Haley Named Gymnastics MVP
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (April 24, 2015) – West Virginia University senior gymnast Dayah Haley was honored with the Linda Burdette-Good Award as the team’s Most Valuable Gymnast at the program’s season-ending banquet on April 23, at Morgantown’s Hilton Garden Inn.
The Pasadena, Maryland, native capped a stellar four-year career with a sixth-place finish in the all-around at the 2015 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships on April 4, scoring a career-high 39.225, just short of a qualification to the NCAA National Championships.
“You always want your seniors to conclude their careers competing their best gymnastics, and Dayah did just that this year,” said Mountaineer coach Jason Butts. “She was the definitive MVP of the team this year, and she certainly deserves this award. Her teammates voted for her because they recognized her leadership. I hope the work ethic she displayed all year motivates the gymnasts returning for next season.”
In addition to her MVP honor, Haley also earned the Joseph Medrick Award as the team’s top all-around gymnast. She earned a team-best 379.675 points in 2015 and competed in the all-around in the final three meets, scoring 39.0+ twice, including the aforementioned career high. She earned her first all-around victory with a 39.075 showing against Penn and Cornell on March 14. Additionally, she finished second at the 2015 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship on March 21 with a score of 38.95 and earned All-Big 12 Championship Team honors for the second straight season.
Haley matched or set career highs in three events this season, including a 9.95 showing in a win on floor at New Hampshire on Feb. 8. The first gymnast to hit the mark since 2013, the score ranks No. 17 in the WVU record book. Haley also hit a career-high 9.85 on beam at the regional championships and matched her vault career high of 9.825 twice.
Haley finished with three scores of 9.9 or better on floor and three event wins. She was ranked No. 31 on floor in the final GymInfo Poll of the season with a 9.89 regional qualifying score (RQS) and paced the Mountaineers with a 9.856 average. She earned 1,160.475 points in 47 career meets.
Sophomore Brooklyn Doggette won the Sally Medrick Award as the team’s most improved gymnast. A native of Pickerington, Ohio, Doggette made her Mountaineer debut this season after sitting out her freshman campaign with an injury and competed in all 12 meets. The balance beam leadoff for seven meets, she competed on the apparatus in each competition and hit for a career-high 9.825 twice. Doggette also saw action on bars in 10 meets and scored a career-high 9.8 on March 8. She finished the year with 211.875 points and ranked No. 4 on the team on bars (9.6 average) and beam (9.656 average).
“Brooklyn absolutely deserves this award,” said Butts. “She had such an injury-plagued few years, but she came back this season and displayed great consistency on beam and bars. She fought through a lot of routines this season, and I was happy to see her refusal to fall. Brooklyn is light years from where she was as a gymnast last year, and I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this honor.”
Junior Melissa Idell earned the John Quackenbush Award for Mountaineer Spirit for the second straight season. Presented annually to the gymnast who displays the most perseverance and enthusiasm for the sport of gymnastics, the award is named in honor of the late John Quackenbush, the father of WVU All-American Kristin Quackenbush and a friend of the Mountaineer gymnastics program.
“There is a reason Melissa has won this award the last two seasons – she carries this team with her positive attitude and work ethic,” explained Butts. “Melissa is an asset on the competition floor at every meet, and she also is a great motivator and supporter inside Cary Gym every day.”
A native of Newark, Delaware, Idell enjoyed a breakout season, emerging as one of the team’s most reliable floor workers. She finished the season ranked No. 38 on floor with a 9.885 RQS. She tallied a team-best four wins on the event and scored 9.8 or better in all but the season opener. She hit for a career-high 9.925 twice and finished second on the team with a 9.84 season average. A two-time Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week, she also competed on balance beam in 11 meets and earned a score of 9.75 or better four times, including a career-high 9.825 in a winning performance against Penn and Cornell on March 14. Idell finished the year with a career-high 223.75 points.
All but the Joseph Medrick Award were voted on by the Mountaineer gymnasts.
Gymnasts who passed the 1,000 and 500 total career point milestones also were recognized last night. Haley was the lone Mountaineer to pass the 1,000-point threshold, while junior Jaida Lawrence (604.75) and sophomores Alexa Goldberg (545.05) and Nicolette Swoboda (833.025) passed the 500-point mark.
The Mountaineers finished the year with a 14-9-1 mark, including a 1-1-1 showing in Big 12 competition, and ranked No. 28 in the postseason GymInfo Poll, their best ranking since sitting at No. 21 in 2012. WVU earned its 36th regional championships bid and finished fifth at the NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships with a 195.65 score, its second-best mark at a regional championships. The squad also finished a program-best second at the Big 12 Gymnastics Championship with a 195.025 score.
Idell, Lawrence, Lindsey Litten and Audrey Tolbert are slated to return to lead the Mountaineers in 2016.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on Twitter.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (April 24, 2015) – West Virginia University senior gymnast Dayah Haley was honored with the Linda Burdette-Good Award as the team’s Most Valuable Gymnast at the program’s season-ending banquet on April 23, at Morgantown’s Hilton Garden Inn.
The Pasadena, Maryland, native capped a stellar four-year career with a sixth-place finish in the all-around at the 2015 NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships on April 4, scoring a career-high 39.225, just short of a qualification to the NCAA National Championships.
“You always want your seniors to conclude their careers competing their best gymnastics, and Dayah did just that this year,” said Mountaineer coach Jason Butts. “She was the definitive MVP of the team this year, and she certainly deserves this award. Her teammates voted for her because they recognized her leadership. I hope the work ethic she displayed all year motivates the gymnasts returning for next season.”
In addition to her MVP honor, Haley also earned the Joseph Medrick Award as the team’s top all-around gymnast. She earned a team-best 379.675 points in 2015 and competed in the all-around in the final three meets, scoring 39.0+ twice, including the aforementioned career high. She earned her first all-around victory with a 39.075 showing against Penn and Cornell on March 14. Additionally, she finished second at the 2015 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship on March 21 with a score of 38.95 and earned All-Big 12 Championship Team honors for the second straight season.
Haley matched or set career highs in three events this season, including a 9.95 showing in a win on floor at New Hampshire on Feb. 8. The first gymnast to hit the mark since 2013, the score ranks No. 17 in the WVU record book. Haley also hit a career-high 9.85 on beam at the regional championships and matched her vault career high of 9.825 twice.
Haley finished with three scores of 9.9 or better on floor and three event wins. She was ranked No. 31 on floor in the final GymInfo Poll of the season with a 9.89 regional qualifying score (RQS) and paced the Mountaineers with a 9.856 average. She earned 1,160.475 points in 47 career meets.
Sophomore Brooklyn Doggette won the Sally Medrick Award as the team’s most improved gymnast. A native of Pickerington, Ohio, Doggette made her Mountaineer debut this season after sitting out her freshman campaign with an injury and competed in all 12 meets. The balance beam leadoff for seven meets, she competed on the apparatus in each competition and hit for a career-high 9.825 twice. Doggette also saw action on bars in 10 meets and scored a career-high 9.8 on March 8. She finished the year with 211.875 points and ranked No. 4 on the team on bars (9.6 average) and beam (9.656 average).
“Brooklyn absolutely deserves this award,” said Butts. “She had such an injury-plagued few years, but she came back this season and displayed great consistency on beam and bars. She fought through a lot of routines this season, and I was happy to see her refusal to fall. Brooklyn is light years from where she was as a gymnast last year, and I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this honor.”
Junior Melissa Idell earned the John Quackenbush Award for Mountaineer Spirit for the second straight season. Presented annually to the gymnast who displays the most perseverance and enthusiasm for the sport of gymnastics, the award is named in honor of the late John Quackenbush, the father of WVU All-American Kristin Quackenbush and a friend of the Mountaineer gymnastics program.
“There is a reason Melissa has won this award the last two seasons – she carries this team with her positive attitude and work ethic,” explained Butts. “Melissa is an asset on the competition floor at every meet, and she also is a great motivator and supporter inside Cary Gym every day.”
A native of Newark, Delaware, Idell enjoyed a breakout season, emerging as one of the team’s most reliable floor workers. She finished the season ranked No. 38 on floor with a 9.885 RQS. She tallied a team-best four wins on the event and scored 9.8 or better in all but the season opener. She hit for a career-high 9.925 twice and finished second on the team with a 9.84 season average. A two-time Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week, she also competed on balance beam in 11 meets and earned a score of 9.75 or better four times, including a career-high 9.825 in a winning performance against Penn and Cornell on March 14. Idell finished the year with a career-high 223.75 points.
All but the Joseph Medrick Award were voted on by the Mountaineer gymnasts.
Gymnasts who passed the 1,000 and 500 total career point milestones also were recognized last night. Haley was the lone Mountaineer to pass the 1,000-point threshold, while junior Jaida Lawrence (604.75) and sophomores Alexa Goldberg (545.05) and Nicolette Swoboda (833.025) passed the 500-point mark.
The Mountaineers finished the year with a 14-9-1 mark, including a 1-1-1 showing in Big 12 competition, and ranked No. 28 in the postseason GymInfo Poll, their best ranking since sitting at No. 21 in 2012. WVU earned its 36th regional championships bid and finished fifth at the NCAA Morgantown Regional Championships with a 195.65 score, its second-best mark at a regional championships. The squad also finished a program-best second at the Big 12 Gymnastics Championship with a 195.025 score.
Idell, Lawrence, Lindsey Litten and Audrey Tolbert are slated to return to lead the Mountaineers in 2016.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUGymnastics on Twitter.
