Pitt Gymnastics Announces 2015 Schedule
9/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
PITTSBURGH -University of Pittsburgh gymnastics head coach Debbie Yohman has announced the Panthers' 2015 schedule. This season marks the 29th year for Pitt under the guidance of Coach Yohman.
Pitt will face four opponents who finished the 2014 season ranked in the country's top-25: No. 12 Penn State, who was also a NCAA tournament qualifier, No. 21 Kentucky, No. 23 Ohio State and No. 25 New Hampshire.
"We aspire to be a top-25 team, so we look forward to the competition at this level and the challenge of raising the stakes," Yohman said. "We are always very competitive with New Hampshire, so we like competing against them, and Penn State and Ohio State are also usually good meets for us. We have not been to Kentucky for a while, but anytime you compete in the SEC, it's an opportunity for a good score."
The Panthers begin their season at home on Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. with their annual Blue-Gold meet which is open to the public. Kent State will also participate in the meet.
The regular season will officially kick off for the Panthers when they host Ohio State on Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. The Buckeyes are one of three Big 10 opponents Pitt faces this year and they finished last season ranked No. 23 in the country.
The Panthers will then hit the road for three weeks beginning on Jan. 18 with a 1 p.m. meet at George Washington. Less than a week later, Pitt heads north to square off against New Hampshire on Jan. 24 at 4 p.m. The Wildcats finished last season ranked No. 25 in the nation. The road trip will conclude with a Friday night meet at Kent State that begins at 7 p.m. on Jan. 30.
The Panthers return home on Friday, Feb. 6 to host N.C. State at 7 p.m., but will head right back out on the road to East Lansing for a 2 p.m. meet on Feb. 15 against yet another Big 10 school in Michigan State. The Spartans had three gymnasts compete in all-around and floor exercises at last year's NCAA Regional Championships.
The following weekend Pitt will host in-state rival Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. The Nittany Lions finished last season ranked No. 12 and were an NCAA tournament qualifier. The Panthers will round-out their home season on Saturday, Feb. 28 by hosting a Pittsburgh quad-meet, at 7 p.m., which includes Temple, North Carolina and West Virginia.
Pitt will finish its regular season on the road when it travels to North Carolina and Kentucky. The Panthers will spend time in Chapel Hill on March 7 with the meet slated to begin at 1 p.m. Pitt edged out the Tar Heels last year in Pittsburgh, 194.350 to 192.275 and look to do the same this year. The next weekend, the Panthers will wrap up the 2015 regular season at Kentucky on Friday, March 13. The Wildcats, who were one of the better teams in the SEC last year, finished the season ranked No. 21 in the polls.
Following regular season competition, EAGL Championships will take place and are being held at George Washington on March 21 this year. The Panthers will look to improve upon their sixth place finish last season.
NCAA Regionals, which follow EAGL Championships, will take place on April 4 at various sites across the country. The NCAA Nationals are April 17-19 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The 2014 Pitt Gymnastics team recorded four first-place finishes and six-second place finishes last year. The Panthers also recorded their fourth-highest score in school history with a 196.125 while hosting Kent State and Centenary on March 15.
Pitt returns 13 girls to the gym that competed last season. Junior Maebelle Pacheco, from Virginia Beach, Va., will look to improve upon her 17th place finish last season on the vault at the NCAA Regionals.
"I think we already have a vision of what this team will look like at the end of the year," Yohman said. "While on paper we may look young and untested, the attitude and environment in the gym is very much pointing towards a strong finish."
For more information, follow the Pitt gymnastics team on Twitter and Instagram (@PittGymnasts / Pitt Gymnastics) or like them on Facebook (Pitt Gymnastics).