#2 OU, WMU, and W&M at West Virginia

Mountaineers "Climb Higher" With Season Best Score in Home Opener

Mountaineers "Climb Higher" With Season Best Score in Home Opener

Feb 2, 2013 by Andria Alvarez
Mountaineers "Climb Higher" With Season Best Score in Home Opener

(c) WVU

The West Virginia University gymnastics team opened its Big 12 Conference season tonight in record-setting fashion, scoring a season-best 196.05 and finishing second in its home-season opener at the WVU Coliseum in front of 1,881 fans.

The 10-best crowd in WVU’s 40-year history watched the Mountaineers (4-4, 0-1 Big 12) hit 23-of-24 routines for the second straight week. The team’s total tied for the 19th-best mark in program history, and tonight’s score was the quickest WVU has reached the 196.0+ point total since 2004. 

No. 2-ranked Oklahoma (10-0, 1-0 Big 12) finished first with a season-best 197.375 score. 

Western Michigan (4-3, 1-1 MAC) finished third with a 192.475 showing, while William & Mary (1-5) scored 192.225 and placed fourth.

OU’s Brie Olson finished first with a 39.575 score, while teammate Taylor Spears scored 39.475 and placed second. Mountaineer senior Kaylyn Millick scored a career-best 39.4 and finished third. WVU junior Hope Sloanhoffer scored a season-high 39.3 and placed fifth. 

The Mountaineers started strong, as four gymnasts scored career or season highs and powered the team to a 49.0 score, its second-best mark of the year. OU earned 49.15 for an early lead. 

Freshman Jaida Lawrence paced the team for the second straight week, scoring a career-best 9.9 and tying for first place; the Rocky Hill, Conn., native has hit for a career high each meet this season. Senior Alaska Richardson anchored the lineup with a 9.825 mark, tying her season high and finishing fifth overall, while Millick and Sloanhoffer each tallied a season-best 9.8 and tied for seventh. 

The Mountaineers kept the momentum going on bars, hitting six-for-six routines and scoring a season-best 48.775. 

Millick paced the bars unit with a fourth place, 9.825 score; the mark, a season best for the Washington, Pa., native, was the first 9.8 or better scored by a Mountaineer on bars this season. Sloanhoffer finished second on the team, eighth overall, with a season-high 9.775, while freshman Gina Costa scored 9.75 in her Mountaineer debut. 

WVU put together one of its best beam rotations in recent history, as the squad went five-for-six and tallied a season-high 49.05; the score is the Mountaineers best on beam since scoring 49.05 in their 2011 season opener at the Cancun Classic.

Millick highlighted the Mountaineers’ lineup with a career-best 9.875, the meet’s third-best score and good enough for fourth place. Sloanhoffer opened the lineup and tied classmate Amanda Carpenter for seventh place with a 9.825 score; the mark is a career high for Carpenter and a season best for Sloanhoffer. Also of note, Richardson scored 9.775 in her career beam debut, while sophomore Beth Deal saw her first action of the season and anchored the lineup with a 9.75.

The Mountaineers closed the meet on floor with a season-best 49.225 score, their highest mark on the apparatus since earning 49.25 at the 2011 East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championship. 

Sloanhoffer, Millick and Richardson anchored the lineup with career-best 9.9 showings, tying for third place overall. Freshman Melissa Idell opened the lineup with a career-best 9.8, good enough for 10th place, while Lawrence and senior Chelsea Goldschrafe each scored 9.725.

The Mountaineers return to the Coliseum next weekend on Sunday, Feb. 10, and play host to Iowa State at 3 p.m.

Final Results
Retrieved from WVUsports.com