Thrasher Named Student-Athlete of the Week

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Following her performances at the 2016 NCAA Rifle Championships, freshman Ginny Thrasher has been named the West Virginia University Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

VSR

The native of Springfield, Virginia, helped the No. 1-ranked Mountaineers clinch their nation-best 18th national title on March 12, at the University of Akron’s Louis & Freda Stile Field House.

In addition to the team’s four-peat, Thrasher made it a clean sweep in the individual competitions. The 2016 Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) Rookie of the Year captured the NCAA smallbore (586, 461.5) and air rifle (593, 208.8) titles, and she became the second Mountaineer ever, and the first since Mountaineer alum Petra Zublasing in 2013, to claim both individual NCAA awards.

During the first day of competition, Thrasher advanced to the individual smallbore final, shooting 586 (193 kneeling, 199 prone, 194 standing) to tie for second place in the open relay. Thrasher, the 2016 GARC smallbore champion, then scored 461.5 in the individual final for the disciple win.

On day two, Thrasher finished with a team-best 593 (99, 98, 98, 99, 99, 100) air rifle in the open relay. In the individual final, Thrasher captured the title with a 208.8 final score to push the Mountaineers’ overall NCAA title count to 25.

For her efforts all weekend, Thrasher also earned the NCAA Championships’ Top Performer Award.

This Week in Baseball: WVU plays its first true mid-week game of the season when it hosts Radford on Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET at Monongalia County Ballpark ... Big 12 Conference play begins this weekend, when the Mountaineers travel to TCU for a three-game series against the Horned Frogs, beginning on Friday.

Last Week in Baseball: West Virginia won its home-opening series vs. Old Dominion, with a 4-3 win on Friday night before a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning with a 10-inning, 5-4 loss and concluding with a 12-inning, 6-5 victory ... all three victories featured comebacks for WVU, in the sixth inning on Friday, in the first and ninth innings in Saturday’s opener and in the ninth and 12th innings in Saturday’s finale.

Notes: West Virginia is 9-4 on the year after opening its home slate with a series win against Old Dominion this weekend … after a 4-3 comeback win on Friday in the series-opener against Old Dominion, WVU played a doubleheader on Saturday with both games going into extra innings, a 5-4 10-inning loss in the opener before a 12-inning, 6-5 victory in the nightcap … the Mountaineers trailed six times in the three-game series against the Monarchs and came back to erase the deficit five of those times, including twice in the ninth inning and once in the 12th … Saturday’s two extra-inning games were the first two of the season for WVU … Friday’s crowd of 1,135 was the fifth-largest crowd to see a non-conference game at Monongalia County Ballpark, only to be surpassed by Saturday’s crowd of 1,319.

Coach Randy Mazey: “Jimmy Galusky continues to impress with the way he’s playing. I’m super proud of our guys. Jimmy hit the leadoff triple to tie it in the bottom of the ninth, and then Kyle Davis scored him with the sacrifice fly. That’s four times for Jimmy to get a big hit late in the game. That’s what you can’t teach, that’s just what you’ve got inside your chest. He’s got what it takes to be a championship-type player.”

This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers travel to Frisco, Texas, for the 2016 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship on Saturday, March 19, at 5 p.m. ET, inside the Dr. Pepper Arena.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU swept a pair of meets against Pitt, winning 195.925-193.875, at the WVU Coliseum on March 11, and 195.825-195.675, at the Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh on March 13 … WVU took the win on each event Friday night, posting 49.225 on floor, 48.925 on vault and bars and 48.85 on beam … WVU’s lone event win on Sunday was on vault with a 49.05 score; the squad also totaled 49.3 on floor, 48.85 on beam and 48.625 on bars … sophomore Zaakira Muhammad finished first on Friday with a 39.05 score … she finished third on Sunday with a 38.75 score … freshman Kirah Koshinski won vault both days, matching her career-high score of 9.925 on Friday and scoring 9.85 on Sunday … Muhammad and senior Jaida Lawrence tied for the win Sunday … junior Alexa Goldberg won bars on Friday with a 9.875 score, and freshman Tiara Wright matched her career-high mark of 9.9 on Sunday for the outright win … senior Audrey Tolbert paced on beam on Friday with a second place, 9.825 showing, while Wright tied for the win Sunday with a career-high 9.85 … Koshinski and Goldberg tied for the floor win Friday with 9.875s … Koshinski also paced on floor on Sunday and finished second with a 9.9.

Notes: With the wins, WVU pushes its series lead to 57-12-2 … Wright also scored a career-high 9.8 on floor both days … Friday was the WVU Coliseum career finale for seniors Lawrence, Tolbert and Melissa Idell … WVU has now scored 195.0 or better each meet since the season opener at Denver on Jan. 9 … Sunday’s score was the team’s second-best road score of the year … WVU finished a program-best second at the 2015 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship with a 195.025 score.

This Week in Women’s Basketball: West Virginia will find out its fate for the 2016 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship on Monday evening when the bracket is unveiled at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN … an NCAA Tournament berth would be the 11th all-time in program history and the ninth in 15 seasons under coach Mike Carey … the Mountaineers have a 24-9 overall record and finished third in the Big 12 Conference with a 12-6 mark … WVU has reached postseason play the past nine seasons, the longest stretch in program history.

Last Week in Women’s Basketball: West Virginia was idle last week.

This Week in Women’s Tennis: West Virginia opens Big 12 play this weekend, as the team swings through Oklahoma for a match at Oklahoma State on Saturday, March 19, followed by a contest at Oklahoma on Sunday, March 20 … both matches are slated to begin at 1 p.m. ET … West Virginia and Oklahoma State will meet for the fourth time in program history, as the Cowgirls hold a 3-0 all-time series advantage … West Virginia and Oklahoma will meet for the fifth time in program history, as the Sooners hold a 4-0 all-time series advantage.

Last Week in Women’s Tennis: The Mountaineers fell short in another 4-3 battle against Marshall on March 11, in Huntington, West Virginia, at the Bryan David Fox Tennis Center … trailing 2-0 in team scoring, the Mountaineers fought their way back into the match and tallied two straight singles victories at the No. 5 and No. 2 position to tie the match at two-all … sophomore Lyn Yuen Choo defeated Marshall’s Anne Gulsrud in straight sets (6-4, 6-2) at the No. 5 slot … Shaker then cruised past Marshall’s Morales (6-4, 6-4) to tally her fifth straight singles win at the No. 2 slot … with the match tied at two apiece, Goetz fell to Marshall’s Pomyatinskaya by a score of 6-2, 6-4 … sophomore Carolina Lewis tied the match once again, as she defeated Marshall’s Silver by a score of 6-4, 6-4 … the match point came down to the No. 6 position, as sophomore Yvon Martinez suffered a setback against Marshall’s Marija Bogicevic by a score of 6-3, 7-6.

Notes: Sophomore Habiba Shaker leads the team in singles play with an overall record of 10-1 … sophomore Carolina Lewis and freshman Paula Goetz each own six singles wins, followed by sophomore Lyn Yuen Choo with five singles victories … the doubles tandem of Barrett and Shaker holds a team-best 7-3 mark at the No. 1 slot this season.

Coach Miha Lisac after the match at Marshall: “The doubles point was huge, and it cost us the match overall. It was a good battle, and we had players respond well in singles play, but the doubles point was huge today. Overall, we responded well going from doubles to singles, and we battled back into the match.”

This Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers open the 2016 outdoor season at the Wake Forest Open in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on March 18-19.

Last Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers were idle from competition last week … the team closed the indoor campaign at the 2016 Big 12 Indoor Championship in Ames, Iowa, on Feb. 26-27, hosted by Iowa State at the Lied Recreation Athletic Facility.

Notes: Six student-athletes of the WVU track and field/cross country teams were honored by the Big 12 Conference as recipients of the 2016 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award: Allie Diehl, Maggie Drazba, Peyton Hampson, Brianna Kerekes, Corinne Kule and Sydney Scott.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: The Mountaineers remain idle from competition before senior Andrew Marsh represents WVU at the 2016 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships from March 23-26 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: Eight Mountaineer divers competed at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships from March 8-9, in Annapolis, Maryland ... on the first day of competition, sophomore Michael Proietto advanced to the finals on the men’s 3-meter, and placed 14th in the finals with a 316.3 and a combined score of 615.15 ... on the second day of competition, WVU saw three divers advance to the finals: sophomores Alex Obendorf and Proietto on the men’s 1-meter and freshman Julia Calcut on the women’s 3-meter ... Proietto finished eighth overall, scoring 598.10 combined and Obendorf placed 10th with a combined score of 595.30 ... Calcut finished 16th in the finals, thanks to a 505.30 combined score... Proietto and Calcut advanced to the finals on platform on the third day of competition for West Virginia ... Proietto placed 12th in the finals, scoring 519.55 and Calcut placed 12th overall with a score of 385.85.

Notes: On March 9, the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving committee announced the 2016 qualifiers for the NCAA Championships and senior Andrew Marsh qualified for his second-consecutive NCAA Championships, as he met the NCAA qualifying time standards in three events to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships ... Marsh is seeded No. 6 nationally among 54 swimmers in the 100 backstroke and is seeded 19th in the 100 freestyle and No. 64 in the 50 freestyle.

WVU Diving coach Mike Grapner after NCAA Zones: “Looking at the big picture I’m thrilled with the progress of such a young team. They have all made a lot of improvements this year. I’m also very thankful for the leadership and guidance of senior Lindsay Schmidt. She set the bar very high for the team this year and I’ll miss having her on the boards next season.”

WVU coach Vic Riggs on Marsh’s NCAA qualification: “The staff and I are very happy for Andrew, and his invitation to NCAAs is well deserved. This is his second trip to NCAAs, which is a tremendous accomplishment for him, and he’s only the second member of our men’s team to make it in back-to-back years since our staff arrived at WVU. One of our goals as a team is to get an individual to NCAAs and with Andrew’s invitation this will be the third year in a row that we have done that.”

WVU associate coach Damion Dennis on Marsh: “You can see how Andrew is more prepared now than he’s ever been. Having that experience from last year at NCAAs has allowed him to be more comfortable in his preparation for this year’s championships. He knows that feeling already, and I think he can be one of the best backstrokers in the country.”

This Week in Rifle: The West Virginia University rifle team concluded its 2015-16 season winning its fourth straight NCAA Championships.

Last Week in Rifle: The No. 1-ranked Mountaineers secured their nation-best 18th national title with a score of 4703, on March 12, at the University of Akron’s Louis & Freda Stile Athletics Field House … West Virginia shot a winning 2338 smallbore mark on March 11, followed by a winning 2365 air rifle score on March 12 to clinch its latest National Championship … WVU captured the NCAA smallbore and air rifle team titles for only the second time under coach Jon Hammond; the squad first achieved the feat in 2014 … the five-member counting squad also shot the second-highest score ever at the NCAA Championships, as 10-year coach Hammond won his fifth title … WVU is the first program to win four straight NCAA titles since Alaska-Fairbanks won four from 2001-04 … WVU, the seven-time reigning Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) champions, finished the 2015-16 campaign with a 12-0 overall record and an 8-0 conference mark for the team’s third straight undefeated season.

Notes: Five student-athletes shot for WVU’s counting team this weekend: seniors Garrett Spurgeon, Patrick Sunderman, Meelis Kiisk and Michael Bamsey, as well as freshman Ginny Thrasher … in addition to the team victories, Thrasher made it a clean sweep in the individual competition … the Springfield, Virginia, native captured the NCAA smallbore (586, 461.5) and air rifle (593, 208.8) titles, and she became the second Mountaineer ever to claim both individual NCAA titles … a WVU female shooter has now won three of the last four NCAA air rifle titles, as Maren Prediger finished in first place at the 2015 NCAA Championships … Thrasher, the 17th WVU shooter to capture an individual NCAA. championship, pushed the Mountaineers’ overall count to 25 titles … for her efforts all weekend, Thrasher earned the NCAA Championships’ Top Performer Award … after the first day of competition, WVU held a comfortable eight-shot lead over No. 2-ranked Murray State … Bamsey (587), Thrasher (586), Kiisk (584), Spurgeon (581) and Sunderman (575) combined for the team smallbore score of 2338 … Bamsey shot 587 (197 kneeling, 198 prone, 192 standing), two marks shy of his career high, to place first in the open relay … Murray State’s Ivan Roe and Thrasher (193 kneeling, 199 prone, 194 standing) tied for second with 586 marks, while Kiisk shot 584 (194 standing, 199 prone, 191 standing) to tie for fifth place in the open relay … the trio then represented West Virginia in the individual final, as the Mountaineers claimed three of the top-four spots … Thrasher, the 2016 GARC smallbore champion, shot 461.5 for the discipline win … Kiisk (455.3) and Bamsey (435.3) placed second and fourth, respectively, in the individual final … in air rifle, Thrasher finished with a team-best 593 (99, 98, 98, 99, 99, 100) and 208.8 score in the individual final … Spurgeon shot 592 and just missed the final cutoff in ninth place … Kiisk and Sunderman rounded out the team score with a pair of 590 marks, good enough for a 12th-place tie … of note, Bamsey also added a 587 mark … this weekend’s championship was the career finale for Bamsey, Kiisk, Spurgeon and Sunderman.

Coach Jon Hammond said after the team’s four-peat: “I am really proud of the team, and I am glad that we were able to come out on top at the end of the weekend. It’s awesome. It’s such a huge credit to the team. This is one of the best teams that we have ever had. Their strength all year has been their consistency, and to be able to win both events is a great achievement. It is a great feeling to do that and to take away all three trophies.”

This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia heads to the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Madison Square Garden on March 17-19 … Dylan Cottrell (157) and Bubba Scheffel (184) earned automatic bids by finishing third at their respective weights at the 2016 Big 12 Championship … Jacob A. Smith (197) earned an at-large bid … Smith (30-10) is slated to meet Cornell’s Owen Scott (15-7) in the first round … Cottrell (30-9) will face No. 10 seed John Boyle of American in the first round of the 157-pound bracket … at 184, Scheffel (21-14) will take on No. 11 seed Lorenzo Thomas of Penn.

Last Week in Wrestling: West Virginia did not compete last week.

Notes: Zeke Moisey, the 2015 NCAA runner-up at 125 pounds, received an at-large bid but withdrew with an injury … as the No. 13 seed at 197 pounds, Smith is just the second Mountaineer since 2009 to enter the NCAA Championships as a seeded wrestler… Michael Morales became the first since 2009 when he started the 2015 tournament as the No. 16 seed at 141 pounds … all six sessions will be covered by ESPN … the first three sessions, as well as Saturday morning’s medal rounds will be on ESPNU … Friday’s semifinals and Saturday’s championship finals will be on ESPN … all sessions can be found on ESPN3.

Coach Sammie Henson: “The postseason is the best time of year. It’s a time for our men to prove themselves and take wins from people. While we are a bit disappointed in not having more wrestlers qualified, we continue to be encouraged by our team working as a family to prepare the wrestlers who have made it. We are looking forward to seeing all of the Mountaineer wrestling fans in New York City.”

This Week in Golf: The Mountaineers are idle from competition until April 2-3.

Last Week in Golf: Freshman Max Sear led the Mountaineers at the Seminole Intercollegiate at Southwood Country Club in Tallahassee, Florida from March 11-12 … the Mountaineers finished 14th overall with a team score of 297-300-290=894 for 30 over par ... No. 3 Auburn took the team title with a score of 290-277-283=850 for 14 under par… after finishing the first round tied for 27th place, Sear moved up 14 spots to tie for 13th in the final round … he birdied six holes in the final round and carded a 72-73-69=214 to end the tournament two under par … Easton Renwick shot 77-70-74 to finish at 221 and five over … he carded seven birdies across the final two rounds, taking 50th place overall … teammate Tristan Nicholls was 67th, finishing 12 over par with a score of 72-79-77=228.

Coach Sean Covich after the Seminole Intercollegiate: “Overall as a team, we’re obviously disappointed, but the bottom line is that there will be a lot of learning experiences during our first year. We will certainly take our hits this year, but with guys like Max, you can see we are building for the future success of this program. It might be hard to see now, but it will pay off for the future. I’m proud of the performance Max had this week, especially the final round. At one stretch he birdied four in a row, and several of those holes he birded played back into strong wind. It’s impressive stuff from a freshman.”

This Week in Rowing: The Mountaineers are idle until the North Carolina Duals on Friday, March 25, in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Lake Wheeler … West Virginia will race Old Dominion in the morning, followed by a race against North Carolina in the afternoon.

Last Week in Rowing: The Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational opened the 2016 campaign for the Mountaineers and was held at the Melton Hill Lake Rowing Venue, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the same site as the 2016 Big 12 Rowing Championship, set for May 14-15 … the two-day event was hosted by Louisville, and West Virginia raced a trio of first varsity eight, second varsi

ty eight and first varsity four crews on the 2,000-meter course … the 12-team field was highlighted by three teams ranked in this week’s USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Poll, along with three Big 12 opponents … WVU and No. 20 Louisville were joined by No. 4 Virginia, No. 11 Michigan, No. 17 Notre Dame, Alabama, UCF, Clemson, Kansas, Michigan State, Minnesota and Oklahoma.

Coach Jimmy King after the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational: “Following this weekend’s test, we see that we have a lot of work ahead of us over the next two months until we return to Oak Ridge for the Big 12 Championship. We’re pleased with how our younger athletes stepped up in all boats. Their racing experience this weekend will benefit them and our team as the season progresses.”

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