Published: March 30, 2008 02:00 am      

WVU gymnastics wins EAGL crown

MORGANTOWN — Mehgan Morris had first-place finishes on the uneven bars and the floor exercise to lead West Virginia to its sixth overall East Atlantic Gymnastics League title and its first since 2004 Saturday night at the WVU Coliseum.

Morris earned a career-high score of 9.95 on the floor and 9.85 on the bars to lead the Mountaineers.

Morris, a junior, also picked up second-place finishes in the all-around and on the beam to help West Virginia to a 196.050 team score. Morris’ score in the all-around of 39.400 was a career-best.

The Belle native becomes the 11th WVU EAGL champion in 13 years and the first Mountaineer to win an EAGL title since Janae Cox won the beam and all-around in 2005.

“I am so proud of our girls,” coach Linda Burdette said. “No one on this team had won the league championship before and to do it at home, in front of 1,500 fans, is tremendous. I’m so happy for our team, our seniors and everyone involved with our program. Our team has worked so hard and improved so much since the season started.”

No. 21-rated North Carolina State finished second with a score of 195.475, while New Hampshire placed third with a score of 194.550.

With the Wolfpack looming in the eighth rotation, sophomore Kiersten Spoerke’s 9.775 and Shelly Purkat’s 9.8 scores on beam held off the defending champions to give WVU its sixth title in the league’s 13-year history.

EAGL gymnast of the year Christine Nguyen of North Carolina claimed the all-around title with a score of 39.475. Nguyen also was the EAGL vault champion with a score of 9.95.

Pitt’s Anya Chayka won the EAGL beam title with a score of 9.85.

West Virginia (23-8) also got outstanding performances from sophomore Chelsi Tabor, who placed second on the vault with a score of 9.9 and freshman Amy Bieski, who took fourth on the floor with a score of 9.9. Also, Bieski joined senior Jaime Gold with 9.85s on vault to finish tied for fourth.

Junior Erica Watson tied Purkat for fourth on the beam with a score of 9.8 for WVU.

WVU started with season-high 49.300 points on floor in its first event and never trailed the rest of the meet. Burdette’s squad hit on vault for 49.150 points, 48.675 point on bars and 48.925 points on beam.

West Virginia has now achieved 20 wins in six of the last eight seasons. WVU was 9-0 against EAGL opponents during the regular season prior to defeating all seven league teams tonight.

North Carolina finished fourth with a score of 193.950, followed by Maryland (193.375), Pitt (193.175), George Washington (192.975) and Rutgers (189.025).

West Virginia must now await its NCAA Regional seeding and site location to be announced this week. The Mountaineers have qualified for regional competition in 29 of the past 30 years.