MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – For just the third time in program history and the second time in the past three years, the West Virginia University gymnastics team is set to play host to the 2023 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship, tabbed for Saturday, March 18, in Morgantown, West Virginia. The conference championship is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, inside the WVU Coliseum.
Joining the Mountaineers in Morgantown are No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 13 Denver and Iowa State. The four teams will compete for the conference crown live on ESPNU, with John Roethlisberger, Bridget Sloan and Taylor Davis on the call. Live stats from the meet also are available at WVUsports.com.
Fans can purchase tickets by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVU-GAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum. All tickets are general admission.
All tickets are $8, while WVU students are admitted for free with a valid Student I.D. The ticket office, as well as the Gold Gate, opens at 6 p.m., on the day of the championship.
West Virginia enters Saturday’s championship with a 12-9 overall record this season, as well as a 1-2 mark in conference competition. Last season, the Mountaineers recorded one of their best performances at the conference championship, finishing third with a 196.65. The finish marked WVU’s highest at Big 12s since 2017, while it also marked the squad’s highest-ever team score at the conference meet.
Oklahoma enters the meet 14-1 overall and 3-0 in conference competition. The Sooners are the reigning Big 12 Champions after claiming the 2022 title in Denver, Colorado. Denver is 15-3 this season and 2-1 in conference meets, while Iowa State has an overall record of 8-7, including 0-3 in conference.
In this week’s Road to Nationals rankings, WVU sits at No. 22 on floor exercise with a National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 49.360. The Mountaineers have been ranked inside the top 25 on floor for 28 of the last 29 weeks, dating back to Jan. 25, 2021. West Virginia also cracked the top 25 on vault this week for the first time this season, checking in at No. 23 with a 49.165 NQS. The ranking marks WVU’s first appearance in the top 25 on vault since Jan. 13, 2020, when the squad also ranked No. 23.
Overall, West Virginia ranks No. 29 nationally with a season NQS of 196.515, marking its highest ranking of the season as well as a program-best NQS going into the postseason. Elsewhere, WVU sits at No. 34 on beam (49.055) and No. 45 on bars (48.930)
West Virginia concluded the regular season with a pair of road meets last weekend, first competing at No. 6 LSU on March 10, before traveling to take on Rutgers and Penn on March 12. LSU beat WVU, 198.025-196.450, as the Mountaineers earned a 49.0 or higher on all four events for just the second time this season. West Virginia scored a season-best 49.025 on uneven bars to open the meet, before tallying a 49.075 on vault, a 49.35 on floor exercise and a 49.0 on balance beam.
At Rutgers, the Mountaineers placed second with a 196.550, their second-highest road score of the season. Rutgers took first (196.875), and Penn was third with a 194.475 team score. WVU tallied scores of 48.95 on bars, 49.125 on beam, 49.225 on floor and 49.25 on vault.
