MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team posted a team score of 193.75 to finish second in a dual meet at Central Michigan inside McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, on Sunday afternoon.
The host Chippewas took first place with a 193.95 to top the Mountaineers (1-1). WVU tallied scores of 48.1 on vault, 48.375 on the uneven bars, 48.425 on balance beam and 48.85 on floor exercise.
Opening up on bars for the second straight meet, fifth-year senior
Trinity Macy led the way with a 9.8 in the anchor spot. The score marked a season high for the graduate transfer. Just behind Macy was junior
Miranda Smith with a 9.775, followed by senior
Brooke Alban with a 9.7. Junior
Brooke Irwin made her return to the lineup after missing last season with an injury, scoring a 9.675 before sophomore
Jayden McDonnell added a 9.425.
West Virginia faltered a bit on vault, with the highest score in the rotation being a career-high 9.75 from freshman
Karleigh DiCello. Behind her was classmate
Sophia Rice with a 9.65 and Irwin with a 9.625. Smith added a 9.575, while freshman
Emerson Smith finished with a 9.5.
The highlight of the meet was floor exercise, where senior
Anna Leigh shined and scored a career-best 9.95, with one judge giving her a perfect 10. The score marked the highest for WVU on floor since sophomore
Jurnee Lane scored a 9.925 on Jan. 28, 2024, as well as the first 9.95 since Emily Holmes-Hackerd earned it against CMU and Pitt on March 5, 2023. Behind Leigh,
Emerson Smith also tallied a new career high with a 9.85. Sophomore
Amber Lowe earned a 9.725, before Alban and freshman
Riley Maness completed the rotation with scores of 9.675 and 9.65, respectively.
Finishing up on beam, sophomore
Julia Brown paced the rotation with a season-high 9.825, followed by matching 9.8 scores from Lowe and DiCello. Sophomore
Kaylei Adams tallied a 9.6, while Lane earned a 9.4 to finish out the meet for WVU.
In the final event results, DiCello earned her first career podium finish with a win on vault. Brown finished second on beam, while Lowe and DiCello finished in a tie for third place. Leigh earned the floor title, the first of her career on the event, followed by
Emerson Smith in second.
West Virginia now looks ahead to its first home meet of the 2025 campaign when it welcomes Kent State to Morgantown on Thursday, Jan. 16. Competition inside the WVU Coliseum is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. It's 90's Night, with a 90's style band tee giveaway to the first 250 fans and 90's throwback music played throughout the meet.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on
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