TOWSON, Md. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team tallied the 12th-highest team score in program history to finish in first place in a tri meet at Towson with Ursinus College, inside SECU Arena in Towson, Maryland, on Saturday night.
 
The Mountaineers (9-3, 0-2 Big 12) tallied a season-best 196.575 to top the Tigers and Bears, as the score also was WVU's first team score of 196.0+ of the season. The total is West Virginia's highest since March 18, 2018, when the team scored a 196.775 in a quad meet at Towson. Additionally, the last time the Mountaineers posted a score of 196.0 or higher was on March 14, 2021, against Pitt (196.1).
 
West Virginia took home the vault and floor exercise event titles after scoring 49.0 or better on every rotation for the first time this season. Overall, the host Tigers took second place with a 196.525, while Ursinus place third with a 185.175.
 
"Obviously I'm very happy with the score tonight," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "The team has been working hard to get to this level, and I know it's a level where we can continue to stay. This team is very talented, so we have to keep doing this. We still had a couple mistakes, and I'm not trying to be negative, but as the coach, it's my job to always say we can still get better."
 
WVU started the meet on the balance beam, tallying its first beam score of 49.0 or better this season with a 49.125. Sophomore Chloe Asper led the way with a career-high matching 9.9 to earn a share of first place on the event. Also earning a spot on the podium was classmate Agatha Handono, who led off the rotation with a career-best 9.875. Handono's total was good for a tie for third place and the first podium finish of her career. Junior Abbie Pierson and senior Kendra Combs added a pair of 9.85's on beam to help lead WVU to a season-best score.
 
The Mountaineers earned another season-best showing in the second rotation on floor exercise, using a pair of 9.9+ scores to tally a 49.400 on the event. WVU swept the podium, led by Combs with a career-best 9.925 in the anchor position. Pierson took second place with a season-high matching 9.9, while junior Kianna Yancey followed in third place with a career-high matching 9.875. Sophomore Kiana Lewis and freshman Anna Leigh added matching 9.85's to round out the rotation.
 
The third rotation on vault saw West Virginia's momentum continue to grow, after Yancey paced the lineup with a career-high 9.85 to finish in a tie for first place. Pierson, Lewis and freshman Brooke Alban added a trio of matching 9.8's to tie for fourth place, before senior Rachel Hornung tallied a 9.775 to help the Mountaineers record a 49.025 and hold on to first place heading into the final rotation.
 
WVU closed the meet on the uneven bars, where senior Esperanza Abarca anchored the lineup for the first time this season and scored a season-best 9.875 to take second overall. Leigh was just behind Abarca in third place after notching a career-best 9.85. Hornung and Combs added 9.775 scores, while Alban rounded out the lineup with a 9.75 to help the squad tally a 49.025 total on the event.
 
Combs was the lone competitor in the all-around, as she notched a 39.200 total on all four events.
 
"I'm very happy with how the team performed tonight," Butts added. "This will be great going into Monday night, but we can't let up now. We need to keep pushing for that 197.0, and that's the goal. I have to give a big shoutout Chloe on beam and Esperanza on bars. They both took on tremendous pressure to make sure we won the meet and got that 196.0. Overall, I'm very happy with all the effort that went in tonight, and I'm proud to bring two wins back home to Morgantown."
 
Of note, Combs' 9.925 on floor marked WVU's first 9.925 on the event since Pierson set a career best with the total on March 8, 2020, at Iowa. Additionally, at least one Mountaineer earned either first or a share of first place on every event on Saturday night.
 
Up next, the Mountaineers return to Morgantown, to host George Washington and William & Mary on Monday, Feb. 21. It's West Virginia's annual Cancer Awareness Meet, and action inside the WVU Coliseum is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.