Sunday, January 26
Morgantown, W.Va.
2:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
New Hampshire
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Mountaineers Open Home Season Sunday
January 25, 2020 03:17 PM | Gymnastics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After two consecutive meets away from Morgantown, the West Virginia University gymnastics team opens its 2020 home season at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 26, with action against New Hampshire and Temple set to begin at 2 p.m. ET.
The Mountaineers' home opener is Daddy-Daughter Day, as well as Dollar Day, and all tickets and select concessions will be available for just $1 each.
It's also Mountaineer Kids Club Day, featuring special appearances by Mr. Twister, the face-painting and balloon animal artist, and Musket, the Mountaineer Kids Club's mascot. MKC members can pick up their t-shirts on the concourse prior to the meet, and Mountaineer Maniac students will receive free fan gloves.
Fans can purchase tickets by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVUGAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum. All tickets are general admission. Tickets for WVU students are free with a valid student I.D.
To provide a safer environment for Mountaineer fans and to expedite entry into all ticketed WVU athletics events, the West Virginia Department of Intercollegiate Athletics enforces the NFL's Clear Bag Policy. The athletics 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.
Links for live scores and a web stream are available at WVUsports.com.
"We had a great two weeks on the road, but the team is definitely ready to be back at the Coliseum and in their own beds," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "We're excited, and Mountaineer fans should expect some big gymnastics. The louder our fans are cheering, the more excited the girls get. We have two great teams coming in, and you're going to see several of our freshmen who have already proven they are standout performers, with Kianna and Kayla Yancey and Abbie Pierson going. Abby Kaufman will probably be in the all-around as well."
WVU (0-2, 0-1 Big 12) is 29-10 all-time against New Hampshire (2-1, 1-0 EAGL) and 48-1 against Temple (2-2, 0-0 ECAC).
Last season, the Mountaineers defeated the Owls, 195.25-193.575, on Feb. 10, in Philadelphia. WVU's last meeting against UNH took place at the 2018 NCAA Regionals in University Park, Pennsylvania. The Wildcats finished fourth with a 194.95 total, while the Mountaineers placed sixth with a score of 194.4. WVU's last regular season win against UNH came in 2016, a 195.8-195.225 victory on Jan. 17, in Morgantown.
West Virginia came up short in its first Big 12 Conference meet of the season last week, falling to then No. 12 Iowa State, 195.8-194.5, on Jan. 17, at the Hilton Coliseum, in Ames, Iowa. The Mountaineers hit 24-for-24 routines, and sophomore Kendra Combs scored her first career victory with a personal-best 9.85 mark on balance beam.
"We had four days of practice this week, which was great," Butts said. "We were able to focus on some stronger landings on vault. We also didn't stick many bar dismounts at Iowa State, and we did a great job of that at our Penn State competition, so we were able to work on that as well. We also finalized some minor areas in choreography on beam and floor, so having four days of practice this week definitely helped."
Ranked No. 24 in last week's rankings, the Mountaineers sit just outside the Road to Nationals Rankings Top 25, residing at No. 27 with a 194.913 season average. WVU's beam lineup ranks No. 22 nationally, earning its event ranking based on a season average of 48.825. Individually, freshman Abbie Pierson remains tied at No. 4 nationally on vault, as she posted a 9.9 score in her collegiate debut on Jan. 11.
Senior Chloe Cluchey leads the team with 58.2 season points, followed by classmate Abby Kaufman with 58.15 points. Freshman Kianna Yancey paces WVU with four podium finishes thus far, and Pierson owns a team-best two event victories.
Temple is coming off a pair of wins in its 2020 home season opener, defeating Suny Cortland and Southern Connecticut State with a score of 190.675 on Jan. 18.
New Hampshire opened its home season with a 195.4-194.975 loss to Southern Utah on Jan. 18.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The Mountaineers' home opener is Daddy-Daughter Day, as well as Dollar Day, and all tickets and select concessions will be available for just $1 each.
It's also Mountaineer Kids Club Day, featuring special appearances by Mr. Twister, the face-painting and balloon animal artist, and Musket, the Mountaineer Kids Club's mascot. MKC members can pick up their t-shirts on the concourse prior to the meet, and Mountaineer Maniac students will receive free fan gloves.
Fans can purchase tickets by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVUGAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum. All tickets are general admission. Tickets for WVU students are free with a valid student I.D.
To provide a safer environment for Mountaineer fans and to expedite entry into all ticketed WVU athletics events, the West Virginia Department of Intercollegiate Athletics enforces the NFL's Clear Bag Policy. The athletics 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.
Links for live scores and a web stream are available at WVUsports.com.
"We had a great two weeks on the road, but the team is definitely ready to be back at the Coliseum and in their own beds," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "We're excited, and Mountaineer fans should expect some big gymnastics. The louder our fans are cheering, the more excited the girls get. We have two great teams coming in, and you're going to see several of our freshmen who have already proven they are standout performers, with Kianna and Kayla Yancey and Abbie Pierson going. Abby Kaufman will probably be in the all-around as well."
WVU (0-2, 0-1 Big 12) is 29-10 all-time against New Hampshire (2-1, 1-0 EAGL) and 48-1 against Temple (2-2, 0-0 ECAC).
Last season, the Mountaineers defeated the Owls, 195.25-193.575, on Feb. 10, in Philadelphia. WVU's last meeting against UNH took place at the 2018 NCAA Regionals in University Park, Pennsylvania. The Wildcats finished fourth with a 194.95 total, while the Mountaineers placed sixth with a score of 194.4. WVU's last regular season win against UNH came in 2016, a 195.8-195.225 victory on Jan. 17, in Morgantown.
West Virginia came up short in its first Big 12 Conference meet of the season last week, falling to then No. 12 Iowa State, 195.8-194.5, on Jan. 17, at the Hilton Coliseum, in Ames, Iowa. The Mountaineers hit 24-for-24 routines, and sophomore Kendra Combs scored her first career victory with a personal-best 9.85 mark on balance beam.
"We had four days of practice this week, which was great," Butts said. "We were able to focus on some stronger landings on vault. We also didn't stick many bar dismounts at Iowa State, and we did a great job of that at our Penn State competition, so we were able to work on that as well. We also finalized some minor areas in choreography on beam and floor, so having four days of practice this week definitely helped."
Ranked No. 24 in last week's rankings, the Mountaineers sit just outside the Road to Nationals Rankings Top 25, residing at No. 27 with a 194.913 season average. WVU's beam lineup ranks No. 22 nationally, earning its event ranking based on a season average of 48.825. Individually, freshman Abbie Pierson remains tied at No. 4 nationally on vault, as she posted a 9.9 score in her collegiate debut on Jan. 11.
Senior Chloe Cluchey leads the team with 58.2 season points, followed by classmate Abby Kaufman with 58.15 points. Freshman Kianna Yancey paces WVU with four podium finishes thus far, and Pierson owns a team-best two event victories.
Temple is coming off a pair of wins in its 2020 home season opener, defeating Suny Cortland and Southern Connecticut State with a score of 190.675 on Jan. 18.
New Hampshire opened its home season with a 195.4-194.975 loss to Southern Utah on Jan. 18.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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