University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Burton to Join Pitt Gymnastics for 2020 Season
5/6/2019 12:02:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
Snider Adds Senior Arkansas Transfer
PITTSBURGH – Arkansas transfer Michaela Burton will join the University of Pittsburgh gymnastics team for the upcoming 2020 season, head coach Samantha Snider announced Monday.
"We're thrilled to have Michaela join our program this year," Snider said. "I have known her and her family for years, and I'm so excited that she has chosen to end her collegiate career with us in Pittsburgh. We can't wait to welcome her to our Pitt family."
The rising senior competed for three seasons with the Razorbacks, from 2017-19. She arrives in Pittsburgh with NCAA Championship experience, appearing at the 2018 title meet in addition to the 2019 and 2017 regional meets. She completed the 2019 regular season as the No. 44 gymnast in the nation on balance beam with a National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 9.875.
"We expect Michaela to be a major contributor on all four events," Snider said. "She's a beautiful beam worker and performer, and we're excited for her to showcase in our beam and floor rotations as well as vault and bars. She brings with her a wealth of competition experience at the national level, and we're especially excited for her to bring that competitive excellence to Pitt and help elevate our program to the next level."
Over the course of her three-year career, Burton has earned scores of 9.90 or higher a combined 10 times on two events. She has competed on beam at 37 consecutive meets, and in all but one during her three collegiate seasons. This past year, Burton earned a career-high score of 9.95 on balance beam in back-to-back meets against SEC foes Auburn and LSU. At the 2019 NCAA Regional in Baton Rouge, she produced scores of 9.75 on uneven bars and 9.85 on beam.
"The biggest thing I'm looking forward to is meeting the rest of the girls and getting to know my teammates," Burton said. "I'm also a big advocate for community service so I'm really excited to get to know the area and give back to everyone there and learn the culture here."
In March, Burton was named to the 2019 Southeastern Conference Community Service Team, which highlights a student-athlete from each school in the league who gives back to their community in superior service efforts.
"Michaela being named to the SEC Community Service team is an impressive accomplishment," Snider said. "Pitt gymnastics is committed to giving back to the Pittsburgh community, as we've won the Bridge Builder award the last two years at the Panthers' Choice Awards. We look forward to Michaela fitting seamlessly into our team culture."
A Downers Grove, Ill., native, Burton competed for Legacy Elite Gymnastics and is a journalism major.
"Right off the bat, the Pitt campus was amazing to visit," Burton said. "Growing up in the Chicago area, I love the city and it really felt like home from the minute I pulled onto campus. I also loved the support team at Pitt, who work so closely with the student-athletes to make sure they find a job or internship or go to grad school once they finish their undergrad degree. I was amazed by the success rate of people who got a job right after they graduated; the postgrad factor was big for me."
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"We're thrilled to have Michaela join our program this year," Snider said. "I have known her and her family for years, and I'm so excited that she has chosen to end her collegiate career with us in Pittsburgh. We can't wait to welcome her to our Pitt family."
The rising senior competed for three seasons with the Razorbacks, from 2017-19. She arrives in Pittsburgh with NCAA Championship experience, appearing at the 2018 title meet in addition to the 2019 and 2017 regional meets. She completed the 2019 regular season as the No. 44 gymnast in the nation on balance beam with a National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 9.875.
"We expect Michaela to be a major contributor on all four events," Snider said. "She's a beautiful beam worker and performer, and we're excited for her to showcase in our beam and floor rotations as well as vault and bars. She brings with her a wealth of competition experience at the national level, and we're especially excited for her to bring that competitive excellence to Pitt and help elevate our program to the next level."
Over the course of her three-year career, Burton has earned scores of 9.90 or higher a combined 10 times on two events. She has competed on beam at 37 consecutive meets, and in all but one during her three collegiate seasons. This past year, Burton earned a career-high score of 9.95 on balance beam in back-to-back meets against SEC foes Auburn and LSU. At the 2019 NCAA Regional in Baton Rouge, she produced scores of 9.75 on uneven bars and 9.85 on beam.
"The biggest thing I'm looking forward to is meeting the rest of the girls and getting to know my teammates," Burton said. "I'm also a big advocate for community service so I'm really excited to get to know the area and give back to everyone there and learn the culture here."
In March, Burton was named to the 2019 Southeastern Conference Community Service Team, which highlights a student-athlete from each school in the league who gives back to their community in superior service efforts.
"Michaela being named to the SEC Community Service team is an impressive accomplishment," Snider said. "Pitt gymnastics is committed to giving back to the Pittsburgh community, as we've won the Bridge Builder award the last two years at the Panthers' Choice Awards. We look forward to Michaela fitting seamlessly into our team culture."
A Downers Grove, Ill., native, Burton competed for Legacy Elite Gymnastics and is a journalism major.
"Right off the bat, the Pitt campus was amazing to visit," Burton said. "Growing up in the Chicago area, I love the city and it really felt like home from the minute I pulled onto campus. I also loved the support team at Pitt, who work so closely with the student-athletes to make sure they find a job or internship or go to grad school once they finish their undergrad degree. I was amazed by the success rate of people who got a job right after they graduated; the postgrad factor was big for me."
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