Abraham Named Athlete of the Week

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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Following her game-winning performance in the No. 3/5 WVU women’s soccer team’s 2-0 win against Texas on Sept. 25, freshman defender Hannah Abraham has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

The Fairchance, Pennsylvania, native delivered the team a victory in its Big 12 Conference opener, heading in a cross from Bianca St. Georges in the 36th minute to give WVU (10-1, 1-0) an advantage it would not lose. The score was Abraham’s first career goal in Morgantown and first career game-winner.

WVU’s shutout was its program-best ninth straight and NCAA-best 10th of the season. With the win, the Mountaineers pushed their home conference unbeaten streak to 27.

This Week in Women’s Soccer: The No. 3/5 Mountaineers close out their five-match homestand at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium against TCU on Friday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. … it’s a “Pink Match” for breast cancer awareness, and all fans are encouraged to wear pink … the match also is the team’s “Soctoberfest” celebration, and specialty German food and beverage options will be available at the concession stands.

Last Week in Women’s Soccer: The Mountaineers (10-1, 1-0) opened their Big 12 season with a 2-0 win against Texas on Sept. 25, in Morgantown … the win pushed the team’s home conference unbeaten streak to 27 … freshman defender Hannah Abraham headed in the game winner in the 36th minute off a cross from classmate Bianca St. Georges … junior midfielder Ashley Lawrence added an insurance goal in the 52nd minute … WVU placed 12 of its 31 shots on goal, with UT’s Abby Smith making 10 saves … WVU senior Hannah Steadman made two saves for her seventh shutout of the season … the Mountaineers held the Longhorns to five shots … WVU finished with a 10-2 edge in corner kicks.

Notes and Quotes: WVU improved to 12-0-1 in all-time home Big 12 matches and 21-1-2 in all-time Big 12 games … the Mountaineers’ shutout was their program-best ninth straight and nation-best 10th of the season … WVU needs four more clean sheets to match the program record … Abraham’s goal was her first career score in Morgantown … the team’s No. 5 ranking in the NSCAA Poll is the team’s best position ever … 1,617 fans were in attendance Friday night, the fifth-best attendance mark for a women’s match in DDSS history.

This Week in Men’s Soccer: West Virginia returns to the road to face St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m. … WVU will look to improve on a 14-4-1 record vs. the Red Flash … West Virginia is a perfect 5-0 at St. Francis.

Last Week in Men’s Soccer: It took 84 minutes, but WVU found the back of the net on a goal by freshman Tucker Stephenson to defeat UNC Greensboro, 1-0 on Saturday … Stephenson connected on a header at 83:40 for the first goal of his collegiate career … Stephenson was assisted by senior Jamie Merriam and sophomore Joey Piatczyc … Piatczyc’s assist was his NCAA-high-tying eighth of the year and Merriam’s second … Alec Boerner, a freshman, earned his first career win in goal in a three-save outing.

Coach Marlon LeBlanc: “Tucker scored a big goal there. We made a change and put him up higher. We literally just changed our shape, right before it happened. We were at one forward, and then went with two and put Tucker back in the game up there and he scored the goal. Hats off to him, I thought the creation of the goal was excellent,” said coach Marlon LeBlanc, following Saturday’s win against UNC Greensboro.

This Week in Volleyball: West Virginia is slated to play a pair of league matches this week ... the Mountaineers will host TCU at the WVU Coliseum on Wednesday in a 6 p.m. match ... they will then travel to Lawrence, Kansas, on Saturday for a 5 p.m. ET tilt with the Jayhawks.

Last Week in Volleyball: The Mountaineers opened conference play by hosting No. 2 Texas at the WVU Coliseum ... the Longhorns swept the Mountaineers, 3-0, as WVU moved to 5-8 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12 ... Morgan Montgomery had 12 kills to lead the offense, while Brittany Sample collected her third double-double of the year with a team-best 10 digs and 23 assists.

Coach Reed Sunahara: “Playing against the No. 2 team in the country to open the (Big 12) season tells us where we are and what we need to work on,” said WVU coach Reed Sunahara, following the match against No. 2 Texas on Friday. “It was good to play Texas. As a coach, you always think you can prepare them more. The question is did we compare our team well enough to compete tonight or are we doing the right things? I think we are. I think we’re getting better. I saw some good things happen tonight. We’re just not consistent enough.”

This Week in Golf: The Mountaineers are headed to Birmingham, Alabama, to compete in the Shoal Creek Invitational hosted by Graeme McDowell ... the event, hosted by the UAB Blazers, will be held at the par-72, 7,154-yard Shoal Creek Country Club and will start at 9:30 a.m. ET Monday in a shotgun start ... the teams will play 36 continuous holes before returning for the final round on Tuesday, teeing off at 8:30 a.m. ET ... Easton Renwick, Max Sear, Tristan Nicholls, Avery Schneider and Chris Williams will compete for West Virginia.

Last Week in Golf: West Virginia did not compete.

Coach Sean Covich: “We are excited to participate in this event on one of the best courses in America,” said Covich. “This is a stacked field with some great teams, several of which participated in the NCAA National Championship last year. I really like the way our guys are playing right now, but more importantly, I like the way they have prepared for this tournament. I hope they embrace this opportunity to compete against some of the nation’s best teams on a major championship venue.”

This Week in Cross Country: The Mountaineers return to competition on Saturday, Oct. 3, as the team travels to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete at the Greater Louisville Classic, at 11:00 a.m. ... the course serves as a preview for the NCAA Cross Country Championship set for Nov. 21, at Louisville’s Cardinal Park.

Last Week in Cross Country: The Mountaineers were idle last week.

Notes and Quotes: The West Virginia University cross country team ranked No.12 in the second United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Poll, released on Tuesday, Sept. 22 … in the Mid-Atlantic Regional ranking, West Virginia was ranked No. 3, released on Monday, Sept. 21.

Coach Sean Clearly: “Coming in at No. 12 is fun for the girls, but we are very well aware that the only number we truly care about is the number in November,” said coach Sean Cleary.

This Week in Women’s Tennis: The Mountaineers travel to Akron, Ohio, to compete in the Akron Invitational from Oct. 2-4 ... the three-day event will include competition from Cornell, UMKC and host Akron ... matches are set to begin at 9 a.m.

Last Week in Women’s Tennis: West Virginia hosted Toledo, Buffalo, Wright State and Maryland in the WVU Pink Invitational on Sept. 25-27 ... the three-day event took place at the Mountaineer Tennis Courts.

Notes & Quotes: West Virginia closed out the WVU Pink Invitational with a 15-14 combined singles and doubles record ... sophomore Lyn Yuen Choo recorded a perfect 3-0 record on the weekend to claim the Flight C singles bracket ... on Friday, Sept. 25, Choo bested Wright State’s Vanessa Madrigal in straight sets (6-2, 6-4) ... in the semifinal round, Choo defeated Maryland’s Olga Gaistruk by a score of 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the title match ... Choo then battled Buffalo’s Laura Holterbosch, on Sunday morning ... she claimed the first set, but fell in the second ... she prevailed in set three, only giving up two games, to claim the match by a score of 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 ... West Virginia advanced five Mountaineers to the singles semifinals and three players to the final round in three of the four singles flights available ... senior Hailey Barrett and sophomore Yvon Martinez team up in doubles action to advance to the semifinal round in Flight A, but fell short to Buffalo’s Margarita Kotok and Dayana Agasieva by a score of 6-3.

Coach Miha Lisac: “Overall, there was improvement from last weekend, but we have to continue to get better and improve,” said third-year coach Miha Lisac, following the WVU Pink Invitational. “We have to continue to be consistent in our play and in our approach in doubles. Overall, we took steps forward this weekend.”

This Week in Rowing: WVU opens its fall season at the 29th Annual Head of Ohio Regatta on Saturday, Oct. 3, on the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh.

Last Season in Rowing: West Virginia placed fifth at the 2015 Big 12 Rowing Championship ... senior Elizabeth Duarte was named to the All-Big 12 Rowing First Team ... twenty members of the squad were named to the 2015 Academic All-Big 12 Rowing Teams ... nineteen Mountaineers earned Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors, while one student-athelte was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Second Team ... six members of the team were also named National Scholar Athletes by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) for the 2015 season.

Notes and Quotes: The Mountaineers posted three top-10 finishes in the Women’s Open 8+ event, earning a silver medal at the 2014 Head of Ohio ... WVU’s first boat, crewed by Elizabeth Duarte, Louisa Morgan, Lisa Deklau, Sadie Kalathunkal, Elizabeth Kantak, Emma Preston, Kelly Kramer, Emily Stasi and coxswain Brittany James earned a second-place finish out of 17 teams (15:28.68).

This Week in Swimming and Diving: The WVU swimming and diving team kicks off the season Saturday, Oct. 3 when it hosts the annual Gold-Blue Meet at noon at the WVU Natatorium ... the intrasquad event is the first of nine home competitions for the Mountaineers ... WVU opens the regular season the following weekend as it hosts the West Virginia State Games on Oct. 8-9 ... the annual event amongst the state’s swimming and diving teams begins at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and at 11 a.m. on Friday.

Last Season in Swimming and Diving: The WVU men are coming off a third-place Big 12 finish, while the women finished fourth a season ago at the Big 12 Championships ... in 2014-15, four team records were broken, three pool records set and two long course marks were broken ... the Mountaineers had two athletes advance to the NCAA Championships ... Tim Squires competed in the 50 and 100 freestyle, while Andrew Marsh, who returns in 2015-16 for his senior season, competed in the 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle ... Squires and Marsh also earned Academic All-America honors.

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