Jacob A. Smith Named Student-Athlete of the Week
February 15, 2016 01:16 PM | General
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Following his performances against No. 24 South Dakota State and No. 16 Iowa State, junior Jacob A. Smith has been named the West Virginia University Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.
Smith went 2-0 in Big 12 action this weekend. Smith’s first win was a 5-4 decision over No. 14 Nate Rotert of South Dakota State on Friday evening. The junior from Charleston, West Virginia, used takedowns in the first and third periods in topping his ranked opponent.
Smith went on to win a 9-2 decision over Marcus Harrington of Iowa State on Sunday. Smith took a 4-1 lead after a pair of first-period takedowns. Choosing to start the second on bottom, he stretched his lead to 5-1 on an escape just 10 seconds into the period before both wrestlers were warned for stalling. Harrington chose to go neutral to start the third, and picked up his second stalling call 45 seconds into the period to give Smith a 6-1 lead. Smith was also called for stalling, making it 6-2, before Smith registered a takedown with 13 seconds remaining. He tacked on a point for riding time for the 9-2 decision.
This Week in Women’s Basketball: West Virginia returns home to host No. 21 Oklahoma in 7 p.m. contest at the WVU Coliseum on Wednesday, Feb. 17 … Wednesday is Faculty Staff night … the Mountaineers hit the road to face No. 6 Texas in a 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT contest in Austin … the game will be televised locally on ROOT SPORTS Pittsburgh and regionally on FOX Sports Net.
Last Week in Women’s Basketball: West Virginia went 1-1 last week … the Mountaineers toppled Iowa State, 57-47, on Wednesday in Morgantown … Bria Holmes scored a game-high 23 points, while Lanay Montgomery registered a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds … Arielle Roberson grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds in the victory … WVU fell 63-51 at No. 21 Oklahoma State on Saturday … WVU was limited to 14 first half points before outscoring OSU 37-31 in the second half … freshman Tynice Martin led the team with 13 points, while Roberson corralled 11 rebounds in the setback.
Notes: WVU collected its 10th victory at home with a win over Iowa State on Wednesday … the Mountaineers have reached 10 or more wins at home in 11 seasons under Mike Carey … West Virginia’s field goal percentage defense of 33.5 percent is second in the Big 12 and ranks fifth nationally … the team ranks sixth nationally with 6.3 blocks per game … Bria Holmes leads the Mountaineers with 16.7 points per game, which is third in the Big 12 … Holmes is the Big 12’s active career scoring leader with 1,846 points … Lanay Montgomery is fifth in the Big 12 with 8.6 rebounds per game … Montgomery is second in the league with a 61.9 field goal percentage and 2.8 blocks per game … In conference only games, Roberson leads the Big 12 with 3.6 offensive rebounds per game and is third with 9.6 rebounds per contest … Roberson’s 2.6 steals per contest are second in league-only games … with its next victory, WVU can reach the 20-win plateau for the 10th time under Mike Carey and the 13th time in program history.
Coach Mike Carey after Saturday’s loss at Oklahoma State: “It’s very important for us to bounce back. We already started talking about Oklahoma as soon as the game was over. In this league, you’ve got to win your home games and try to sneak some wins away on the road. We’ve got a home game against Oklahoma on Wednesday and that’s the most important game right now.”
This Week in Women’s Tennis: After three matches on the road, West Virginia returns home for a match against Buffalo on Friday, Feb. 19 … the match is set to begin at noon … the Mountaineers will then travel to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, for a neutral site match against James Madison at the Greenbrier on Sunday, Feb. 21 … competition is set to begin at 10 a.m. … admission is free for both events … the team will also host a meet and greet and autograph session with its fans immediately following the James Madison match on Sunday.
Last Week in Women’s Tennis: West Virginia dropped back-to-back nonconference matches on the road, as the team fell to 3-3 overall this season … the Mountaineers came up just short in a hard-fought battle against Liberty (3-3) by a score of 4-3 on Feb. 12, in Lynchburg, Virginia … West Virginia then dropped a 7-0 decision at No. 47 Virginia Tech (5-1) on Feb. 14, in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Notes: Habiba Shaker leads the team in singles play with an overall record of 5-1 … sophomores Lyn Yuen Choo and Carolina Lewis and freshman Paula Goetz have three wins each, followed by senior Hailey Barrett and sophomore Yvon Martinez with two victories … the doubles tandem of Shaker and Barrett hold a team-best 5-1 record at the No. 1 slot this season … West Virginia and Buffalo will meet for the fourth time in program history this Friday, as the Mountaineers look to tie the all-time series record at two apiece … West Virginia is 9-20 all-time against James Madison.
Coach Miha Lisac: “We have to get better at preparing our mental side of the game. We have to take advantage of the opportunities given to us. We have to understand our game, and we have to be ready to seize the moment when it comes. I thought we prepared well, and we put ourselves in position to be successful in certain matches, but we did not rise to the occasion this weekend.”
This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers return to the WVU Coliseum after three straight road meets and play host to No. 22 Kentucky on Sunday, Feb. 21, in the fourth annual Wendy M. Roach Pink Meet Invitational at 2 p.m. … all fans are encouraged to wear pink Sunday afternoon to promote breast cancer awareness … the Mountaineers will accept sundry item donations, such as scarves, nail polish, books, body lotion and socks, for donation to Morgantown’s Betty Puskar Breast Care Center … the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a pink rally towel, courtesy of WVU Medicine … additionally, Mr. Twister also will be in attendance.
Last Week in Gymnastics: Then ranked No. 24, WVU (2-5, 0-3) tallied its third straight road score of 195.0 or better with a 197.375-195.25 loss at No. 4 Alabama on Feb. 14, at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama … the Mountaineers had strong showings on the first three events, scoring a season high on vault (49.225) and a season-best road mark on floor (49.1) and bars (48.875) … junior Alexa Goldberg and sophomore Zaakira Muhammad paced the team on bars and floor, scoring 9.85 on both events and finishing tied for third place … Muhammad also matched her career-high vault score of 9.9 and tied for the event win … senior Audrey Tolbert matched her beam career-high score of 9.8 and finished in fifth place.
Notes: WVU has now scored 195.0 or better in five of its six meets this season … the team’s final score matched its season-best road mark, first earned in a loss at No. 2 Oklahoma on Fb. 7. … the squad’s vault score was its best mark since earning 49.25 on Feb. 24, 2013, inside the WVU Coliseum … sophomore Robyn Bernard opened the team’s vault rotation with a career-best 9.875 vault and finished in third place … freshman Tiara Wright made her career beam debut and scored 9.725 … with the loss, WVU dropped to 0-6 all-time against Alabama.
This week in Track and Field: West Virginia returns to State College, Pennsylvania, for the third time this season, as it competes at the Penn State Tune Up on Saturday, Feb. 20, inside the Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.
Last week in Track and Field: The West Virginia University track and field team posted seven victories at the High Point Team Challenge, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Feb. 11 ... the Mountaineers also posted eight top-four finishes at the meet ... competition started with sophomore Millie Paladino claiming the victory in the women’s one mile with a time of 4:44.02 ... junior Amy Cashin finished second for WVU in 4:47.36 ... senior Marsielle McBeam won the women’s high jump, marking 1.70 meters, while senior Hannah Stone placed second in the event, jumping 1.63 meters ... the next victory of the night came from freshman Danique Bryan in the long jump. Bryan leaped 5.38 meters ... Stone placed second in the long jump, marking 5.36 meters ... sophomore Bria Welker led the Mountaineers with their fourth win on the day in the 400 meter run ... Welker crossed the finish line with a time of 58.87 ... the Mountaineers earned the fifth victory from freshman Candace Jones in the 800 meter run. Jones finished first with a time of 2:12.55.
Notes: Former WVU runner Clara (Grandt) Santucci competed in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trial marathon on Feb. 13, in Los Angeles, California ... this was Santucci’s second Olympic Trial as she ran in the 2012 trials ... unfortunately, Santucci did not finish the marathon due to an injury.
Coach Sean Cleary after the High Point Team Challenge: “This was an enjoyable meet from start to finish. While we were expecting more from a few of the women, we did have some very good performances. Running on a flat 200 meters track provides an opportunity to throw the stop watch away and simply compete. The jumpers had a very nice weekend a week ago, but they seemed a little off today. We need to continue working on consistency and not allowing small things get in the way of big performances. I was especially pleased with Tori (Bertrand) and Candace (Jones). Our coaches expect a great deal out of our athletes, and we need to keep getting better.”
This Week in Swimming and Diving: The Mountaineers have one more week off from competition before they compete for a Big 12 title at the 2016 Big 12 Championship, Feb. 24-27, in Austin, Texas.
Last Week in Swimming and Diving: The Mountaineers were idle from competition.
Notes: Senior Andrew Marsh was named the Big 12 Men’s Swimmer of the Week by the Big 12 Conference for the second time this season on Feb. 11 ... in a pair of meets on back-to-back days, Marsh won every race he competed in in WVU’s Senior Night victory over Villanova on Jan. 29 along with adding a pair of top-eight finishes the following day in a quad meet at Ohio State that featured two top-15 teams … it is Marsh’s second Big 12 Swimmer of the Week accolade of the season after he was honored on Nov. 5 … senior Max Spencer and sophomore diver Alex Obendorf also have been recognized by the Big 12 Conference in 2015-16.
This Week in Rifle: The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team will shoot for an NCAA qualifying score on Saturday, Feb. 20, inside the WVU Rifle Range … competition is set to begin at 8 a.m.
Last Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers (12-0, 8-0 GARC) earned their third straight Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) regular-season title with a 4714-4636 victory over No. 14 Navy on Thursday, Feb. 11, at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range … the Mountaineers swept their GARC opponent in both guns, winning air rifle, 2381-2339, and smallbore, 2333-2297 … with the victory over the Midshipmen, the Mountaineers captured their third regular-season conference title in a row to hold a conference-best nine titles … West Virginia also went undefeated in conference play for the third consecutive season.
Notes: Junior Jean-Pierre Lucas shot a career-high score 598 (100, 99, 100, 99, 100, 100) air rifle and finished first, while freshman Ginny Thrasher shot 596 (97, 100, 100, 99, 100, 100) and placed second … seniors Garrett Spurgeon (594) and Patrick Sunderman (593) placed third and fourth, respectively, while senior Meelis Kiisk and freshman Will Anti tied for fifth place with 592s … Anti matched a career-high score 592 on the night … Anti last shot a 592 against then-ranked No. 9 Army on Nov. 14, 2015, at the WVU Rifle Range … a Mountaineer also finished first in smallbore, as Kiisk matched his career-high 590 (196 kneeling, 200 prone, 194 standing) mark … senior Michael Bamsey also matched his career-high score 588 (198 kneeling, 199 prone, 191 standing) to place second … Kisk and Bamsey last shot 590 and 588 marks, respectively, during the team’s NCAA record-setting victory over Akron on Jan. 17, at the WVU Rifle Range … of not, Anti and Kiisk each shot a program-record 200 prone in Thursday’s match … with the win, West Virginia owns a 25-8 all-time series record over Navy.
This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia will host Clarion on Friday evening at 8 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum … seniors Chris Nelson, Ross Renzi, Bubba Scheffel and A.J. Vizcarrondo will be honored during the match … the Mountaineers are also slated to take on Edinboro on Saturday at 7 p.m., in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
Last Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers suffered a pair of Big 12 setbacks on the road last weekend … No. 12/13 Zeke Moisey, No. 9/10 Jacob A. Smith, A.J. Vizcarrondo, Bubba Scheffel and Connor Flynn each earned decision wins as the Mountaineers dropped an 18-15 dual to the No. 24 South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Frost Arena in Brookings, South Dakota, on Friday … Smith, No. 17 Dylan Cottrell and Zachary Moore each earned a win, with Cottrell taking a 16-0 technical fall as WVU dropped a 28-11 match at No. 16 Iowa State in Ames on Sunday.
Notes: Five Mountaineers are ranked in the top 33 in their respective weights in the second NCAA Coaches’ Panel Index while seven WVU wrestlers are in the top-33 in RPI, released by the NCAA on Thursday ... Moisey ranks at No. 14 in the CPI and 13th in the RPI at 125 pounds, while freshman Keegan Moore ranks 30th in the RPI at 133. Dylan Cottrell is 16th at 157 pounds in the CPI and 17th in the RPI ... freshman Connor Flynn is 31st at 165 pounds in the CPI after having his redshirt pulled in early December ... Bubba Scheffel has moved up to 27th in the CPI and 14th in the RPI after upsetting No. 15 Pete Renda of N.C. State at 184 pounds last week ... Jacob A. Smith rounds out the WVU crew in the CPI, ranking at No. 11 at 197 ... Smith ranks third in the RPI ... Tony DeAngelo also appears in the top-33 for RPI, ranking 21st at 141 pounds, while Vizcarrondo is 29th at heavyweight in the CPI ... the rankings are used as part of the selection process to determine qualifiers for the 2016 NCAA National Championships in New York City.
Coach Sammie Henson after last weekend’s matches: “Our men fought the whole match and had some great wins. We need to continue building and remain with the system. Good things will happen with a lot of determination and the right mindset.”
This Week in Rowing: The West Virginia University rowing team is idle until the start of its spring season.
Last Week in Rowing: The Mountaineers were idle last week.
Notes: The rowing novice team swept Duquesne, Pitt and Carnegie Mellon to conclude the fall season on Saturday, Nov. 7, on the Allegheny River … the novice 8 ‘A’ boat raced to a first-place finish with a time of 11:11.86, five seconds ahead of Pitt … the Novice 8 ‘B’ boat also won, finishing in front of Pitt with a time of 10:37.8 on a course approximately 200 meters shorter than the first novice 8 competition … in the last two races of the day, West Virginia finished first with a time of 11:40.8 in the Novice 4 ‘A’ race, followed by another first-place finish in the Novice 4 ‘B’ race … the Head of the Occoquan was the first regatta of the season for the novice team on Saturday, Oct. 31 … eight of the Mountaineers’ 10 boats posted top-10 finishes on the Occoquan Reservoir … WVU’s four medals came with first-and second-place finishes in the Women’s Collegiate Novice 4+, a bronze-medal finish in the Women’s Collegiate Novice 8 and a fifth-place finish in the Women’s Championship 4+ … the WVU rowing team also had a strong showing in its fall season opener at the Head of the Ohio, on Saturday, Oct. 3 … the Mountaineers placed first and third in the Women’s Open 4+ and second in the Women’s Open 8 … to open the day, West Virginia finished second in the Women’s Open 8, as it faced 12 boats to take a silver medal back home to Morgantown.
This Week in Golf: After a winter hiatus, the West Virginia University golf team hits the links to start the spring portion of the schedule on Monday when the Mountaineers compete in the President’s Day Challenge at Shadow Hawk Golf Club in Richmond, Texas … all 10 WVU golfers will compete in the event, with Easton Renwick, Max Sear, Mason Short, Chris Williams and Alan Cooke playing for the team score ... Avery Schneider, Tristan Nicholls, Jon Ransone, Cole Hand and Tae Wan Lee will participate as individuals … the par-72, 7,207-yard long course at Shadow Hawk GC boasts a Rees Jones design ... opened in 2000, it was named one of Golf Digest Magazine’s Best New Private Courses in its first year of operation and was named one of the top-30 courses in Texas by the publication in 2013-14 ... Shadow Hawk has a course rating of 74.7 and a slope rating of 133 on Bermuda grass.
Last Week in Golf: WVU has been idle since competing in the Quail Valley Intercollegiate Oct. 26-27.
Coach Sean Covich: “We’re looking forward to a great schedule in the spring. The competition will only get more difficult as we head to No. 3 Florida State, Mississippi State, Ohio State, No. 20 Penn State, No. 18 Vanderbilt, plus Big 12s to face teams like No. 8 Texas, No. 13 Oklahoma and No. 17 Oklahoma State. This spring will certainly be a challenge for our guys, but when you are member of the Big 12 you can’t run and hide, so we are looking forward to the competition this spring.”
This Week in WVU Baseball: The WVU baseball team opens the 2016 season with a weekend series at Charleston Southern … the season lidlifter is set for 4 p.m. ET, on Friday, Feb. 19 in Charleston, South Carolina … the series continues on Saturday at 2 p.m. and concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Notes: WVU returns 19 players, including 11 pitchers, from last year’s squad that finished 27-27 … sophomore Kyle Davis was named to the NCBWA Preseason All-America Third Team after he earned five Freshman All-America Team accolades last year … WVU was voted sixth in the Big 12 coaches preseason poll … the 11 pitchers returning accounted for 26 of 27 wins and 435.1 of 482.2 innings pitched in 2015 … in the field and at the plate, six of nine starters return from 2015, while eight of WVU’s 15 position players return in 2016 … single game and season tickets are now available for the 30-game home schedule at Monongalia County Ballparks … tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-WVU GAME, purchasing tickets online at WVUGAME.com or visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum.
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