Morales Named Athlete of the Week

Morales

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Senior Michael Morales of the West Virginia University wrestling squad has been named the Varsity Sports Report Athlete of the Week. Morales went 6-3 last weekend, taking sixth place at 141 pounds at the 33rd annual Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas.

Morales won a 14-5 major decision over No. 8/9 Joe Spisak of Virginia, marking the second consecutive week he has defeated an opponent ranked in the top-10. Morales also won a 6-3 decision over No. 11 Todd Preston of Harvard.

The Brick, New Jersey, native is currently ranked No. 19 by Flo.

This Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers are idle this week and will return to competition on January, 10, 2015, at the PSU Relays.

Last Week in Track and Field: West Virginia held its annual Marty Pushkin Track Classic at the WVU Shell Building on Saturday, Dec. 6.

Notes & Quotes: WVU had four first-place finishes, led by Katlyn Shelar and Tori Bertrand who tied for first in the pole vault … Bertrand’s career-best vault of 3.75 meters shattered her previous personal-best mark of 3.33 meters set last season … in the 500-meter run, Christa D’Egidio took first place with a personal-best run of 1:21.09 … the women’s one-mile run saw three Mountaineers finish in the top three with Shannen Daly placing first (5:30.06), Lydia Martinelli finishing second (5:31.56) and Allie Diehl taking third (5:34.49).

Coach Sean Cleary: “The meet proved productive on some level for a number of women in the program. I was encouraged by the performances in the pole vault. Many of the ladies were jumping at heights that they left off last year during the outdoor season.”

This Week in Women’s Basketball: No. 24/21 West Virginia continues its homestand on Wednesday, December 10, versus Duquesne (7 p.m.) and Saturday, December 13, against IPFW (4 p.m.) … Wednesday’s game will be regionally televised on ROOT SPORTS Pittsburgh … it is also $1 admission presented by United Bank.

Last Week in Women’s Basketball: West Virginia (6-1) picked up wins at Fairleigh Dickinson (80-52) and Coppin State (83-43) to extend its winning streak to four games … Bria Holmes led all scorers with 25 points in the win at FDU … four Mountaineers posted double figures in the victory over Coppin State, including Averee Fields and Lanay Montgomery who both posted double-doubles.

Notes and Quotes: West Virginia has won 13 consecutive games inside the WVU Coliseum dating back to last season … that streak is currently the eighth longest home-winning streak in the country … Bria Holmes’ 24.1 points per game leads the Big 12 and is currently ninth in the NCAA … Linda Stepney’s 5.7 blocks per contest is 25th in the NCAA … WVU is tied for second nationally with 7.0 blocks per game.

Coach Mike Carey: “I have said all along that you see the young players not ready to play and my biggest thing is the effort is not there. I can’t take the effort, so we have to find a couple more people who will put out the effort.”

This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers are idle this week ... WVU begins its spring semester competition in Pittsburgh at the Pitt Hidden Duel from January 16-18 at 9 a.m.

Last Week in Tennis: WVU was idle last week.

Notes & Quotes: The Mountaineers collected a combined overall record of 68-40 this fall ... freshman Carolina Lewis stood at a team-best with a record of 11-3 in singles play ... freshman Lyn Yuen Choo had a combined record of 16-7 this fall season ... senior Ikttesh Chahal and junior Hailey Barrett are undefeated in doubles play (4-0).

This Week in Swimming and Diving: The Mountaineers are idle this week and return to competition at the Orange Bowl Classic in Key Largo, Florida, on January 3.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia competed at the 2014 AT&T U.S. Winter National Championships, a three-day event held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Notes & Quotes: On Friday night, junior swimmer Andrew Marsh, the reigning Big 12 Men’s Swimmer of the Week, became the first Mountaineer to qualify for the A final at the Winter Nationals … Marsh placed fifth overall in the A final of the 100-yard backstroke with a season-best mark of 46.58 … Marsh also placed third in the B final and 11th overall in the men’s 100-yard butterfly, tying a season-best mark of 47.49 … on Thursday, the women’s 50-yard freestyle prelims featured two Mountaineer swimmers ... Jaimee Gillmore touched the wall in 23.33, placing 37th overall, and Courtney Parenti followed close behind in 38th overall with a mark of 23.34 … other notable WVU performances included a 48th place finish by Nate Carr in the men’s 200-yard individual medley, a 47th place finish by Jenelle Zee in the women’s 100-yard breaststroke and a 51st place result by Max Spencer in the men’s 100-yard breaststroke.

Coach Vic Riggs: “I’m really pleased with our overall efforts. We had some tough swims, but the attitude was great and each of them came away with specific areas they need to work on to get better.”

This Week in Rowing: The Mountaineers are idle until the start of its spring season.

Last Week in Rowing: WVU was idle last week.

This Week in Rifle: WVU rifle is idle this week ... the No. 1-ranked Mountaineers (8-0, 6-0 GARC) begins spring semester competition against Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) foe No. 15 NC State, Jan. 17, at the WVU Rifle Range.

Last Week in Rifle: WVU rifle was idle last week.

This Week in Wrestling: WVU is idle this week.

Last Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers took 16th overall at the 2014 Cliff Keen Invitational as a trio of wrestlers earned spots on the podium ... Michael Morales downed No. 8/9 Joe Spisak of Virginia and No. 11 Todd Preston of Harvard on his way to a 6-3 record and a sixth place finish ... Zeke Moisey went 4-3 to take eighth place at 125 pounds and Jake A. Smith went 4-3 to take eighth place at 197 pounds ... Bubba Scheffel upset No. 2 seed Kenny Courts of Ohio State who is ranked No. 6/8 in the nation at 184 pounds ... it marked the best WVU finish in seven years and the most Mountaineers on the podium at the event since 2006.

Coach Sammie Henson: “We started off the day with some big wins and finished with some inconsistencies. I’m proud of the improvements we continue to make while knowing losing is unacceptable. We need to keep working on our ‘consistency wins’ philosophy.”

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Morales Named Athlete of the Week

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