MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team opens a double-meet weekend with a tri meet against Pitt and Ball State on Friday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m., inside Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh.
 
Friday is the second meet in as many weeks between the Mountaineers (13-5, 0-3) and the Panthers (6-7, 1-3 EAGL) and the third of the season. Previously, WVU earned a 195.5 - 194.75 win at Fitzgerald Field House on Jan. 12 and most recently tallied a 195.575 - 195.1 victory over Pitt on Feb. 17, at the WVU Coliseum.
 
"We had two practices this weekend, and it was a good way to simulate (the double-meet weekend)," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "We've been talking about this weekend for the past few months. With the changes to the postseason format, we have to be ready to go at least two days in a row, if not three. I think the team is mentally prepared for this weekend. They're excited to go up to Pittsburgh and bring back the win."
 
WVU opens the meet on balance beam for the third time this year and the first time since earning a sweep at Air Force on Jan. 19.
 
The Mountaineers are 63-14-2 all-time against the Panthers and 9-1 against the Cardinals (3-7, 2-2 MAC). In their last meeting in 2014, WVU earned a 193.7 – 190.875 win over Ball State on Jan. 10, in Lexington, Kentucky.
 
In their last meet, WVU not only defeated the Panthers with its second-best score of the season but also earned a win over Cornell (193.075). The Mountaineers fell to Utah State, who finished first overall with a 196.075 total.
 
Five career-high scores of 9.85 or better pushed WVU to a season-best 49.5 showing on floor exercise, matching the fifth-best mark in program history. The Mountaineers also tallied a season-high 49.175 on uneven bars.
 
Senior Kirah Koshinski earned the first 10.0 of her collegiate career and finished first on floor with a career-best 9.975. Classmate Jaquie Tun scored a career-high 9.925 on floor for the second time in as many meets and finished second, while junior Abby Kaufman and sophomore McKenna Linnen finished fourth with career-best 9.875s. Junior Erica Fontaine tied for eighth place with a 9.85.
 
The Mountaineers' latest score boosted their season average to 195.182 and moved WVU to No. 26 in this week's Road to Nationals Rankings.
 
Koshinski, a native of Berwick, Pennsylvania, ranks No. 12 nationally on floor with a 9.907 average. She also ranks No. 22 on vault (9.861 avg.). Tun, a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, ranks No. 27 on floor with a 9.882 average.
 
Freshman Esperanza Abarca paces WVU on uneven bars and balance beam with averages of 9.8 and 9.767. Junior Abby Kaufman owns a team-best 38.821 average in the all-around. Most recently, Kaufman finished second on Feb. 17 with a career-best 39.225 score.
 
The Panthers' third place, 195.1 showing at the WVU Coliseum on Feb. 17 was the team's second-best score of the season and top mark earned away from Pittsburgh. Pitt was most impressive on uneven bars last week, as five gymnasts earned season- or career-high scores en route to a season-best total of 49.025.
 
Most recently, the Cardinals fell 195.7 – 194.7 to Northern Illinois on Feb. 17, in Muncie, Indiana.