WVU Caps Double Weekend at Towson
February 28, 2026 04:00 PM | Gymnastics
TOWSON, Md. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team completes its first of two double meet weekends this season when it travels to Towson, Md., on March 1.
The Mountaineers will join the host Tigers, No. 22 NC State and Ursinus inside SECU Arena at 2 p.m. ET.
The meet will be streamed on YouTube Live, and live stats are available at WVUsports.com.
Sunday's matchup marks the first between WVU and all three teams this season, while the Mountaineers also are scheduled to meet NC State again later this year. West Virginia holds an advantage in the series history against all three opponents on Sunday, including a 28-16 mark against Towson, a 29-14 advantage against NC State and an undefeated 3-0 lead over Ursinus. The Mountaineers and Towson have met in each of the last four seasons, while WVU will square off against NC State and Ursinus for the first time since 2022.
This week's Road to Nationals rankings, as of Feb. 23, are the first of the season based on National Qualifying Score (NQS). Entering a new format this year, a maximum of nine scores will count toward a team's NQS, with the highest and lowest scores dropped. Teams can count a maximum of four home meets toward their final NQS. West Virginia's vault lineup currently ranks No. 29 nationally in the Road to Nationals rankings with a 48.906 NQS. The vault lineup owns a season high of 49.025, a total it has reached twice this season. Elsewhere, WVU ranks No. 48 overall, No. 48 on bars and No. 46 on floor exercise
Individually, freshman Kayla Smith ranks No. 6 in the conference with a 38.75 NQS on all-around this year. Sophomore Emerson Smith ranks No. 19 in the Big 12 Conference with a 9.77 NQS on vault. She is followed by sophomore Sophia Rice at No. 22 (9.765 NQS) and Kayla Smith at No. 23 (9.76 NQS). Junior Amber Lowe is No. 15 in the conference on bars (9.78 NQS). On floor, Emerson Smith ranks No. 17 with a 9.77 NQS and Kayla Smith comes in at No. 19 with a 9.755 NQS.
In West Virginia's first meet of the double weekend, the squad celebrated its 2026 senior class and capped its 2026 home slate in a 195.975-195.275 loss to No. 24 BYU in Morgantown on Feb. 27. WVU posted scores of 48.875 on vault, 48.8 on uneven bars, 48.55 on balance beam and 49.05 on floor exercise. Two Mountaineers competed on all-around for the first time this season, with Lowe making her career debut on vault to compete in all four events for the first time. Kayla Smith matched her career-best score with a 39.125 to finish in first place on all-around. Unfortunately, Lowe took a fall on floor, so she tallied a 38.125 in her all-around debut to finish in second place behind Smith.
Elsewhere in the event standings, Rice and Kayla Smith tied for first on vault (9.85), and junior Jurnee Lane tied for third on bars (9.8). Emerson Smith also tied for second place on floor (9.85).
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The Mountaineers will join the host Tigers, No. 22 NC State and Ursinus inside SECU Arena at 2 p.m. ET.
The meet will be streamed on YouTube Live, and live stats are available at WVUsports.com.
Sunday's matchup marks the first between WVU and all three teams this season, while the Mountaineers also are scheduled to meet NC State again later this year. West Virginia holds an advantage in the series history against all three opponents on Sunday, including a 28-16 mark against Towson, a 29-14 advantage against NC State and an undefeated 3-0 lead over Ursinus. The Mountaineers and Towson have met in each of the last four seasons, while WVU will square off against NC State and Ursinus for the first time since 2022.
This week's Road to Nationals rankings, as of Feb. 23, are the first of the season based on National Qualifying Score (NQS). Entering a new format this year, a maximum of nine scores will count toward a team's NQS, with the highest and lowest scores dropped. Teams can count a maximum of four home meets toward their final NQS. West Virginia's vault lineup currently ranks No. 29 nationally in the Road to Nationals rankings with a 48.906 NQS. The vault lineup owns a season high of 49.025, a total it has reached twice this season. Elsewhere, WVU ranks No. 48 overall, No. 48 on bars and No. 46 on floor exercise
Individually, freshman Kayla Smith ranks No. 6 in the conference with a 38.75 NQS on all-around this year. Sophomore Emerson Smith ranks No. 19 in the Big 12 Conference with a 9.77 NQS on vault. She is followed by sophomore Sophia Rice at No. 22 (9.765 NQS) and Kayla Smith at No. 23 (9.76 NQS). Junior Amber Lowe is No. 15 in the conference on bars (9.78 NQS). On floor, Emerson Smith ranks No. 17 with a 9.77 NQS and Kayla Smith comes in at No. 19 with a 9.755 NQS.
In West Virginia's first meet of the double weekend, the squad celebrated its 2026 senior class and capped its 2026 home slate in a 195.975-195.275 loss to No. 24 BYU in Morgantown on Feb. 27. WVU posted scores of 48.875 on vault, 48.8 on uneven bars, 48.55 on balance beam and 49.05 on floor exercise. Two Mountaineers competed on all-around for the first time this season, with Lowe making her career debut on vault to compete in all four events for the first time. Kayla Smith matched her career-best score with a 39.125 to finish in first place on all-around. Unfortunately, Lowe took a fall on floor, so she tallied a 38.125 in her all-around debut to finish in second place behind Smith.
Elsewhere in the event standings, Rice and Kayla Smith tied for first on vault (9.85), and junior Jurnee Lane tied for third on bars (9.8). Emerson Smith also tied for second place on floor (9.85).
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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