March 28, 2008
PITTSBURGH-- The Pitt gymnastics team will head to Morgantown, W.Va. to compete in the EAGL Championships. The Panthers will compete against host West Virginia, George Washington, Maryland, University of New Hampshire, North Carolina State, University of North Carolina and Rutgers University.
While the Panthers have been plagued with many injuries this season, they have proven that they have a tough lineup. After losing Dani Bryan (Germantown, Md./Northeast) to an Achilles heel injury, they had to change their lineup. The new lineup on vault and floor exercise had a spectacular meet against UNC, Cornell and Temple, aiding Pitt's victory in the quad meet.
Anya Chayka (Germantown, Md./Richard Montgomery) was the Panthers best performer at the quad meet. She captured the beam title after scoring a career-high 9.850, and placed third on vault with another career-high score of 9.800. Chayka garnered the EAGL Specialist of the Week award for her performances at the quad meet.
On the floor exercise, two Panthers tied for first to claim the event title. Alix Croop (Allentown, Pa./Bridgeway Academy) and Molly Moyer (Telford, Pa./Homeschooled) both set career-high scores of 9.875 in their floor exercise routines. Moyer also placed fourth on vault after scoring a 9.775.
Freshman all-arounder Shannon Vafiadou (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) tied her career-high scores on bars and floor exercise, scoring 9.700 and 9.775, respectively, while claiming the all-around title. She also set a career-high 9.750 on beam, giving her a career-high all-around score of 38.975.
Last year, the Panthers finished fourth out of the eight EAGL teams, with a total score of 194.150. Bryan claimed the EAGL vault title while teammate Andrea Arlotta claimed the bars title. The only EAGL opponent that the Panthers haven't competed against is the North Carolina State team, who is 5-2 in EAGL meets.
Competition will begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the WVU Coliseum.