WVU gymnastics look to finish out the season strong
By: James Scott
(The following story was produced for a video journalism class at WVU)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU Gymnastics put another tally in the win column after taking on No. 22 Ohio State.
Going into today’s competition WVU has three nationally ranked gymnasts representing the team.
According to the latest GymInfo Poll, senior Hope Sloanhoffer is ranked No. 29 in all-around competition, with freshman Nicolette Swoboda ranked at No. 50 and freshman Alexa Goldberg ranked No. 48 on uneven bars.
The day’s meet began with WVU on vault and Ohio State on the uneven bars.
The team displayed a strong skillset surpassing Ohio State’s performance on vault, uneven bars and beam. The gymnasts had an outstanding showing earning the team a season-high score of 196.175. This brings the teams record to 6-7 overall and 0-2 in the Big 12.
The WVU gymnasts have proven they are a force in the collegiate arena, after defeating a ranked team. Gymnastics fans, like Joe Yamber, are excited to see what the remainder of the season will bring.
“Just for WVU to go as far as they can in this,” Yamber said. “Best of luck to them.”
WVU will be hosting the Big 12 Gymnastics Championship at the WVU Coliseum on Saturday, March 22. This is the first time the school has hosted a Big 12 Conference sponsored event since becoming a member in 2012. The Mountaineers will be joined by No. 3 Oklahoma and Iowa State.
Senior gymnast, Hope Sloanhoffer, spoke about the team’s preparation for the upcoming championship.
“This team has put so much effort into the last couple weeks, we’ve been really fixing the fine details,” Sloanhoffer said. “I think that’s really what we need to focus on.”
After the meet, the team’s four senior gymnasts were honored for their contributions to the WVU gymnastics program. Amanda Carpenter, Hope Sloanhoffer, Erica Smith and Bethany Yurko were each recognized for their time spent here at WVU.
The Mountaineer gymnasts take on No. 2 Florida next, on March 7.
Click here to view a PDF of this story’s transcript.
James Scott 