MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Riding a three-meet win streak, the West Virginia University gymnastics team plays host to No. 7 Denver and Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m., inside the WVU Coliseum.
 
It's Military Appreciation Day, and free admission will be provided to all past and present military members who show their I.D. Family and guests of the military members will receive group-rate tickets of $3 at the door. Additionally, select concessions will be available for $1 each, and red, white and blue light-up wands will be given to the first 500 fans.
 
Tickets for Saturday's meet are on sale now at WVUGAME.com. When purchasing tickets in advance online, tickets are $5 each and $3 for groups of 10 or more. All tickets are general admission. Tickets purchased at the Mountaineer Ticket Office inside the WVU Coliseum Gold Gate on the day of competition will be $7 for adults, $5 for youth and seniors and $3 for groups.
 
Military Appreciation Day tickets are available at the Mountaineer Ticket Office only. Discounted online pricing for general admission tickets will be available until the start of the meet Saturday.
 
WVU students are admitted for free with a valid WVU Student I.D.
 
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.
 
The Mountaineers (8-2, 0-1) have picked up seven wins in three weeks and are 2-0 at the WVU Coliseum this season.
 
"As a coaching staff, we felt like we were too tentative last weekend. We were excited to be at home, and they were still having a lot of fun on the floor, but the ones who were competing just held back a little bit," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "What we worked on this week was not being tentative – we changed a few routines. The lineups should remain the same, but we need to go out and attack our gymnastics, especially against teams like Denver and Iowa State."
 
WVU will open competition Saturday night on vault. The Mountaineers are 2-0 this season when opening on vault. WVU's complete rotation order is: vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise.
 
Looking for their first Big 12 Conference regular-season win since 2017, the Mountaineers are 5-9 all-time against Denver (8-1, 0-1) and 6-8-1 against the Cyclones (4-2, 1-0). Saturday is the second meeting between WVU and ISU in five weeks. The squads opened the 2019 season at the Cancun Classic on Jan. 4, in Cancun, Mexico, with the Cyclones earning a 194.275-194.15 edge.
 
"The fans can expect really big gymnastics," Butts, who is one win short of career victory No. 100, added. "Any time you have a full Big 12 meet like this, you can expect a lot excitement because it's rivals. We're going to enter the meet hoping to take them both down."  
 
WVU's last win against both opponents came in 2017 at the WVU Coliseum, as the Mountaineers defeated then-No. 13 DU, 196.3-195.9, on Jan. 29, and ISU, 195.95-195.725, on Feb. 26.
 
Despite moving their season average to 194.831, the Mountaineers dropped back one spot in this week's Road to Nationals Rankings and sit at No. 27. WVU is nationally ranked No. 10 on floor exercise with a 49.106 average and No. 17 on vault with a 48.931 average. Senior Kirah Koshinski ranks No. 7 on vault (9.894 avg.) and No. 15 on floor (9.894 avg.), and classmate Jaquie Tun checks-in at No. 31 on floor (9.869 avg.). Combined, the duo owns 16 podium finishes this year, including 10 event wins.
 
A pair of freshmen pace WVU on uneven bars and balance beam. Esperanza Abarca ranks No. 77 nationally on bars with a 9.8 average, and Rachel Hornung sits at No. 148 with a 9.744 average.
 
The Mountaineers opened their 2019 home season with a first place, 194.925 showing over Kent State (194.45) and George Washington (194.125) on Jan. 27. Koshinski scored 9.9 on vault and floor for the victories. Tun matched her floor career high of 9.9 and tied Koshinski for the victory. The Chattanooga, Tennessee, native also tallied a season-best 9.8 on uneven bars and tied Abarca for the victory; Abarca has scored 9.8 in all four meets this year. Senior Carly Galpin tied for the balance beam win with a season-best 9.8, and junior Abby Kaufman finished second in the all-around with a 38.775 total.
 
The Pioneers opened their Big 12 season last weekend and finished second at the Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth on Jan. 26 with a season-best 196.35 score. No. 1 Oklahoma defeated DU and finished first overall with a 197.975 total. The Pioneers were most impressive on uneven bars, posting a 49.225 total, as all five counting scores were 9.8 or better. Sophomore Lynzee Brown, who ranks No. 11 nationally with a 39.392 average, finished third in the all-around with a 39.3 total.
 
Led by 21-year coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart, DU is ranked inside the top 25 on each event but balance beam and sits as high as No. 5 on uneven bars (49.342 average).
 
The Cyclones are coming off a season-best performance in a 195.975-194.3 win over Lindenwood on Jan. 27, in Ames, Iowa. ISU tallied season-highs of 49.225 on floor and 49.025 on uneven bars, and senior Meaghan Sievers finished first overall with a career-high matching 39.425.
 
Under 13-year coach Jay Ronayne, the Cyclones sit just ahead of the Mountaineers in this week's Road to Nationals Rankings at No. 26 with a 195.075 average.