Record-Setting Night for Koshinski

Wednesday, March 13

Tempe, Ariz.

9:30 p.m.

West Virginia University

195.75

196.55

Arizona State

Photo by: Ken Inness

March 14, 2019 12:20 AM | Gymnastics

Results Tickets

By: Shannon Wolfgang

TEMPE, Ariz. – Senior Kirah Koshinski broke and matched a pair of program records in the West Virginia University gymnastics team's third place, 195.75 showing tonight at the Wells Fargo Arena.

No. 21 Arizona State finished first with a 196.55 total, and No. 14 BYU placed second with a 195.825 score.

Koshinski, a native of Berwick, Pennsylvania, won vault outright with a 9.925 score and tied for the win on floor exercise with a 9.9 score. With 24 career vault scores of 9.9 or better, she sits alone at No. 1 in program history. Additionally, she is tied with TeShawne Jackson (2000-03) at No. 1 on floor with 21 career scores of 9.9 or better.

"Kirah exemplifies what hard work in the gym every day can do," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "Hard work pays off at a competition, and she works her butt off every day. That hard work is showing off in competitions, and she deserves every score she gets."

The Mountaineers (16-9, 0-4) finished second on floor (49.275) and balance beam (48.75) and third on vault (48.85) and uneven bars (48.875).

"At the end of the day, this was a performance we should be proud of, but it wasn't our best performance," Butts said. "We can do better. We are still giving away little tenths all over the place. We are amazingly consistent, but we're also amazingly consistent at giving away tenths.

"We're hitting, and we aren't counting falls, but at the end of the day, we won't be where we want to be at season's end because we aren't executing in the most efficient way. This is such a great team to work with. They have an incredible work ethic, and that makes it easier to accept the inconsistencies. We are better than this. I think we'll be happier if we show improvement in our last two meets."

Junior Abby Kaufman tallied her second straight and third career 39.0+ career score and finished third in the all-around with a 39.15 total.

Cairo Leonard-Baker (ASU) and Shannon Evans (BYU) tied for first in the all-around with 39.425 scores.

For the second consecutive meet, the Mountaineers opened the contest with a perfect 6-for-6 showing on uneven bars. Senior Jaquie Tun anchored the lineup with a 9.85, tallying her seventh 9.825 or better score in eight meets. The Chattanooga, Tennessee, native finished fourth overall. Sophomore Sydney Marler and freshman Kendra Combs tied for ninth place with matching 9.775s, and junior Chloe Cluchey finished in 12th place with a 9.75. Freshman Esperanza Abarca opened the lineup with a 9.725.

BYU's Helody Cyrenne won the event with a 9.9 score.

A pair of seniors paced WVU on balance beam in the second rotation, as Carly Galpin and Koshinski each scored 9.85 and finished third overall. The mark is a season high for Galpin. Junior Abby Kaufman finished in ninth place with a 9.775, while sophomore McKenna Linnen scored 9.7 in the lineup's No. 1 position and finished 11th. Freshman Rachel Hornung chipped in a 9.575.

ASU's Justine Callis scored 9.9 for the balance beam win.

All six competing gymnasts scored 9.8 or better on floor exercise in the third rotation, pushing WVU to a season-best road score of 49.275, the team's third-highest total of the year. Koshinski finished in a four-way tie for first place with a 9.9, while Tun finished fifth with a 9.875. Kaufman scored 9.85 and placed seventh, while Linnen and Hornung tied for 10th with 9.825s. Junior Erica Fontaine tallied a 9.8.

Koshinski won vault outright in the fourth rotation with a 9.925 total, her best mark since scoring 9.95 on Feb. 22. Kaufman finished tied for second place with a career-high 9.85, while Hornung tallied 9.775 in the lineup's No. 1 spot and finished ninth. Sophomore Michelle Waldron scored 9.725, and Abarca added a 9.575.

With the losses, WVU drops to 2-3 to ASU (11-10, 1-5 Pac-12) and 0-2 to BYU (9-6, 3-2 MRGC).

The Mountaineers close their 2019 home season at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, March 17, with a quad meet against No. 22 Ohio State, No. 24 Penn State and NC State at 2 p.m. It's Senior Day, and the Mountaineers will honor Carly Galpin, Koshinski and Tun after the meet. Tickets are on sale now at WVUGAME.com.