MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team dropped its home-opening meet Kent State, 193.775-192.325, inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown on Thursday night.
 
In front of its home crowd for the first time this season, WVU tallied scores of 48.2 on vault, 48.75 on the uneven bars, 46.65 on balance beam and 48.725 on floor exercise. The squad's total on uneven bars marked a season-best on the event for the Mountaineers.
 
Beginning on vault, three scores of 9.675 from senior Brooke Alban and freshmen Karleigh DiCello and Sophia Rice paced the lineup. Freshmen Taylor Tuohy and Emerson Smith collected a 9.625 and 9.55, respectively, to close out the rotation.
 
On bars, West Virginia reached a season-high score, led by a pair of season-high 9.825's from fifth-year senior Trinity Macy and senior Anna Leigh. Sophomore Amber Lowe added a 9.725, while classmate Jayden McDonnell (9.7) and Alban (9.675) capped the scoring.
 
Unfortunately, a series of missteps led WVU to count three falls on beam. Sophomore Julia Brown led the way with a 9.675, and junior Brooke Irwin totaled a 9.5. From there, the lineup counted a 9.25 from junior Carlee Nelson, a 9.15 from sophomore Kaylei Adams and a 9.075 from DiCello.
 
WVU finished strong on floor, as Leigh earned her second 9.825 of the night. Sophomore Jurnee Lane tallied a 9.8, followed by Alban with a 9.75 and Smith with a 9.7. Freshman Riley Maness added a 9.65 to finish the meet for the Mountaineers.
 
In the final event results, Alban, DiCello and Rice tied for second place on vault, while Leigh and Macy tied for first place on bars. Leigh also added a second-place finish on floor.
 
West Virginia now heads back on the road and prepares to open the Big 12 Conference portion of its schedule, traveling to take on No. 13 Denver on Sunday, Jan. 26. Competition inside Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado, is set for 4 p.m. ET. 
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.