The Year in Review
July 15, 2003 08:49 PM | General
As we close the chapter on another year of Mountaineer sports, let’s take a look back at the highs, lows and everything in between of the 2002-03 season.
August
30 - First-year men’s soccer coach Keith Fulk wins his first game at West Virginia, 1-0 over High Point. Aaron Pitchkolan scores the game winner as Chris McKinney posts his third career shutout.
31 - West Virginia opens the 2002 campaign with a 56-7 thrashing of Tennessee-Chattanooga at Mountaineer Field. Avon Cobourne rushes for 106 yards and two TDs, and Rasheed Marshall throws three scoring tosses in the romp.
31 - Dimitra Havriluk and Stephanie Zolna earn spots on the all-tournament team at the Duquesne Volleyball Invitational.
September
4 - The University of Wisconsin, preparing for a visit from the Mountaineer football team, forbids Mountaineer mascot Trey Hinrichs from bringing his gun to Madison for the game. The university later reverses its stance and allows the gun into Camp Randall Stadium. Hinrichs doesn’t have much to fire about though as West Virginia falls to the 21st-rated Badgers 34-17.
7 - Megan Metcalfe and Zach Sabatino set course records at the WVU Agronomy farm as the Mountaineer men’s and women’s cross country teams open their seasons with wins.
8 - West Virginia’s women’s soccer team defeats George Mason, 4-1, on a school-record 35 shots on goal. Chrissie Abbott and Laura Kane score two goals each and the Mountaineers move into the national rankings the next day at No. 19.
15 - Freshmen Melissa Day and Raynie Theis win Flight Two of the Eastern Collegiate Women’s Tennis Championships.
27 - Behind Chrissie Abbott’s three goals, the 10th-ranked WVU women’s soccer team wins a school record eighth straight game, 4-1 over William & Mary.
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| Avon Cobourne is carried off the field for the last time against Boston College. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
28 - Avon Cobourne rushes for a career high 260 yards and three scores and passes Amos Zereoue as WVU’s all-time rushing leader in a 37-17 win over East Carolina. Quincy Wilson adds 198 yards on 14 carries as the Mountaineers roll to a Mountaineer Field record 536 yards on the ground.
28 - Megan Metcalfe wins the championship of the Paul Short Invitational in a WVU 6K record time of 21:11. Her title paces the Mountaineer women to a second-place finish.
October
5 - Six new members are inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame - Willie Akers (basketball), Eddie Beach (basketball), Barney Gedwillas (track and field), James Jett (track and field/football) and Rosemary Kosiorek. The inductees bring the total number of luminaries in the hall to 77.
6 - The WVU women’s soccer team snaps an eight-game losing streak to Notre Dame with a 3-0 win over the Fighting Irish behind goals from Laura Kane, Leslie Barden and Kambria Riggins.
6 - The duos of Chris Green and Ian Bliss, and J.R. Randall and Kyle Markham win doubles titles at the Louisville Fall Invitational.
12 - The WVU men’s cross country team wins the Penn State Invitational for the first time since 1985.
12 - West Virginia surpasses its win total from the previous year with a 40-0 pasting of Rutgers. The Mountaineer defense holds the Scarlet Knights to just 24 yards of total offense.
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| A dejected Mountaineer ponders what could have been if not for the poor playing conditions against Virginia. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
14 - The women’s soccer team climbs to 8th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s national ranking following shutout wins over Notre Dame, Colgate and Syracuse.
26 - West Virginia puts a scare into top-ranked Miami, trailing the Hurricanes just 24-23 late in the third quarter before falling 40-23. Avon Cobourne shreds the Miami defense for 175 yards and a touchdown.
29 - Men’s soccer players Kevan Ford, Defender of the Week, and Chris McKinney, Goalkeeper of the Week, are honored by the BIG EAST for their play in a win over Seton Hall.
November
2 - West Virginia becomes bowl-eligible with a 46-20 win at Temple.
5 - WVU’s women’s soccer team reaches No. 5 in the Soccer Buzz national poll marking the program’s highest-ever ranking.
8 - The West Virginia University Board of Governors approves a $21 million plan to improve and modernize WVU’s athletic facilities. The plan calls for renovations to the WVU Coliseum, Milan Puskar Center and Mountaineer Field and construction of grandstand seating at the Mountaineer Soccer Complex.
10 - Connecticut defeats WVU 1-0 in the BIG EAST women’s soccer championship. It marks the second straight year WVU has fallen in the finals. Despite the loss, WVU (17-2-1) still earns a berth in the NCAA championships, playing host to an NCAA regional.
15 - Chrissie Abbott, Christen Seaman and Laura Kane score goals as WVU wins its first NCAA tournament game, 3-0 over Loyola (Md.) at the Mountaineer Soccer Complex.
17 - Sarah Lane’s goal with five seconds left in the first half holds up as Virginia upsets West Virginia, 1-0, in the second round of the NCAA women’s soccer tournament in a game played on a muddy field, in steady rain with temperatures hovering just above freezing.
20 - Brian King’s interception in the end zone with 11 seconds to play gives West Virginia a stunning 21-18 win over No. 12 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. It is WVU’s first win over a ranked opponent since 1998 and the first road win over a ranked team since 1993. Quincy Wilson runs for 125 yards and his 42-yard touchdown run in the third quarter is the difference.
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| Phil Braxton breaks free for a 79-yard touchdown to lift West Virginia over Pitt. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
22 - The John Beilein era at West Virginia begins as the Mountaineers defeat Delaware State, 59-46, at the WVU Coliseum. Josh Yeager has 15 points and Drew Schifino adds 14.
25 - Megan Metcalfe, the NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional champ, becomes just the second WVU female runner to earn All-America honors in cross country, after finishing ninth in the NCAA meet.
30 - Rasheed Marshall’s 79-yard touchdown pass to Phil Braxton is the difference and the Mountaineer defense again comes through in the clutch, keeping Pitt out of the end zone in the game’s final seconds as 21st-ranked West Virginia wins the 95th edition of the Backyard Brawl, 24-17 in front of a record crowd of 66,731 at Heinz Field. The win gives the 9-3 Mountaineers sole possession of second-place in the BIG EAST and a possible spot in the Gator Bowl.
30 - The Mountaineer women’s basketball team wins the championship of the RazeWV.com Hoops Bash at the WVU Coliseum, 82-53, over Coppin State. Sherell Sowho, Kate Bulger and Michelle Carter earn spots on the all-tournament team for WVU, off to its best start since the 1988-89 season.
December
3 - In perhaps the upset of the year in college basketball, West Virginia knocks off seventh-ranked Florida, 68-66, at the Charleston Civic Center, spoiling the homecoming of Kanawha Valley native Brett Nelson. Joe Herber’s three-pointer with 37 seconds left caps the stunning win. Drew Schifino’s 18 points lead the way.
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| Fans rush onto the floor after West Virginia's upset win over nationally ranked Florida. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
6 - Greg Jones’ title at 174 pounds leads WVU to a fifth-place finish in the prestigious Las Vegas Invitational.
8 - Snubbed by the Gator Bowl in favor of Notre Dame, West Virginia accepts a bid to face Virginia in the inaugural Continental Tire Bowl at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte.
8 - WVU’s women’s swimmers win the Notre Dame Invitational behind Devlyn Quinn, who wins the 100 freestyle and is a part of the winning 400-meter freestyle team.
12 - Chrissie Abbott, the BIG EAST offensive player of the year, earns first-team All-America honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Teammate Lisa Stoia, BIG EAST midfielder of the year, garners second-team status and goalkeeper Melissa Haire earns first-team scholar All-American.
12 - Avon Cobourne, Lance Nimmo and Grant Wiley earn spots on the all-BIG EAST first team. Teammates James Davis, Angel Estrada, Ken Sandor and David Upchurch earn second-team slots.
17 - Avon Cobourne is named third-team All-America by the Associated Press.
21 - SEC champs? Kevin Pittsnogle’s three-pointer with 2:53 left gives WVU a 63-60 lead it will not relinquish in a 65-62 win over Tennessee in the WVU Coliseum. Drew Schifino has 28 points and Pittsnogle has 15 for the Mountaineers, who rally from a 16-point deficit for the win.
21 - Rich Rodriguez signs a seven-year contract extension that pays him $700,000 next year with annual increases each year.
28 - Virginia dips into its bag of tricks for some big plays at the inaugural Continental Tire Bowl to stun West Virginia, 48-22, in front of a sellout crowd of 73,535. West Virginia leads 10-7 after one quarter, but the Cavaliers score 21 points in the second quarter and win going away. Avon Cobourne rushes for 117 yards and two scores to finish his brilliant career as the ninth-best rusher in NCAA history. WVU ends the year ranked 20th nationally.
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| Kate Bulger sparked West Virginia with 26 points against Missouri-Kansas City to help the Mountaineers finish 11-0 against non-conference opposition. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
29 - The Mountaineer women close the year with a 55-43 win at Missouri-Kansas City behind 26 points from Kate Bulger. The 10 wins to start the season are a school-best.
January
4 - West Virginia’s wrestling program wins it 500th match with a 22-14 win over 13th-ranked Iowa State. Defending national champ Greg Jones runs his season mark to 13-0 with a major decision.
6 - West Virginia defeats Miami, 68-63, to give John Beilein his first BIG EAST victory at WVU. Drew Schifino scores 20 points and Kevin Pittsnogle adds 19 in the win.
8 - Kate Bulger becomes the 21st Mountaineer women’s basketball player to top the 1,000-point mark by scoring 22 points against No. 16 Notre Dame. The Mountaineers, however, can’t hold a 14-point second-half lead and fall to the Irish 66-59.
10 - Jeff Casteel is named Mountaineer defensive coordinator, assuming the full duties of the position after co-defensive coordinator Todd Graham leaves for Tulsa.
13 - Gymnast TeShawne Jackson scores a 9.9 in vault and floor exercise against Pitt, Ball State and Kent State to become the career 9.9 leader at WVU with 37.
18 - Kristen Moffatt scors a 293.7 on the three-meter boards to establish WVU and WVU Natatorium records in a 131-106 loss to Syracuse.
22 - West Virginia sweeps Marshall in the 2003 Toyota Capital Classic at the Charleston Civic Center. Drew Schifino scores 17 of his 21 points in the second half and Kevin Pittsnogle adds 14. Pittsnogle’s three-pointer with just over three minutes left gives WVU a lead it will not relinquish. The win gives WVU 10 wins on the year, two more than it won the previous season. In the women’s game, Sherell Sowho’s 24 points and Kate Bulger’s 10 pace the Mountaineers to a 67-63 win over the Thundering Herd. The win gives the Mountaineers an 11-0 mark in non-conference play for the season, the first time in school history it’s happened.
28 - Despite losing to defending national champion Alaska-Fairbanks 6318-6232, the Mountaineer rifle team combines with the Nanooks to fire the highest combined match score in NCAA history. The loss is the first of the year for the Mountaineer shooters.
February
1 - West Virginia wins its first BIG EAST road game since 2001 with a 91-83 win at Villanova. Drew Schifino is unstoppable with 31 points for his third 30-point game of the season. The difference is at the foul line, where the Mountaineers, who had been hitting just 60 percent from the charity stripe, nail 35-42 shots.
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| Greg Jones wins the National All-Star Classic to become just the second Mountaineer to do so. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
3 - Top-ranked Greg Jones defeats second-ranked Chris Pendleton of Oklahoma State, 7-3, at the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-State Classic. Jones joins Scott Collins (1991) as just the second WVU wrestler to win a match at the showcase.
8 - Leading eventual national champion Syracuse by 15 points in the first half, WVU watches the Orangemen storm back to a 94-80 win at the WVU Coliseum. Drew Schifino scores 25 points, but it isn’t enough to offset Carmelo Anthony’s 29.
15 - Kate Bulger scores 22 points and Yolanda Paige ties her WVU Coliseum record with 14 assists as WVU upsets Miami 100-84.
22 - Kleyton Franca wins his third straight BIG EAST 200 freestyle title to pace the Mountaineers to a sixth-place finish in the conference championships.
23 - Fifth-ranked West Virginia holds off Cleveland State, 25-16, to win its second consecutive Eastern Wrestling League dual crown. The win is also WVU’s 14th-straight league win.
23 - Megan Metcalfe wins her second straight BIG EAST 3,000 meter title and is named the meet’s most outstanding female performer.
25 - Kate Bulger’s WVU Coliseum record and career high 36 points give WVU a 77-74 overtime win over Syracuse.
March
1 - The Mountaineer baseball team wins 3-1 at 24th-ranked Tennessee as Brandon Halstead fires a four-hitter. Kurtis Clinton homers and Tim McCabe doubles in the go-ahead run for WVU.
2 - The 2003 WVU Sports Hall of Fame class is announced: Tommy Allman (football), Kittie Blakemore (women’s basketball coach), Tony Constantine (sports historian), John Doyle (baseball/football/track and field), Sam Littlepage (boxing) and Don Nehlen (football coach).
7 - Kate Bulger is a third team all-conference pick after averaging 15.8 points a game.
8 - West Virginia rallies to defeat Virginia Tech, 71-67, to finish the regular season at 14-14 and earn a spot in the BIG EAST men’s basketball tournament.
8 - The Mountaineer women’s tennis team wins its third straight match of the year, 6-1, over Western Carolina.
8 - The Mountaineer women’s basketball team loses to Virginia Tech, 66-60, in the first round of the BIG EAST tournament. WVU still finishes the year 15-13 for the program’s first winning season since 1997.
9 - West Virginia finishes second to Edinboro in the EWL Championships at the WVU Coliseum. Billy Smith (149) and Greg Jones (174) win individual titles for the Mountaineers.
11 - Drew Schifino earns a spot on the BIG EAST’s all-conference third team and Kevin Pittsnogle earns a spot on the all-rookie team. Schifino finishes the year averaging 20.1 points a game to become the first WVU player since Greg Jones (1983) to finish the year averaging over 20 points for the season.
12 - West Virginia’s basketball season comes to a close with a 73-50 loss to Providence in the first round of the men’s BIG EAST tournament.
14 - The women’s distance medley relay team of Jennifer Kemp, Ailene Smith, Pam Richardson and Megan Metcalfe finishes fourth in a school-record time of 11:11.98 to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. It’s the highest-ever finish for a WVU DMR. Metcalfe later earns her fifth All-America honor with a fourth-place finish in the 3,000 meters.
16 - TeShawne Jackson records a perfect 10 on the floor exercise for her school-best seventh perfect score.
22 - Wrestlers Brandon Lauer (133) and Shane Cunanan (141) earn All-America honors at the NCAA tournament in Kansas City. Defending national champion Greg Jones is upset in the first round. He rebounds to win two matches but fails to place. WVU finishes in 17th place for the program’s second straight top-20 finish.
23 - In its first-ever home match, the Mountaineer women’s rowing team defeats Duquesne, winning all 12 races. 24 - Nicole Allaire fires her way to first-team All-America honors in smallbore at the NCAA championships. She also earns second-team status in air rifle.
28 - Gymnast Amanda Halovanic, a four-time EAGL all-academic team member, is EAGL Scholar-Athlete of the year. Teammates TeShawne Jackson on vault and floor and Dinorh Boyd on the balance beam are first team all-EAGL pick.
April
5 - The Mountaineer women’s tennis team wins its first league match of the year, 4-0, over Seton Hall.
6 - West Virginia’s varsity eight boat takes home first place in the Mesa Distributing/Samuel Adams Cal Cup race of the San Diego Classic.
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| Jarod Rine becomes the first baseball player to achieve Big East player of the year status and completes an outstanding year by behind drafted in the ninth round by the Baltimore Orioles. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
6 - Tim McCabe smacks his 33rd career home run in the first game of a doubleheader at Pitt to become WVU’s all-time home run leader.
8 - John Beilein is named District 4 Coach of the Year for the 2002-03 season by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
11 - Chrissie Abbott receives an invitation to try out for the United States under-21 national soccer team.
13 - Gymnasts Amanda Halovanic, TeShawne Jackson, Dinorh Boyd and Kari Williams compete in the NCAA Southeast Regional championships.
14 - WVU’s varsity and second novice eight win titles at the 2003 Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J.
16 - West Virginia announces it is reducing its number of varsity sports from 21 to 16 in a cost-cutting move. The sports affected are rifle, men’s tennis, men’s indoor and outdoor track and men’s cross country.
17 - Zac Cline fires a five hitter in a key 3-1 win over Virginia Tech at Hawley Field. With the win, the Mountaineers improve to 24-11/8-2.
26 - The Blue defeats the Gold 27-13 in the annual Gold-Blue football game. Redshirt freshman Bryan Wright rushes for 74 yards and two touchdowns on six carries for the Blue.
27 - Michael Yurcho wins the pole vault championship at the Penn Relays.
May
4 - Zac Cline’s fifth-straight complete game powers West Virginia to its second win in a three-game series at 13th-ranked Notre Dame.
4 - Brandon Howard (long jump) and Megan Metcalfe (10,000 meters) win BIG EAST championships.
7 - Football captain Avon Cobourne and cross country/track captain Merissa Sexsmith win the Fred Schaus Captain’s Award, presented annually to WVU’s most outstanding varsity team captain.
8 - Gymnast Amanda Halovanic wins the Red Brown Cup given annually to WVU’s most outstanding all-around student athlete in terms of athletic, academic and civic achievement.
10 - The first-place Mountaineer baseball team clinches a BIG EAST tournament berth with a doubleheader sweep of Villanova. It’s WVU’s first tournament appearance since 1999.
14 - Jake Serfass homers against Kent State for WVU’s 70th roundtripper of the year, a new team record.
15 - Tara Struyk wins the ECAC title in the 10,000 meters.
16 - In a move that could eventually cripple the BIG EAST conference, the ACC votes to expand by three teams, inviting Miami, Boston College and Syracuse to join the existing nine-team league. It’s a move that BIG EAST Commissioner Michael Tranghese says could be “the most disastrous blow to intercollegiate athletics in my lifetime.” The vote comes on the eve of the BIG EAST league meetings in Florida.
18 - The WVU men’s track team wins the IC4A championship in Princeton, N.J., with 48 points. The men post seven top-six finishes, highlighted by Brandon Howard’s title in the long jump. For the women, Megan Metcalfe claims a title in the 1,500 meters.
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| Forward Kevin Pittsnogle is named to the USA Junior World Team. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
21 - Jarod Rine is named the BIG EAST’s co-player of the year after hitting .418 in league play with a conference-best 67 total bases. He is the first Mountaineer to claim the league’s top honor. Overall, he batted .390 with eight home runs. Rine isn’t the only Mountaineer the league recognizes. Greg Van Zant is the coach of the year and Stan Posluszny is the rookie of the year. Rine is on the all-conference first team and pitcher Zac Cline, infielders Tim McCabe and Kurtis Clinton and outfielder Lee Fritz are on the second team, while Jake Serfass is on the third team.
22 - Gymnast Amanda Halovanic and rower Kate Abernethy are named to the Verizon Academic All-District II women’s at-large first team, earning them spots on the Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot. Abernethy later earns first-team All-America honors.
22 - West Virginia manages just seven hits in a 9-1 opening round loss to Notre Dame in the BIG EAST tournament.
23 - Zac Cline throws a gem as West Virginia staves off elimination in BIG EAST tournament with a 10-0 whitewashing of Virginia Tech to eliminate the Hokies. Cline allows just one hit and strikes out 13 Tech batters. Eric Grimm, Grant Psomas and Jarod Rine homer for the Mountaineers, who pound out 17 hits in the win.
23 - WVU’s season comes to a close in an 8-7 loss to Rutgers in the BIG EAST tournament. WVU can’t hold a four-run lead in the loss. Tim McCabe hits two home runs and Kurtis Clinton adds his 13th roundtripper of the year but it’s not enough.
26 - The bubble bursts for the Mountaineer baseball team as the 36-19 Mountaineers are left out of the 64-team NCAA tournament field.
27 - Rowers Kate Abernethy, Tiffany Sizemore and Kirsten Leslie are named College Rowing Coaches Association national scholar-athletes and Risha Kelley is named a CRCA second-team all-mid Atlantic region.
28 - The National Wrestling Coaches Association honors the Mountaineer wrestling team and Shane Cunanan and Brandon Lauer for their excellence in the classroom. WVU had a team GPA of 2.97, good for 18th in the nation among all Division I programs. It’s the second straight year the team finishes in the top 20. Cunanan and Lauer earn honorable mention on the all-academic teams.
June
1 - Megan Metcalfe (1,500 meters), Tara Struyk (5,000 and 10,000 meters) and Jennifer Kemp (800 meters) qualify for the NCAA championships
2 - Kevin Pittsnogle is named to the 2003 Men’s Junior World Championship team.
3 - The Baltimore Orioles select Jarod Rine in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft. The Moundsville, W.Va., native is just the fifth WVU player taken in the first 10 rounds of the draft. Pitcher Jason DiAngelo also joins Rine in the draft, going to Colorado in the 27th round.
6 - A solemn WVU president David C. Hardesaty Jr. announces that six BIG EAST football schools plan to file a lawsuit against Miami, Boston College and the Atlantic Coast Conference for damages incured in the ACC's attempt to raid the BIG EAST. The suit is later amended to include just Miami and the ACC when the Hurricanes and Virginia Tech opt to leave the Big East after the 2003-04 academic year.
