WVU Continues Homestand with Quad Meet Friday
January 29, 2026 02:31 PM | Gymnastics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team caps a two-meet homestand when it hosts Pitt, Cornell and Kent State for a quad meet on Friday, Jan. 30. Competition at Hope Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. ET, and the meet will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Friday's competition is WVU's annual Women's Empowerment Meet. The night will feature a panel of former female WVU student-athletes and current administrators on the floor prior to the start of the meet, so get to your seats early. The first 250 fans in attendance also will receive a free WVU clear makeup bag.
Tickets purchased in advance through WVUGAME.com will be priced at $10. Group tickets for parties of 10 or more will be available for $5 per person in advance. On-site, meet day pricing will be $12 for adults and $10 for seniors and youth (ages 18 and under).
Michael Minnich and Erica Williams will have the call of Friday's meet on ESPN+. Live stats also are available at WVUsports.com.
Friday's matchup marks the second between Kent State and WVU this season, while it also is the first of two scheduled meets between the Mountaineers and Pitt in 2026. West Virginia holds an advantage in the series history against all three opponents on Friday, including a 70-21-2 mark against Pitt, a 25-11 advantage against Kent State and an undefeated 7-0 lead over Cornell.
The Mountaineers and Cornell have not faced one another since 2019, while WVU has faced Pitt and Kent State at least once in each of the last three seasons. West Virginia is looking for its first win over Pitt since 2023 and its first over Kent State since 2024.
Last time out, West Virginia opened its home slate and recorded a 193.375 final team score, falling to No. 15 Denver (196.0) inside Hope Coliseum in Morgantown on Jan. 24. Of note, the meet was the fan favorite Beauty and the Beast meet with the WVU wrestling team, as the two teams competed simultaneously in front of 2,629 fans inside Hope Coliseum. West Virginia opened strong with a 49.025 on vault, followed by scores of 48.425 on bars, 47.65 on beam and 48.275 on floor.
The Mountaineers topped the podium on three of five events, as sophomore Karleigh DiCello finished first on vault for her first podium finish of the year. Junior Amber Lowe also took home the win on bars, her first win this season. Sophomore Kaelyn Skeel earned a tie for second place on bars, marking her first career podium finish. Junior Jurnee Lane took the top spot on floor, followed by sophomore Emerson Smith in a tie for second. In her third career all-around performance, freshman Kayla Smith finished in second place with a 38.7 total on all four events.
West Virginia's vault lineup currently ranks No. 25 nationally in the Road to Nationals rankings, boasting a 48.942 average on the event this year. The vault lineup owns a season high of 49.025, which it has reached twice this season. Elsewhere, WVU ranks No. 54 overall, No. 47 on bars and No. 57 on floor.
Individually, sophomore Sophia Rice ranks No. 10 in the Big 12 Conference with a 9.808 average on vault. Junior Amber Lowe is No. 13 in the conference on bars (9.783). After making her season debut on Jan. 24, junior Jurnee Lane ranks No. 4 in the league and No. 11 in the southeast region on floor with a 9.875 average.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Friday's competition is WVU's annual Women's Empowerment Meet. The night will feature a panel of former female WVU student-athletes and current administrators on the floor prior to the start of the meet, so get to your seats early. The first 250 fans in attendance also will receive a free WVU clear makeup bag.
Tickets purchased in advance through WVUGAME.com will be priced at $10. Group tickets for parties of 10 or more will be available for $5 per person in advance. On-site, meet day pricing will be $12 for adults and $10 for seniors and youth (ages 18 and under).
Michael Minnich and Erica Williams will have the call of Friday's meet on ESPN+. Live stats also are available at WVUsports.com.
Friday's matchup marks the second between Kent State and WVU this season, while it also is the first of two scheduled meets between the Mountaineers and Pitt in 2026. West Virginia holds an advantage in the series history against all three opponents on Friday, including a 70-21-2 mark against Pitt, a 25-11 advantage against Kent State and an undefeated 7-0 lead over Cornell.
The Mountaineers and Cornell have not faced one another since 2019, while WVU has faced Pitt and Kent State at least once in each of the last three seasons. West Virginia is looking for its first win over Pitt since 2023 and its first over Kent State since 2024.
Last time out, West Virginia opened its home slate and recorded a 193.375 final team score, falling to No. 15 Denver (196.0) inside Hope Coliseum in Morgantown on Jan. 24. Of note, the meet was the fan favorite Beauty and the Beast meet with the WVU wrestling team, as the two teams competed simultaneously in front of 2,629 fans inside Hope Coliseum. West Virginia opened strong with a 49.025 on vault, followed by scores of 48.425 on bars, 47.65 on beam and 48.275 on floor.
The Mountaineers topped the podium on three of five events, as sophomore Karleigh DiCello finished first on vault for her first podium finish of the year. Junior Amber Lowe also took home the win on bars, her first win this season. Sophomore Kaelyn Skeel earned a tie for second place on bars, marking her first career podium finish. Junior Jurnee Lane took the top spot on floor, followed by sophomore Emerson Smith in a tie for second. In her third career all-around performance, freshman Kayla Smith finished in second place with a 38.7 total on all four events.
West Virginia's vault lineup currently ranks No. 25 nationally in the Road to Nationals rankings, boasting a 48.942 average on the event this year. The vault lineup owns a season high of 49.025, which it has reached twice this season. Elsewhere, WVU ranks No. 54 overall, No. 47 on bars and No. 57 on floor.
Individually, sophomore Sophia Rice ranks No. 10 in the Big 12 Conference with a 9.808 average on vault. Junior Amber Lowe is No. 13 in the conference on bars (9.783). After making her season debut on Jan. 24, junior Jurnee Lane ranks No. 4 in the league and No. 11 in the southeast region on floor with a 9.875 average.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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