MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 24-ranked West Virginia University gymnastics team travels to Columbus, Ohio, for a tri meet at No. 23 Ohio State, with Temple, on Saturday, March 2, at 4 p.m., inside St. John Arena.
 
The Mountaineers (15-6, 0-4) return to the road boasting a fresh national ranking, as WVU jumped back into the Road to Nationals Rankings this week at No. 24 following a six-week absence.
 
WVU opens the meet on uneven bars. The Mountaineers are 4-2 this season when starting competition on bars. WVU is 6-2 in tri meets, 11-2 away from Morgantown and 0-3 against ranked teams.
 
"We want to come out on the floor with a ton of energy," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "It would be great to beat a Big Ten opponent on its own competition floor. Temple is a great team, too. Our focus is to get a great road score. If we win, that's awesome. We need a good, solid 196.0 on the road – that will help us in the rankings.
 
"Ohio State is a team we can be competitive against, and I would love to bring two more wins home."
 
WVU is 13-18 all-time against the Buckeyes (4-7, 3-6 Big Ten) and 47-1 against the Owls (8-11, 1-1 ECAC). Saturday is the second meeting this year between WVU and Temple. The Mountaineers earned the win on Feb. 10, finishing first at Penn with a 195.25 score. Temple placed fourth with a 193.575 mark.
 
The Mountaineers and Buckeyes meet for the first time since 2017, a 196.075 – 195.8 loss for WVU on Feb. 18, in Columbus. The teams will meet again later this season, as they will compete against Penn State and NC State at the WVU Coliseum on March 17 at 2 p.m.
 
Saturday will be a tight battle between the Mountaineers and the Buckeyes, as the teams show nearly identical rankings. OSU edges WVU in the overall standings, owning a 195.55 national qualifying score (NQS); the Mountaineers' NQS is 195.465. The squads are tied at No. 22 nationally on vault (48.93 NQS). WVU is ranked No. 8 on floor exercise (49.23 NQS), while OSU sits at No. 30 (48.98 NQS). The Buckeyes best WVU on uneven bars and balance beam and rank No. 15 (49.1 NQS) and No. 29 (48.765 NQS), respectively. The Mountaineers rank No. 30 on bars (48.88 NQS) and No. 33 on beam (48.715 NQS).
 
Last week, WVU went 2-1, scoring 195.65 in a sweep at Pitt on Feb. 22 before dropping a 197.15 – 195.35 decision to No. 1 Oklahoma on Feb. 24 at the WVU Coliseum. The Mountaineers hit 24-for-24 at Pitt for the fourth time this season. On Sunday against the Sooners, senior Kirah Koshinski tied for the floor exercise win with a 9.925 mark. The Berwick, Pennsylvania, native has finished first on floor in each meet but one this season.
 
Koshinski paces the Mountaineers on vault and floor and ranks No. 7 (9.9 NQS) and No. 10 (9.915 NQS). Freshman Esperanza Abarca and senior Jaquie Tun lead WVU on bars with matching 9.81 NQS marks, and freshman Rachel Hornung boasts a team-high 9.785 NQS on balance beam. Junior Abby Kaufman ranks No. 48 nationally in the all-around with a 38.91 NQS.
 
The Buckeyes placed fifth at the Big Five Meet in Toledo, Ohio, on Feb. 23 with a 194.6 score. Senior Jamie Stone won floor exercise with a 9.925 mark, the best score earned by a Buckeye on the event this season. Junior Olivia Aepli finished fourth in the all-around with a 39.15 total.
 
The Owls scored a season-high 194.95 and finished second at the Ken Anderson Invitational on Feb. 22 in Philadelphia, losing to Bridgeport (195.35) and defeating Ursinus (183.3). Temple tallied season highs of 48.8 on vault and 49.075 on floor.