CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team used a pair of 49.0-plus event scores to earn a 196.250-195.225 victory over No. 22 North Carolina inside Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on Thursday night.
 
The Mountaineers (12-3, 0-2 Big 12) scored a season-high 49.225 on balance beam and a 49.325 on floor exercise to conclude the meet and outlast the Tarheels. Combined, WVU earned 10 podium finishes across all events, as well as a pair of wins, on its way to tallying the No. 27 team score in program history.
 
"I told the team at the end that I always love a team that has grit," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "I love a Cinderella story. This team, time and time again, is facing adversity and not stepping down. They're just fighting, and they're always doing it with a great attitude. If we continue to put meets together, there's really no limit where this team can go."
 
West Virginia opened the meet on the uneven bars and struggled a little to get the momentum rolling but managed to hit all six routines and secure a 48.875 event score. Junior Kianna Yancey and freshman Anna Leigh led the way with matching 9.825's, as the duo finished in a tie for third place. Senior Kendra Combs was just behind Yancey and Leigh, tallying a 9.8 for sixth place.
 
In the second rotation on vault, senior Rachel Hornung earned a career-best 9.85 with a stuck landing. She finished in a tie for second place, her highest podium finish on the event this season. Yancey, sophomore Kiana Lewis and freshman Brooke Alban tallied a trio of 9.75's, before junior Abbie Pierson anchored the lineup with a 9.725. All five counting gymnasts recorded a 9.725 or higher for a 48.825 event total.
 
The Mountaineers trailed the Tarheels going into the third rotation, but once again put together a stellar performance on floor exercise to move into the lead. Combs once again led the way, recording her second 9.925 of the season, while Pierson and junior Emily Holmes-Hackerd secured a pair of 9.9's. The total was Pierson's fifth of the season on floor, while it was a season-best and career-high matching total for Holmes-Hackerd. The scores helped the trio sweep the podium and lead the lineup to a 49.325 total on the event.
 
Going into the fourth rotation, WVU held a slight edge over UNC and went on to record five 9.8-plus scores for a season-best 49.225 on beam. Pierson led the way with an event-winning 9.925, while Hornung and sophomore Chloe Asper tallied a pair of 9.85's to tie for third place. Sophomore Agatha Handono led off the lineup with a 9.8, and Holmes-Hackerd matched the score in her season debut on beam.
 
Combs was once again the lone Mountaineer in the all-around, finishing in second place with a 38.550, just behind UNC's Julia Knower with a 38.575.
 
Of note, Pierson's 9.925 on beam was the first for the Mountaineers on the event since now-assistant coach Zaakira Muhammad at Towson on March 18, 2018.
 
After a week off, the Mountaineers return home to Morgantown, to play host to Ball State on Sunday, March 6. It's Senior Day, and action inside the WVU Coliseum is tabbed for 2 p.m. ET.
 
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