WVU takes second at Denver

WVU Gymnastics assistant coach Travis Doak speaks with freshman Brooke Alban during WVU’s meet against Ball State on March 6, 2022. (Photo Ryan Decker)

by: Olivia Sneed, WVU Athletics

Posted: Feb 12, 2023 / 07:43 PM EST

Updated: Feb 12, 2023 / 07:44 PM EST

RESULTS: https://wvusports.co/3HObKAz

DENVER, Colo. – The West Virginia University gymnastics team posted its second-highest team score of the season to finish second in a dual meet at No. 8 Denver inside Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado, on Sunday afternoon.

The host Pioneers took the top spot with a 197.125, while the Mountaineers (7-6, 1-1 Big 12) followed with a 195.575. DU topped WVU on every event except floor, where the two squads tied with 49.15 team totals.

Competing in their second straight dual meet, the Mountaineers opened on the uneven bars. For the second week in a row, WVU earned a new season best on the event, tallying a 48.925. Senior Kianna Yancey paced the lineup with a 9.85, while fifth-year senior Kendra Combs was just behind her with a 9.8. Sophomores Brooke Alban and Anna Leigh added a pair of 9.775s, and senior Emily Holmes-Hackerd rounded out the lineup with a 9.725.

Moving on to vault, West Virginia posted a 48.625 team score, and it was led by a pair of 9.75s from senior Abbie Pierson and junior Kiana Lewis. Junior Ellen Collins made her season debut on the event and added a career-best 9.725. Yancey and freshman Brooke Irwin completed the lineup with matching 9.7s.

WVU’s only 49.0+ of the competition came on floor exercise, as it earned a 49.15. The rotation was led by a trio of 9.85s from Lewis, Pierson and Combs. After a 0.10 deduction for stepping out of bounds, Holmes-Hackerd scored a 9.825, before Leigh rounded out the scoring on floor with a 9.775.

Finishing the meet on balance beam, West Virginia secured a solid 48.875. Yancey paced the lineup with a 9.825, while Leigh was just behind her with a career-best 9.8. Combs and Holmes-Hackerd recorded a pair of 9.775s, and Pierson completed the rotation with a 9.7.

Yancey was the lone Mountaineer to compete in the all-around, tallying a 39.1 total on all four events to finish third overall in the final all-around standings.

In the final event standings, Yancey finished third on bars, while Lewis, Pierson and Combs finished in a four-way tie for second on floor with Denver’s Momoko Iwai.

After two weeks away from home, West Virginia now returns to Morgantown to play host to Bowling Green on Sunday, February 19. Action inside the WVU Coliseum is tabbed for 1 p.m. ET, and the meet will be broadcast live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. It’s WVU’s first-ever Alumni Meet, as well as the team’s annual Cancer Awareness Meet.