Spurgeon Named Athlete of the Week
March 02, 2015 12:22 PM | General
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| Spurgeon |
Spurgeon, a Canton, Missouri, native, helped the Mountaineers to their sixth straight GARC Championships title last weekend. He shot a 582 (191 kneeling, 197 prone, 194 standing) smallbore score on Saturday, helping the Mountaineers to a 2323 team score after day one. He finished fourth in the open relay, and placed third overall in the final with 442.9.
On Sunday, Spurgeon contributed to WVU’s national record 2382 air rifle score, shot 594 (99-97-100-100-100-98) in the open air rifle relay and entered the final in fourth place. He won the air rifle title with a 207.1 final score.
The Mountaineers won the conference championship with a 4709 two-day total.
Spurgeon was also named All-GARC First Team Smallbore and Combined Score and also made the All-GARC Second Team Air Rifle list.
WVU Athletes of the Week
Winter 2015
Winter 2015
Week 1: Zeke Moisey, Wrestling
Week 2: Andrew Marsh, Swimming
Week 3: Carolina Lewis, Tennis
Week 4: Alexa Goldberg, Gymnastics
Week 5: Melissa Idell, Gymnastics
Week 6: Garrett Spurgeon, Rifle
Week 7: Cory Stainbrook, Wrestling
Week 8: Habiba Shaker, Tennis
Week 9: Garrett Spurgeon, Rifle
Week 2: Andrew Marsh, Swimming
Week 3: Carolina Lewis, Tennis
Week 4: Alexa Goldberg, Gymnastics
Week 5: Melissa Idell, Gymnastics
Week 6: Garrett Spurgeon, Rifle
Week 7: Cory Stainbrook, Wrestling
Week 8: Habiba Shaker, Tennis
Week 9: Garrett Spurgeon, Rifle
This Week in Track and Field: West Virginia is idle this week and will wait the UNF Spring Break Invitational from March 27-28 to kick off its 2015 outdoor season.
Last Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers competed at the 2015 Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championship, hosted by Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa ... A total of seven student-athletes in 10 events earned a spot on the podium with a top-eight finish in their respective events.
Notes & Quotes: Brianna Kerekes and Amy Cashin each earned spots on the podium in the 1,000-meter finals. Kerekes raced to a fifth-place finish in the conference in 2:49.99, while Cashin placed eighth in 2:50.99 ... Kelly Williams crossed the line in seventh place overall in 4:51.12 in the one mile ... Freshman Shamoya McNeil earned a spot on the podium in the triple jump. McNeil jumped 12.06 meters to place eighth in the league.
Coach Sean Cleary: “We brought 18 to compete at these championships and return home with 10 All-Big 12 awards. This marks our highest number of award winners. For that point, we are very happy. We left some key members of this team at home with redshirting and look forward to bringing them back into the mix for the outdoor season.
This Week in Women’s Basketball: West Virginia closes out the 2014-15 Big 12 regular-season on Tuesday, March 3 at Kansas State ... the contest is set for an 8 p.m. ET tip and will air regionally on Fox College Sports Atlantic/FS Kansas City … depending on Tuesday’s outcome, WVU will open the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Dallas on Friday, March 6 or Saturday, March 7 … presently, WVU stands seventh in the standings and would play on Friday evening … a final bracket will be released on Tuesday evening.
Last Week in Women’s Basketball: WVU went 1-1 in action. The Mountaineers fell 73-63 at TCU last Tuesday ... West Virginia rallied from a 14-point hole in the second half to knock of No. 24-ranked Texas, 76-69, on Senior Day Sunday.
Notes and Quotes: Bria Holmes’ 31 field goal attempts at TCU set a WVU single-game record and were the ninth-most ever by a Big 12 player in a game … Senior Averee Fields became the third Mountaineer women’s basketball player to garner Capital One Academic All-America honors. She was selected to the second team. Fields holds a 3.95 GPA as a social work major … the comeback win over the Longhorns was the second for WVU this season … the overtime game was the first for WVU since defeating Texas last season in Morgantown on Jan. 12, 2014 … Bria Holmes and Averee Fields each had 19 points in the win over Texas … WVU is 6-1 when having four players score double-figures … WVU last upset a Top 25 team with a win over Oklahoma on February 1 … Bria Holmes has reached double figures in 31 of our last 32 games.
Quote from Coach Carey: “It was a great win. It was great for the seniors to go out this way. We could have folded when we were down, and earlier in the season we would have. I give them credit. Everyone fought and played hard, and when you do that good things happen.”
This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers (9-1) return to competition on Saturday, March 7, as the team squares off against Cornell at 2 p.m., and in-state foe No. 55 Marshall on Sunday, March 8 at 9 a.m., at Ridgeview Racquet Club … the Big Red are 2-5 this season, and are coming off a 7-0 victory against Army … the Thundering Herd are 7-3 this season, and are coming off a 4-3 victory against Penn State at home … Marshall was tabbed 55th in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) national rankings released on February 24th … Marshall was the highest-ranked Conference USA team in last week’s ITA listing … the Thundering Herd jumped 18 spots from the previous rankings released on February 17th at No. 73 … freshman Maddie Silver is ranked 19th in the ITA Atlantic rankings at the No. 2 singles position.
Last Week in Tennis: WVU was idle last week.
Notes and Quotes: The Mountaineers are coming off three doubleheader events, defeating Wright State 4-3 and UMBC 7-0 on February 20th … the last time WVU has won nine straight was during Big East play in the 2010 season under coach Marc Walters … freshman Habiba Shaker has a team-best 10-0 mark in doubles play as she has teamed up with junior Hailey Barrett as well as freshmen Lyn Yuen Choo, Yvon Martinez and Carolina Lewis throughout the spring … Shaker holds a 6-0 mark at the No. 4 position and a 3-1 mark at the No. 5 position in singles play … sophomore Kaja Mrgole has won seven of her last eight singles matches at the No. 1 slot … freshman Carolina Lewis has a perfect 7-0 mark in singles action, with victories at the No. 5 and No. 6 slots.
This Week in Swimming and Diving: The Mountaineer men will travel to Columbus, Ohio, for the OSU Last Chance Meet on Sunday, March 8 ... the women will be idle until the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships from March 12-14 in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Last Week in Swimming and Diving: Both the men and women competed at the 2015 Big 12 Swimming & Diving Championships in Austin, Texas, from Feb. 25-28 ... the men posted a third-place finish in the conference, while the women placed fourth in the league.
Notes & Quotes: A total of 16 West Virginia student-athletes earned All-Big 12 First Team recognition with nine men and seven women garnering the honors ... senior Tim Squires led the men with five All-Big 12 First Team distinctions (50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 400-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard medley relay) ... the fourth-place finish for the women was their best since a second-place finish at the 2013 Big 12 Championships ... Julie Ogden (200-yard butterfly, 100-yard butterfly) and Jenelle Zee (100-yard backstroke, 200-yard medley relay) led the Mountaineer women for two All-Big 12 First Team accolades apiece.
Coach Vic Riggs: “This team’s character can’t be expressed in words. You needed to be here and live this week to realize how difficult a week this was on them. They did a tremendous job and for both teams to swim as well as they did is a true testament to their character and desire to finish the job.”
This Week in Rowing: The Mountaineers are idle until the Cardinal Invitational in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, from March 14-15.
Last Week in Rowing: WVU was idle last week and has not competed since the completion of its fall season with a scrimmage against Duquesne, on November 7
This Week in Rifle: The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team (11-1, 8-0 GARC) is idle until they defend their back-to-back national titles at the NCAA Championships, March 13-14, at the E.F. Horton Rifle Range and Patty Center, in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Last Week in Rifle: WVU won their sixth straight GARC Championships title last week with a 4709 aggregate score, February 28-March 1, at Mississippi’s Patricia C. Lamar Readiness Center, in Oxford, Mississippi.
Notes & Quotes: Eight members of the team collected a combined 28 all-conference honors at the GARC Championships Banquet, in Oxford, Mississippi … senior Ziva Dvorsak earned her first GARC honors, collecting Senior of the Year and Shooter of the Year… she also landed on the All-GARC First Team Air Rifle, Second Team Smallbore and All-GARC First Team Combined Score squads … freshman Elizabeth Gratz earned her first conference honors, taking the GARC Rookie of the Year award and first team Smallbore, first team Air Rifle and first team combined score honors, along with being named WVU’s GARC Scholar-Athlete of the Year… senior Maren Prediger earned All-GARC First Team Air Rifle, All-GARC Second Team Combined Score and the All-GARC Honorable Mention Smallbore Team … junior Michael Bamsey landed his first conference awards with All-GARC First Team Smallbore, Air Rifle and Combined Score awards … junior Garrett Spurgeon earned All-GARC First Team Smallbore and Combined Score honors and also made the All-GARC Second Team Air Rifle list … senior Thomas Kyanko was named All-GARC First Team Smallbore, All-GARC Second Team Combined Score and all-conference honorable mention in air rifle … junior Patrick Sunderman and sophomore Jean-Pierre Lucas were named to the All-GARC Second Team Smallbore and Combined Score lists … Lucas also earned all-conference honorable mention in air rifle, while Sunderman earned his first All-GARC First Team Air Rifle honor.
Coach Jon Hammond: “It’s been an incredible run. We really like coming down here to shoot. It’s something the team enjoys doing. It’s great competition, but we always show up. At the same time, we have to stay focused on NCAAs coming up. We will look back on this after the season is over.”
Coach Jon Hammond: “It’s been an incredible run. We really like coming down here to shoot. It’s something the team enjoys doing. It’s great competition, but we always show up. At the same time, we have to stay focused on NCAAs coming up. We will look back on this after the season is over.”
This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia travels to Ames, Iowa, for the 2015 Big 12 Wrestling Championships on Saturday, March 7, at Iowa State ... the NCAA does not consider Big 12s a qualifying event, so the Mountaineers will look to the Coaches Panel Index and RPI rankings to bids to the NCAA tournament.
Last Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers were idle last week.
Notes and Quotes: The Mountaineers have four wrestlers ranked the Coaches’ Panel Index and six ranked in the NCAA RPI Rankings as of March 1 ... at-large bids will be announced by the NCAA on March 11.
This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers return home for a two-meet homestand at the WVU Coliseum … WVU faces No. 13 Penn State on Sunday, March 8, at 2 p.m. … it’s a “Dollar Day,” and all tickets, hot dogs, popcorn and Coca Colas are available for $1 each … it’s also a “Gold Rush,” and the first 500 fans will receive a gold shaker, courtesy of Coke Zero.
Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU (11-7-1, 0-0-1) swept the competition at Pitt on February 28, scoring 194.975 and defeating Pitt (194.875), North Carolina (193.5) and Temple (191.225) at Fitzgerald Field House … WVU earned the top team marks on vault (48.75) and floor (49.1) and scored a season-high 48.85 on beam and tallied 48.275 on bars … sophomore Alexa Goldberg tied for first on bars with a 9.85 mark, while junior Melissa Idell scored 9.9 on floor and tied for the win … freshmen Zaakira Muhammad and Robyn Bernard scored 9.775s on vault and tied for second, while senior Beth Deal paced on beam with a 9.85, good enough for fourth place … sophomore Nicolette Swoboda competed in the all-around for the third time this season and finished third with a 38.875 score.
Notes and Quotes: WVU’s wins pushed the program win total to 700 and coach Jason Butts’ win total to 51 … the Mountaineers’ win over UNC is their second of the season … the team’s showing on floor was its second-best road score of the season … Idell has now scored 9.9 or better on floor in consecutive meets … sophomore Mackenzie Myers returned to the floor lineup and earned a season-high 9.85 … Bernard’s vault score was her second best of the year … the Mountaineers were forced to delay their touch on bars by 15 minutes in the third rotation due to an equipment failure … Goldberg’s win on bars was her fifth of the season … Deal’s score on beam was her best showing since earning a season-high 9.875 on January 17 … sophomore Brooklyn Doggette opened the beam rotation with a career-best 9.725.
This Week in Baseball: The WVU baseball team returns to action this weekend from March 6-8 with a trip to ETSU for a three-game series … Friday’s game is set for 4:05 p.m., Saturday’s game begins at 2:05 p.m. and Sunday’s finale starts at 1:05 p.m.
Last Week In Baseball: The Mountaineers went 1-3 last weekend in the Chanticleer Classic, playing in three one-run games … WVU fell 5-2 to Kent State on Friday, lost 4-3 in 13 innings on Firday at Coastal Carolina, defeated Ball State 7-6 on Saturday and fell 2-1 to No. 25 Illinois on Sunday.
Notes & Quotes
Senior shortstop Taylor Munden continued his hot hitting, batting 8-for-18 (.444) with three doubles, one home run, three RBIs and one stolen base last weekend … for the season Munden is hitting .405 with five doubles, three home runs, nine RBI and four stolen bases … despite taking the loss on Sunday, sophomore right-hander Chad Donato was brilliant against No. 25 Illinois … Donato went eight innings, allowing two unearned runs on four hits with five strikeouts … against Coastal Carolina, junior left-hander Ross Vance took a no-decision, allowing two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and one walk in 8.2 innings.
Senior shortstop Taylor Munden continued his hot hitting, batting 8-for-18 (.444) with three doubles, one home run, three RBIs and one stolen base last weekend … for the season Munden is hitting .405 with five doubles, three home runs, nine RBI and four stolen bases … despite taking the loss on Sunday, sophomore right-hander Chad Donato was brilliant against No. 25 Illinois … Donato went eight innings, allowing two unearned runs on four hits with five strikeouts … against Coastal Carolina, junior left-hander Ross Vance took a no-decision, allowing two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and one walk in 8.2 innings.
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