butts added.

Kaufman finished on the all-around podium for the third consecutive meet, this week placing second with a 38.7 total.

"I want to give a shout-out to Abby – she did a tremendous job for us in the all-around tonight," Butts said. "Also, our seniors continue to provide incredible leadership. I'm proud of them."

Tonight was the Mountaineers' first-ever competition against the Falcons (1-3, 0-1 MPSF) and the Dragons (0-5).

The Mountaineers open their 2019 home season at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 27, with action against George Washington and Kent State set to begin at 2 p.m.