Gymnastics: EAGL Honors Sloanhoffer, Deal

By Shannon McNamara for WVUsports.com
January 10, 2012 03:53 PM

Hope Sloanhoffer

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia sophomore Hope Sloanhoffer and freshman Beth Deal earned two of the first three East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) awards of the 2012 season, as Sloanhoffer was named the Gymnast of the Week and Deal was awarded the Rookie of the Week honor.

The honors come on the heels of the Mountaineers’ (1-1, 1-0 EAGL) record-breaking 195.1 performance in their season opening loss to No. 13 Penn State (195.775) and defeat of EAGL foe Maryland (194.225) on Jan. 8, at the WVU Coliseum. The squad’s score was the best season-opening team total in program history.

Today’s honor is the 10th career league award for Sloanhoffer and her first gymnast of the week selection; she previously scored three EAGL Specialist of the Week awards and six rookie honors last season.

In just her second career all-around appearance, Sloanhoffer scored 39.3 and finished second overall, as PSU’s Sharaya Musser, an NCAA Championships individual qualifier, edged her out for first place with a 39.5 score.

Sloanhoffer finished in the top four on each event, including second-place showings on vault (9.875) and floor (9.85). She also placed third on beam (9.8) and fourth on bars (9.775); Sloanhoffer’s bars score, a career best, was the meet’s second-best mark.

Sloanhoffer has now scored 9.8 or better in 33 of 44 career routines.

Competing in her first career meet, Deal, a Parkersburg, W.Va., native, nailed her beam routine in the lineup’s fifth position and scored 9.825. She finished second overall outright and was only beaten by Musser’s 9.9 score.

Maryland’s Karen Tang earned this week’s EAGL Specialist of the Week honor.

The Mountaineers continue their season-opening homestand and play host to EAGL opponent Rutgers on Sunday, Jan. 15, at 2 p.m., at the Coliseum.

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