Pitt Hosts Denver in Last Home Meet of the Season
2/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Feb. 26, 2009
PITTSBURGH- The University of Pittsburgh gymnastics team will host its third straight home meet of the season this Saturday, Feb. 28 against Denver. The meet will be the last one of the season to be held at the familiar Fitzgerald Field House.
After a disappointing loss to Michigan State (194.900-194.600) on Feb. 20 and another loss to Maryland (194.050-194.650) the previous week, the Panthers (5-5, 2-3 EAGL) are looking to bounce back this weekend. Denver enters the meet coming off of a first place performance over Texas Woman's University where they posted a season high score of 195.575. Pitt will have to boost its high score of 195.300, which the team accomplished against N.C. State on Feb. 1, if they are to pull out a win against the 26th Pioneers.
Pitt's Alicia Talucci (Coatsville, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) will be a key factor for the team. The freshman is a top all-around competitor, having won the event twice in the past three weeks. Her stellar performance last weekend at Michigan State also earned her the title of Eastern Atlantic Gymnast of the Week. Talucci set or tied career-high marks of the season in three of the four events that she competed in against Michigan State.
Talucci will face Denver's Jessica Lopez, a senior All-American and 2008 Olympian. Lopez leads her team in vault average (9.844), bars average (9.850), beam average (9.807) and all around average (39.417).
Junior co-captain Dani Bryan (Germantown, Md./Northwest) will also have to post high scores as the Panthers look to garner a win this weekend. Bryan enters the meet ranked in the top 25 in the nation on vault with a regional qualifying score of 9.850.
The meet is set to begin at 7 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Field House. Pitt's four seniors, Anya Chayka (Germantown, Md./Richard Montgomery), Alix Croop (Allentown, Pa./Bridgeway Academy), Andrea Konesky (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin), and Victoria McGuigan-Carl (Reading, Pa./Exeter) will be honored at the meet as they will be competing for the last time at the Fitzgerald Field House.
Probable Lineup
Vault
1. Krista Rubini
2. Molly Moyer
3. Amy Varela
4. Shannon Vafiadou
5. Alicia Talucci
6. Dani Bryan
7. Anya Chayka
Bars
1. Jessica Byich
2. Victoria McGuigan-Carl
3. Alicia Talucci
4. Dani Bryan
5. Amy Varela
6. Alix Croop
7. Shannon Vafiadou
Beam
1. Shannon Vafiadou
2. Jessica Byich
3. Molly Moyer
4. Alicia Talucci
5. Alix Croop
6. Anya Chayka
7. Andrea Konesky
Floor
1. Shannon Vafiadou
2. Krista Rubini
3. Molly Moyer
4. Alix Croop
5. Alicia Talucci
6. Dani Bryan
7. Lisa Taylor