ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team earned its second-highest team score of the season, as well as a season high on the uneven bars, to finish in third place in a tri-meet at No. 3 Michigan with No. 5 Auburn inside Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Saturday.
 
The Mountaineers (13-5, 0-2 Big 12) used a season-best 49.200 on the uneven bars to earn a 196.400 final score, good for the 19th-best team score in program history. WVU also recorded a 49.300 on floor exercise to take second overall on the event.
 
In the final team standings, the host Wolverines placed first with a 197.950, while Auburn finished in second place with a 197.175.

"I'm very proud of our performance today," Mountaineer coach Jason Butts said. "It was one of our best overall showings of the season and doing it in that kind of environment is incredible. It was a fun meet, and we have to carry this success into the Big 12 Championship next weekend and have confidence in our gymnastics."
 
The Mountaineers opened the meet on balance beam, where junior Abbie Pierson led the way with a 9.875, good for fifth overall on the event. Sophomore Agatha Handono led off the rotation with a 9.725, while junior Emily Holmes-Hackerd added a 9.75. Senior Kendra Combs notched a 9.8, before sophomore Chloe Asper rounded out the rotation with a 9.825. WVU notched a 48.975 total on the first rotation.
 
In the second rotation on floor exercise, Combs paced the lineup with a 9.9 to finish in a tie for seventh overall. All five scoring gymnasts once again earned a 9.825 or higher to help WVU tally a 49.300 on the event. Pierson and Holmes-Hackerd recorded matching 9.85's, while sophomore Kiana Lewis scored a 9.825. Junior Kianna Yancey completed the Mountaineers' floor rotation with a 9.875, just short of her career high.
 
West Virginia then moved to vault, where Lewis and senior Rachel Hornung finished in a tie for 10th place with a pair of 9.825s and a pair of stuck landings. Freshman Brooke Alban also tallied a stuck landing to earn a 9.8, before Yancey recorded a 9.75. Sophomore Gillian Fletcher anchored the lineup with a 9.725, helping WVU tally a 48.925 vault total.
 
The final rotation on the uneven bars saw a trio of Mountaineers either match or set their career highs, led by Esperanza Abarca's season-best and career-high matching 9.9. Yancey also matched her career- and season-best with a 9.875, before Pierson earned a career-best 9.8. Combs notched a 9.85, and Hornung and Alban tallied matching 9.775s to help WVU notch a season-best 49.200 on bars.
 
Hornung and Pierson competed in the all-around, as Pierson tallied her first career all-around score of 39.0 or higher with a career-best 39.200. Hornung notched a 38.450 total on all four events.
 
"We had some great moments, and although we didn't pick up the win, we ended up with a great road score which will help secure us into postseason," Butts continued. "I would also like to congratulate the Michigan on their first ever sellout crowd. Their fans were amazing and made the experience even more memorable."
 
West Virginia now looks ahead to opening postseason competition at the 2022 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship on Saturday, March 19, in Denver, Colorado. This year's championship, hosted by defending Big 12 champion Denver, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, inside Magness Arena.
 
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