On Sunday, the West Virginia Mountaineers’ Gymnastics team will travel to the Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh, PA, to compete in the Quad Meet at Pitt. The Mountaineers will face three other teams, including the University of Alaska Anchorage, NC State, and the University of Pittsburgh.
West Virginia has a chance to make a statement
The WVU Mountaineers are heading into Sunday’s meet at 2-3 (0-2 Big 12), with hopes to end their two-meet losing streak. They are currently ranked No. 31 in this week’s rankings.
The original plan for the Mountaineers was to compete against Arkansas one day prior in Fayetteville, Arkansas, but was canceled due to inclement weather.
The Mountaineers will face three different teams from all across America in Pittsburgh for the Quad Meet at Pitt. The variety of levels will be a challenge for the Mountaineers but will also be an excellent opportunity to compare with other highly-ranked schools.
In their last meet against Iowa State on Jan. 28, the Mountaineers fell short, 195.425-196.225, but overall won the floor. However, in most events, there was a significant gap in scores between the top WVU gymnasts and the bottom.
That being said, this meet has the opportunity to provide potentially easy wins, but also could include numerous challenges for the team.
Previewing UAA
One of the teams, the University of Alaska Anchorage, has struggled tremendously this season. The unranked Seawolves have yet to win a meet after facing five teams and yet to break the193 point barrier. If WVU can stay consistent throughout all events, they should be just fine against the Seawolves.
Previewing NC State
However, unlike UAA, NC State is cruising into this meet averaging over 195 points per meet and ranked No. 27. Last weekend, the Wolfpack was coming off another quad meet, taking two-of-three at home. The Wolfpack racked in over 195 points in every matchup despite the loss.
Previewing Pitt
Pittsburgh has had a slow start into the season, as COVID delayed their season. They are coming into Sunday on a two-meet losing streak after dropping both meets at the Tri-Meet at North Carolina on Jan. 28. However, before Jan. 28, NC State beat Texas Woman’s University by nearly three points.
Authors notes
If the Mountaineers want to be competitive against all three teams, all team members need to perform their job in each event. The contrast in the challenge will force each gymnast to perform their best to help the team.