Photo by: Ken Inness
West Virginia Preps for Second Trip to Towson
February 18, 2022 01:02 PM | Gymnastics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team (7-3, 0-2 Big 12) prepares to return to Towson, Maryland, for the second time this season to take on Towson and Ursinus College on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. ET, inside SECU Arena.
Saturday's action will be streamed live on Towson Sports Network with Amy Phillips, Tandy Knight and Zoey Packard on the call. Fans also can follow along with live stats available at WVUsports.com.
"We aren't expecting to be at Towson this weekend, but due to some travel and COVID issues, we've had to cancel two meets already, so we are very grateful that Towson was able to put us on the schedule for this weekend," WVU coach Jason Butts said. "This will be an easy trip for us, and we started the year there, so we're excited to make the trip again this weekend. I know the team is looking forward to fixing some of the mistakes that we had there when we started the season."
Towson and WVU meet for the 39th time in program history this weekend, including the second time this season, after the Mountaineers opened the 2022 campaign in a quad meet at Towson on Jan. 14. Following a 194.150-194.000 loss to the Tigers, West Virginia now holds a 26-12 advantage in the all-time series.
The Mountaineers and Ursinus College will meet for just the third time in program history and the first time since 2008. WVU holds a 2-0 record over the Bears all-time.
Towson enters the meet with an 11-2 record this season, including a 9-0 mark at home. West Virginia is 5-2 on the road this season, including 2-1 at Towson's SECU Arena.
In this week's Road to Nationals rankings, WVU is ranked No. 13 on floor exercise with a 49.260 average. Overall, WVU did not crack the top 25 this week, coming in at No. 32 with a season average of 195.395. Towson is just ahead of WVU in the rankings, sitting at No. 31 with a 195.425 average, while Ursinus ranks No. 78.
West Virginia is No. 3 overall in the Big 12 Conference, while it ranks No. 2 in the league on floor. The Mountaineers are No. 3 on balance beam (48.690 avg.) and No. 4 on vault (48.950 avg.) and uneven bars (48.495). Individually, junior Abbie Pierson ranks No. 7 on floor in the Big 12 Conference with a 9.875 season average. Senior Kendra Combs follows at No. 9 (9.865), and sophomore Kiana Lewis checks in at No. 10 (9.855).
WVU is coming off a first-place finish in a tri meet against Pitt and Texas Woman's on Feb. 11, in Morgantown. West Virginia finished first on every event except for balance beam, earning the team win on vault, bars and floor exercise on its way to a winning, 195.9 total. Pitt finished second in the tri meet with a 194.575, while TWU finished third with a 194.5.
Junior Kianna Yancey paced West Virginia's podium finishers, as she tallied a pair of first-place finishes, while senior Rachel Hornung earned a win on the all-around. Five other Mountaineers – including Combs, junior Emily Holmes-Hacked, Lewis and freshmen Anna Leigh and Brooke Alban – also ascended the podium against Pitt and TWU. Hornung and Combs were the lone Mountaineer competitors in the all-around, as Hornung topped the podium with a career-best 39.175. Combs followed in second place, after notching a 39.125 total.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Saturday's action will be streamed live on Towson Sports Network with Amy Phillips, Tandy Knight and Zoey Packard on the call. Fans also can follow along with live stats available at WVUsports.com.
"We aren't expecting to be at Towson this weekend, but due to some travel and COVID issues, we've had to cancel two meets already, so we are very grateful that Towson was able to put us on the schedule for this weekend," WVU coach Jason Butts said. "This will be an easy trip for us, and we started the year there, so we're excited to make the trip again this weekend. I know the team is looking forward to fixing some of the mistakes that we had there when we started the season."
Towson and WVU meet for the 39th time in program history this weekend, including the second time this season, after the Mountaineers opened the 2022 campaign in a quad meet at Towson on Jan. 14. Following a 194.150-194.000 loss to the Tigers, West Virginia now holds a 26-12 advantage in the all-time series.
The Mountaineers and Ursinus College will meet for just the third time in program history and the first time since 2008. WVU holds a 2-0 record over the Bears all-time.
Towson enters the meet with an 11-2 record this season, including a 9-0 mark at home. West Virginia is 5-2 on the road this season, including 2-1 at Towson's SECU Arena.
In this week's Road to Nationals rankings, WVU is ranked No. 13 on floor exercise with a 49.260 average. Overall, WVU did not crack the top 25 this week, coming in at No. 32 with a season average of 195.395. Towson is just ahead of WVU in the rankings, sitting at No. 31 with a 195.425 average, while Ursinus ranks No. 78.
West Virginia is No. 3 overall in the Big 12 Conference, while it ranks No. 2 in the league on floor. The Mountaineers are No. 3 on balance beam (48.690 avg.) and No. 4 on vault (48.950 avg.) and uneven bars (48.495). Individually, junior Abbie Pierson ranks No. 7 on floor in the Big 12 Conference with a 9.875 season average. Senior Kendra Combs follows at No. 9 (9.865), and sophomore Kiana Lewis checks in at No. 10 (9.855).
WVU is coming off a first-place finish in a tri meet against Pitt and Texas Woman's on Feb. 11, in Morgantown. West Virginia finished first on every event except for balance beam, earning the team win on vault, bars and floor exercise on its way to a winning, 195.9 total. Pitt finished second in the tri meet with a 194.575, while TWU finished third with a 194.5.
Junior Kianna Yancey paced West Virginia's podium finishers, as she tallied a pair of first-place finishes, while senior Rachel Hornung earned a win on the all-around. Five other Mountaineers – including Combs, junior Emily Holmes-Hacked, Lewis and freshmen Anna Leigh and Brooke Alban – also ascended the podium against Pitt and TWU. Hornung and Combs were the lone Mountaineer competitors in the all-around, as Hornung topped the podium with a career-best 39.175. Combs followed in second place, after notching a 39.125 total.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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