Pitt Gymnastics Set for Dual Meet in the Desert

PITTSBURGH – Pitt gymnastics (7-6, 2-3 EAGL) will strive to keep its momentum going on a trip to Tempe, Ariz., for a dual meet against Arizona State Sunday at 4 p.m. ET at Desert Financial Arena.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The meet will be streamed live on PAC-12.com.

Live scoring will be available via Statbroadcast.com.
Fans can follow along with live updates on Twitter and Instagram @Pitt_GYM.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

The Pitt duo of Michaela Burton and Ciara Ward picked up East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) weekly honors, as announced Tuesday.
Burton earned her third Gymnast of the Week title of the season while Ward was named Rookie of the Week for the first time.
With three Gymnast of the Week honors in 2020, Burton tied the Pitt record for most in a single season earned by a Panther, matching Lindsay Offutt (2016). Burton previously received the accolades on Jan. 14 and Feb. 11.
Ward is the first Panther to be named Rookie of the Week since Olivia Miller earned the honors for the week of Feb. 26, 2019. The Prince Frederick, Md., native is the third Panther to earn an EAGL weekly honor, joining Burton and senior Alecia Petrikis, who was named Specialist of the Week Feb. 18.
The tandem of Burton and Ward helped the Panthers pick up two scores of 196 or better, as Pitt recorded a 196.000 at No. 21 Southern Utah Feb. 24, and a 196.500 in a tri-meet at West Virginia Sunday afternoon. Pitt's 196.500 stands as the top road score in program history – as well as the No. 2 overall score ever for the Panthers – and ended a 36-year drought when competing in Morgantown.

RANKING THE PANTHERS

Senior Michaela Burton is the EAGL's top performer on uneven bars and balance beam with National Qualifying Scores (NQS) of 9.850 and 9.875, respectively.
Burton has earned the individual title on bars in seven of the Panthers' nine meets this season, recording a team-best score of 9.900 against West Virginia Feb. 21. She has picked up the beam title in five of Pitt's nine meets, posting a team-best 9.925 in a quad meet at George Washington Jan. 31.
Senior Alecia Petrikis ranks fifth in the EAGL on vault with a NQS of 9.825. Last time out, she produced a career-high 9.900 in a tri-meet at West Virginia March 1.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt made a statement at West Virginia Sunday afternoon, recording the second-highest score in program history, 196.500, to win a tri-meet hosted by the Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum.
Pitt's 196.500 stands as the top road score in program history, previously a 196.100 in a quad meet at Texas Woman's University in 2018. The Panthers also tied the program record on vault, recording a score of 49.200.
The Panthers won the rubber match in the three-meet season series with West Virginia, while posting their first win in Morgantown in 36 years, since Jan. 28, 1984.
The Mountaineers scored a 196.425 to place second. Rutgers came in third in the narrowly scored meet with a 195.300.
Two Panthers picked up individual titles: senior Alecia Petrikis had a career day on vault with a 9.900, and classmate Michaela Burton claimed bars (9.850) and beam (9.900). Burton's 9.900 on beam was her third score of 9.900 or better this season.

WELCOME TO THE EAGL, LIU

Long Island University President Dr. Kimberly R. Cline, in conjunction with LIU Athletics Director Dr. William E. Martinov Jr., announced Thursday the addition of a women's gymnastics to their athletics department, with immediate recruitment and competition beginning in 2020-21.
The Sharks are slated to compete as a member of the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL).
The EAGL was formed in July of 1995, by eight universities who banded together to create a league solely for women's gymnastics teams on the East Coast. In August 1996, the NCAA Council accepted the EAGL as an affiliated member of the NCAA. The league now consists of six Division I Universities along the Mid-Atlantic: George Washington University, North Carolina State University, Towson University, University of New Hampshire, University of North Carolina, and University of Pittsburgh. LIU will become the seventh member of the league.

SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS

Sunday's meet will be Arizona State's third of the week, after defeating Stanford on the road Monday with a score of 196.575, and topping No. 24 Arizona with a 196.525 Friday in Tucson.
Friday's meet was ASU's third in a row above 196.500. The Sun Devils produced a season-high 196.875 in a dual meet at No. 13 Washington Sunday, Feb. 23.

UP NEXT

Pitt will head to Ohio State for its final meet before the EAGL Championship Saturday, March 14, at 4 p.m. ET at Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio.

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Pitt Gymnastics Set for Dual Meet in the Desert

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Michaela Burton

Olivia Miller

Alecia Petrikis

Ciara Ward

Pitt Gymnastics Set for Dual Meet in the Desert

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Michaela Burton

Olivia Miller

Alecia Petrikis

Ciara Ward

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