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WVU Gymnastics Maintains Position In Road To Nationals Rankings

The Mountaineers floor lineup continues to rank No. 20.

West Virginia put out the following press release Friday afternoon:

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Feb. 15, 2021) – Following a season-best 49.200 showing on floor exercise on Feb. 11, the West Virginia University gymnastics team’s floor lineup continues to rank No. 20 in this week’s Road to Nationals Rankings.

The Mountaineers (0-4, 0-4) boast a 49.063 season average on floor and have ranked inside the top 25 every week since the start of the season. WVU also sits just outside the top 25 on balance beam, tied at No. 28 nationally, with a 48.725 season average. Additionally, West Virginia is tied at No. 33 on vault (48.713 avg.) and continues to rank No. 35 on uneven bars (48.563 avg.).

Overall, West Virginia did not crack the top 25, checking in at No. 30 for the third straight week with a season average of 195.063.

Florida ranks No. 1 this week with a 197.635 season average. LSU (197.325 avg.) is No. 2, and Utah (197.090 avg.) follows at No. 3. Oklahoma (197.075 avg.) ranks No. 4, while Arkansas (196.755 avg.) rounds out the top five.

Alabama (196.665 avg.) sits at No. 6, Iowa (196.580 avg.) follows at No. 7 and Michigan (196.538 avg.) ranks No. 8. Denver (196.510 avg.), WVU’s next opponent, comes in at No. 9, and Minnesota competes the top 10 with a 196.410 season average.

Individually, five Mountaineers rank inside the top 100 on three events.

Sophomore Kianna Yancey paces WVU with two event rankings. She is tied at No. 74 on beam (9.813 avg.), her highest event ranking, and comes in at No. 86 in the all-around (38.575 avg.).

Freshman Chloe Asper competed on beam for the first time in her career last week, scoring a 9.8 total in her debut, and is tied at No. 91 nationally.

Three gymnasts also rank inside the top 80 nationally on floor. Senior McKenna Linnen is tied at No. 58 (9.85 avg.), junior Kendra Combs is tied at No. 74 (9.844 avg.) and sophomore Emily Holmes-Hackerd is tied at No. 79 (9.838 avg.).

Regionally, the Mountaineers rank No. 6 in the Southeast. WVU ranks No. 4 on beam and floor, No. 5 on bars and No. 6 on vault.

Pierson ranks No. 23 regionally on vault (9.794 avg.), while junior Esperanza Abarca and Combs are tied at No. 17 on bars with matching 9.794 season averages.

A trio of gymnasts also rank inside the top 25 regionally on beam and floor. Yancey paces the Mountaineers’ beam lineup and ranks No. 11, followed by Asper, who is tied at No. 15. Pierson checks in at No. 21 (9.763 avg.). On floor, Linnen is tied at No. 8, Combs sits at No. 12 and Holmes-Hackerd is tied at No.15.

In the all-around, Yancey and Holmes-Hackerd come in at No. 16 and No. 17 (38.025 avg.), respectively.

WVU continues to rank No. 4 overall in the Big 12 Conference. The Mountaineers also sit at No. 4 on every event, with the exception of the floor lineup checking in at No. 3.

Yancey ranks No. 10 on beam among Big 12 peers, and Linnen is tied at No. 5 on floor, with Combs and Holmes-Hackerd rounding out the top 10 in the Big 12 floor standings.

Additionally, Yancey ranks No. 8 in the all-around, followed by Holmes-Hackerd at No. 9.

Looking ahead, the Mountaineers travel to Denver, Colorado, for another dual meet with the No. 9-ranked Pioneers (4-2, 2-2) on Sunday, Feb. 21, inside Magness Arena. Competition is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on Altitude TV.

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