Sunday, February 24
Morgantown, W.Va.
2:00 PM
West Virginia University
vs
Oklahoma
Photo by: Steven Prunty
Mountaineers Ready for No. 1 Sooners
February 23, 2019 02:05 PM | Gymnastics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team closes a two-meet weekend against No. 1 Oklahoma on Sunday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m., at the WVU Coliseum.
It's the Wendy M. Roach Invitational, and fans are encouraged to Color the Coliseum for Cancer by wearing the color that represents the cancer advocacy of their choosing. The Mountaineers will wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness.
The Mountaineers will accept sundry item donations, such as socks, body lotion, nail polish and magazines, for Morgantown's Betty Puskar Breast Care Center.
A pre-meet cheer clinic will be held from 11 a.m. – noon Sunday. Registration is free for all participants under 13. Clinic participants will receive free admission to the meet, and pizza will be provided.
Tickets for Sunday'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.
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 opened the weekend on Feb. 22 with a winning, season-best road score of 195.65 at Pitt. WVU defeated the Panthers (195.425) and Ball State (195.025) at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh.
"We told this team to rest up and make sure they're hydrating all day," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said of WVU's preparation. "It's a Big 12 opponent and our Wendy M. Roach Invitational, so the team is excited. We hope to have a ton of fans behind us. We would love to beat Oklahoma – that would be absolutely amazing. They believe they can do it, and that's all I can ask."
The Mountaineers (15-5, 0-3) are 1-16 all-time against the Sooners (12-0, 2-0). OU earned two wins over WVU last season, including a 197.775 – 195.625 victory at the 2018 Big 12 Gymnastics Championships on March 23, in Ames, Iowa, en route to its seventh consecutive conference title.
Last time in Morgantown, WVU fell, 197.925 - 195.55 to No. 1 OU on Jan. 21, 2015. Despite losing each team event, the Mountaineers tallied season highs on uneven bars (48.8) and floor exercise (49.2), and senior Kirah Koshinski matched her then-career best floor score of 9.95 for a second-place finish. OU's Maggie Nichols tallied a 10.0 on vault and 9.975 on balance beam, both opponent WVU Coliseum records.
At Pitt, the Mountaineers overcame an early deficit with wins on vault (49.075), uneven bars (48.95) and floor exercise (49.0). WVU finished third on balance beam (48.625).
Koshinski finished first on vault with a career-best matching 9.95 score, thanks in part to her first career 10.0 on the event. The Berwick, Pennsylvania, native has now earned at least one 10.0 in back-to-back meets, as she earned a 10.0 on floor on Feb. 17 en route to a winning 9.975 total. She also took the floor win at Pitt with a 9.9. Senior Jaquie Tun tied for the uneven bars win with a 9.85 score, and freshman Taylor Sell paced WVU on balance beam with a career-high 9.775. Junior Abby Kaufman scored 39.0 in the all-around for her first career win.
OU is coming off a winning, 198.075 showing at The Perfect 10 Challenge on Feb. 15 in Oklahoma City. The Sooners, who also rank No. 1 nationally on each event but floor exercise (No. 3 ranking), own five of the top-10 scores earned in 2019, including the top mark of 198.325, tallied in a victory over No. 2 Florida on Feb. 1, in Norman, Oklahoma.
Nichols, a junior, ranks No. 1 nationally on vault (9.942 avg.), uneven bars (9.95 avg.) and balance beam (9.913 avg.). Freshman Olivia Trautman ranks No. 1 nationally in the all-around (39.725 avg.) and No. 2 on floor exercise (9.954 avg.).
It's the Wendy M. Roach Invitational, and fans are encouraged to Color the Coliseum for Cancer by wearing the color that represents the cancer advocacy of their choosing. The Mountaineers will wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness.
The Mountaineers will accept sundry item donations, such as socks, body lotion, nail polish and magazines, for Morgantown's Betty Puskar Breast Care Center.
A pre-meet cheer clinic will be held from 11 a.m. – noon Sunday. Registration is free for all participants under 13. Clinic participants will receive free admission to the meet, and pizza will be provided.
Tickets for Sunday'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.
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 opened the weekend on Feb. 22 with a winning, season-best road score of 195.65 at Pitt. WVU defeated the Panthers (195.425) and Ball State (195.025) at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh.
"We told this team to rest up and make sure they're hydrating all day," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said of WVU's preparation. "It's a Big 12 opponent and our Wendy M. Roach Invitational, so the team is excited. We hope to have a ton of fans behind us. We would love to beat Oklahoma – that would be absolutely amazing. They believe they can do it, and that's all I can ask."
The Mountaineers (15-5, 0-3) are 1-16 all-time against the Sooners (12-0, 2-0). OU earned two wins over WVU last season, including a 197.775 – 195.625 victory at the 2018 Big 12 Gymnastics Championships on March 23, in Ames, Iowa, en route to its seventh consecutive conference title.
Last time in Morgantown, WVU fell, 197.925 - 195.55 to No. 1 OU on Jan. 21, 2015. Despite losing each team event, the Mountaineers tallied season highs on uneven bars (48.8) and floor exercise (49.2), and senior Kirah Koshinski matched her then-career best floor score of 9.95 for a second-place finish. OU's Maggie Nichols tallied a 10.0 on vault and 9.975 on balance beam, both opponent WVU Coliseum records.
At Pitt, the Mountaineers overcame an early deficit with wins on vault (49.075), uneven bars (48.95) and floor exercise (49.0). WVU finished third on balance beam (48.625).
Koshinski finished first on vault with a career-best matching 9.95 score, thanks in part to her first career 10.0 on the event. The Berwick, Pennsylvania, native has now earned at least one 10.0 in back-to-back meets, as she earned a 10.0 on floor on Feb. 17 en route to a winning 9.975 total. She also took the floor win at Pitt with a 9.9. Senior Jaquie Tun tied for the uneven bars win with a 9.85 score, and freshman Taylor Sell paced WVU on balance beam with a career-high 9.775. Junior Abby Kaufman scored 39.0 in the all-around for her first career win.
OU is coming off a winning, 198.075 showing at The Perfect 10 Challenge on Feb. 15 in Oklahoma City. The Sooners, who also rank No. 1 nationally on each event but floor exercise (No. 3 ranking), own five of the top-10 scores earned in 2019, including the top mark of 198.325, tallied in a victory over No. 2 Florida on Feb. 1, in Norman, Oklahoma.
Nichols, a junior, ranks No. 1 nationally on vault (9.942 avg.), uneven bars (9.95 avg.) and balance beam (9.913 avg.). Freshman Olivia Trautman ranks No. 1 nationally in the all-around (39.725 avg.) and No. 2 on floor exercise (9.954 avg.).
Players Mentioned
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ Gymnastics
AA
/ GymnasticsAssistant Coach Kaylyn Millick | Intro
Tuesday, September 09
Assistant Coach Jessica Yamzon | Intro
Tuesday, September 09
Associate Head Coach Travis Doak | Intro
Tuesday, September 09
Head Coach Jason Butts | Intro
Tuesday, September 09
