Coming off the highest-scoring meet in three years and a national ranking in the top 18 on three events, one would assume a coach wouldn't change much.
That assumption holds true, especially for Jason Butts, the head coach of the No. 20 West Virginia (5-1, 3-0 EAGL) gymnastics team.
Butts will lead his team into Ann Arbor Friday as they face No. 22 Michigan (3-0, 3-0 Big Ten) in their first meet on the road against a ranked opponent.
"We kind of keep doing what we've been doing," Butts said. "We don't need to mess with the formula that's been successful as far as hitting routines goes."
Last weekend the team hit all 24 routines on their way to a season-high score of 195.775 in a win over George Washington and Towson. The Mountaineers' average score so far this year is 194.444.
WVU has outscored almost every opponent they faced so far this season, with the lone exception being No. 10 Penn State in the season opener.
Six Mountaineers earned 14 top-three finishes against the Colonials and Tigers. The strong performance bumped up WVU's rankings on three events as the team now ranks No. 8 on floor, No. 14 on beam and No. 17 on the vault.
Though the first-year coach may not want to fix what isn't broken on three of the events, he knows the team must make improvements on bars as WVU comes in at No. 42 on bars.
The Mountaineers have kept pace with No. 3 Florida (196.563) and No. 4 Georgia (196.519), who claim the top two spots ahead of West Virginia in the Southeast region.
Sophomore Hope Sloanhoffer scored a 39.2 to win the all-around and placed second on vault and bars on her way to her second EAGL Gymnast of the Week honor this season.
Chelsea Goldschrafe also performed well for WVU placing third on vault (9.825), beam (9.8) and floor (9.825).
Michigan won the last meeting in 2010 by taking all four events on their way to a 196.4-194.475 victory, improving the series record to 15-4 against WVU.
The Wolverines come into the match having already faced three teams ranked in the top 25, beating then No. 18 Ohio State, No. 24 Minnesota and No. 14 Illinois.
"There's going to be a lot of excitement getting on the bus tomorrow," Butts said. "Going to Bowling Green was nice, but now we're going to the University of Michigan, which is big-time athletics and big-time gymnastics."
West Virginia's only road meet so far this season was a 193.475-193.225 victory at Bowling Green.
Even with a team consisting of mostly underclassmen, Butts is confident with the team's capabilities and has been stressing poise as the team heads into a hostile Crisler Center.
"I'm excited we're ranked above Michigan going in, but it is our first ranked team, so obviously the challenge is to ramp it up a notch," Butts said. "I think this team is going to step up and show what it's made out of."
"They're very motivated where they're ranked right now, but they want to keep showing they deserve to be there and ranked higher and we're going to have a little bit of an attitude when we walk in, but I like that – it's good," Butts said.
A win against the Wolverines would be the first win for the EAGL conference against the Big Ten this year and would be another step in the right direction as the team will be on the road three out of the next four meets.
"It's a long season – we have eight regular season meets left, we have to make sure we keep working hard, keep fighting through every routine and not get complacent that we accomplished our goals early on," Butts said.
After starting her season off on the wrong foot, junior Alaska Richardson has bounced back in a big way. The Dayton, Ohio, native set a career-high two consecutive weeks with her dazzling dance routine.
Richardson's mark of 9.875 last weekend also earned her the EAGL Specialist of the Week award.
"Alaska is one of those, every time I think, ‘Okay, wow. She's an amazing athlete, and this is what we recruited in,' she does something bigger than I thought she would do," Butts said.
"I hope she can keep getting better and better."
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