No. 24 Mountaineers Finish Third at George Washington

Friday, January 31

Washington, D.C

7:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

194.85

195.375

George Washington

Photo by: Ken Inness/ZUMA Press

January 31, 2020 11:17 PM | Gymnastics

Results

By: Amy Salvatore

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A slow start on balance beam proved too much for the No. 24-ranked West Virginia University gymnastics team to overcome, as the Mountaineers earned a 194.85 total and placed third at George Washington's quad meet on Friday evening, held inside the Charles E. Smith Center.

Pitt tallied 195.7 and finished first overall, while the host Colonials placed second with a 195.375 mark. William & Mary scored 191.425 and finished fourth.

"We had some great gymnastics tonight, but we also had some big mistakes," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "We are not used to making those, and I am a little disappointed in the reaction that we got. We must deal with adversity better than that. The best teams in the country are the best teams in the country because if they make a mistake, they make up for it, and we didn't.

"This is a meet with great teams, but this also is a meet we should have won. Placing third is not good enough for us. We must get back in the gym and refocus. They were prepared. They looked great in practice, but it's the coaches' job now to figure out how to keep them going if it doesn't go perfect as far as hitting routines. We had some great gymnastics, but we didn't hit 24 routines, and that is reflective of our score and performance."

The Mountaineers (3-4, 0-1 Big 12) closed the meet strong, tying for the vault win and placing second on uneven bars with scores of 48.85 and 48.95, respectively. WVU's bars score is a season best. The team finished third on beam (48.175) and floor exercise (48.875).

For the first time this season, the Mountaineers opened a meet on beam. Unfortunately, the squad was forced to count a pair of falls and finished with a team total of 48.175, putting WVU in a tie for third through one rotation.

Senior Abby Kaufman was solid at the No. 2 position, matching her season high with a 9.825 total and placing fourth overall. Sophomore Kendra Combs tied for seventh with a 9.775 score, while freshman Abbie Pierson rounded out the top 10 with a 9.75 mark.

The Mountaineers made up ground in the second rotation, scoring 48.875 on floor and pushing their two-event total to 97.05, good enough for third place.

Pierson, a native of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, tied for the floor win with George Washington's Cydney Crasa and Pitt's Ciara Ward, scoring matching 9.875 totals. Pierson notched a career high in the tie and now owns an event win on floor, vault and beam.

Junior McKenna Linnen tied for sixth place with a 9.8 mark, while senior Erica Fontaine and Combs tied for eighth with 9.775s.

WVU continued to persevere in the third rotation, tallying 48.85 on vault and pushing its three-event mark to 145.9. The Mountaineers continued to sit in third place.

Kaufman paced the lineup with a 9.85 score. The York, Pennsylvania, native tied for first overall and matched her career high last set on March 13, 2019. The vault win marked her first event victory of the year. Freshman Kianna Yancey collected her second 9.8 of the season, matching her career high and tying for third place overall. Classmate Maya Kraus also posted a career-high score in the anchor position and finished in a tie for ninth with a 9.75 mark. Freshman Kayla Yancey and Pierson chipped in 9.725 totals and tied for 12th.

"Abby probably did the vault of her life," Butts said. "Esperanza did a great job leading us off on bars, too."

WVU's final push on bars was highlighted by sophomore Esperanza Abarca's 9.9 score to open the rotation. The Colony, Texas, native posted the first 9.9 of her career to win the event outright. Kianna Yancey tied for fourth with a 9.825 mark, while Combs tied for sixth with a season-high 9.8 total. Kayla Yancey rounded out the top 10 with a 9.775, also good for a career high.

Despite the losses, WVU continues to lead the overall series against Pitt (64-15-2) and George Washington (47-8). The Mountaineers also are 19-0 all-time against the Tribe.

"I don't want to sugarcoat it, we are better than this, and we have a lot of work to do," Butts said. "We are on the road the next two weeks, and we have to make sure we fix this and get ready for New Hampshire and Oklahoma."

Looking ahead, WVU heads to Durham, New Hampshire, for a quad meet against host New Hampshire, George Washington and Brown on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. ET.

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.