No. 22 Kentucky Downs West Virginia

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – No. 22 Kentucky tied its highest road score of the season en route to defeating West Virginia on Sunday afternoon, 195.8-195.6, in WVU Coliseum.

The Wildcats were paced once again by the freshmen duo of Katie Stuart and Sidney Dukes along with a host of team members. 

Stuart had a career day, highlighted by a 9.9 on vault. The mark was the highest of the meet and a new personal best. She added a second career high on beam with a 9.85. Both of Stuart’s marks were good for event titles.

Dukes, who competed as an all-arounder once again, earned her third all-around title of the year with a score of 39.350.

“We played some new lineups today,” fifth-year head coach Tim Garrison said. “We changed some things up. Some new people came into the lineups, some people competed in different spots, but we just need to execute. We’re still giving away so much, and if we go into Arkansas like that we’re going to get it handed to us. We just need to find a way to execute at a higher level.”

Kentucky now sits at 6-4 on the season with a 1-4 record in conference play, while West Virginia drops to 2-6 with a 0-3 Big 12 mark.

Stuart’s 9.9 helped lead the way for Kentucky’s season-high team vault score of 49.125. Dukes, who anchored the Wildcats, came next, contributing a 9.85. Freshmen Alex Hyland and Aubree Rosa competed at the third and fourth spots, scoring a 9.8 and 9.825 respectively. Classmate Katrina Coca rounded out the scoring runs for the Blue and White with a 9.75, while senior Marissa Beucler led off with a 9.675.

Dukes guided the Wildcats on bars, scoring a 9.875 while competing in the fifth spot. Closely behind her came sophomore Cori Rechenmacher, scoring a 9.85 just before Dukes’ run. Beucler anchored for UK with a 9.8, while Coca’s leadoff was good for a 9.775. Sophomore Katie Carlisle capped of the team’s 48.925 score with a 9.625. Classmate Sydney Waltz returned to the bars lineup with a 9.2.

UK earned its third event title of the day on the balance beam by a score of 48.875-48.575, due in large part to Stuart’s 9.85. Dukes and senior Amy Roemmele followed in closely behind, scoring a 9.825 and 9.8 respectively. Senior Montana Whittle led off with a 9.775, while Hyland anchored the Cats with a 9.675. Rechenmacher fell, ending the routine with a 9.3.

Kentucky’s lone head-to-head routine defeat came on the floor, where the trio of Dukes, Hyland and junior Taylor Puryear all scored 9.8’s to lead the Cats to a 48.875. Stuart earned a 9.775, while Roemmele’s 9.7 in the lead spot was the last score to count. Rosa anchored, but scored a 9.075 after a fall. 

Kentucky resumes Southeastern conference play on Friday, Feb. 26, where the Wildcats take to Fayetteville, Arkansas for a matchup with the Arkansas Razorbacks, with the meet beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

 

For complete news and updates on the Kentucky Gymnastics program, go to UKathletics.com. Breaking news, behind-the-scenes updates and more can be found on Twitter at @UKGymnastics and Facebook at Facebook.com/UKGymnastics.