Cooke Named Student-Athlete of the Week
April 18, 2016 01:54 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Following his record-setting performance at the Rutherford Intercollegiate at Penn State on Sunday, junior Alan Cooke of the West Virginia University men’s golf team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.
Cooke posted a number of season bests in leading the WVU golf team to the runner-up finish at the Rutherford Intercollegiate. The Parkersburg, West Virginia, native set a new school record with a score of 70-70-67=207, finishing as the individual runner-up at six under par. He fired a 67 in the final round, tying not only his personal low round but the lowest round by a Mountaineer this season.
The tournament was Cooke’s best finish of the season and ties the best finish of any WVU golfer this year, as Max Sear was previously the runner-up at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate in October. Their second-place finish is the Mountaineers’ best of the season, while their team score of 859 was their lowest three-round team score in their return as a varsity sport.
This Week in Baseball: WVU’s nine game homestand concludes on Tuesday, April 16 vs. Youngstown State at 6:30 p.m. ET ... it will be Dollar Day at Monongalia County Ballpark, where all tickets and select concession items are just $1 ... tickets remain available for the game and can be purchased at the gate or online at WVUGAME.com ... WVU then takes to the road for a Big 12 series at Oklahoma from April 22-24 ... first pitch in the opener is set for 7 p.m. ET, while the final two games in Norman will begin at 1 p.m.
Last Week in Baseball: West Virginia went 1-3 last week, capped by a comeback victory against Kansas State on Sunday ... WVU rallied with four two-out runs in the eighth inning to beat the Wildcats, 5-4 ... in the series opener against K-State, WVU rallied with four runs to tie the game in the seventh, but it was not enough in an 8-6 loss. K-State won on Saturday, 15-2 ... to begin the week, WVU lost to Pitt, 4-1 … in Sunday’s comeback win, the Mountaineers trailed 4-1 before a four-run eighth inning ... all five of WVU’s runs came with two outs against the Wildcats ... with the bases loaded, the eighth-inning rally was highlighted by a two-run single to tie the game by freshman pinch hitter Braden Zarbnisky ... freshman right fielder Darius Hill then hit an infield single to the K-State shortstop that scored the go-ahead run ... on the mound for the Mountaineers, sophomore right-hander BJ Myers (4-3) turned pitched 8.0 strong innings to earn his fourth win of the season and second in as many weeks ... senior righty Blake Smith pitched a perfect ninth inning, with two strikeouts, to pick up his fourth save of the year.
Notes: West Virginia improved to 18-16 on the season after Sunday’s comeback win against Kansas State … a total of 5,744 fans filled Monongalia County Ballpark for the weekend series against Kansas State, the third-largest total attendance for a series in the ballpark’s history … Saturday’s crowd of 2,304 was the eighth-largest home crowd in program history and fourth-best at Monongalia County Ballpark … freshman Darius Hill recorded his team-best fourth game-winning RBI and continues to lead the team with 46 hits and 26 RBIs … freshman Ivan Vera extended his hitting streak to 10 games and his reached base streak to 13 games, both the longest active streak on the team and career-high totals … sophomore BJ Myers earned his fourth win of the season, pitching 8.0 innings and allowing four runs on eight hits in Sunday’s win … senior Blake Smith pitched a perfect ninth inning and earned his fourth save of the season on Sunday … junior Jackson Cramer’s on-base streak was snapped at 50 games, which was the longest active streak in the Big 12 … Friday, sophomore Kyle Davis hit his fourth home run of the season.
This Week in Women’s Tennis: The Mountaineers (6-12, 0-7) return home to host their final pair of Big 12 matches this season … West Virginia welcomes TCU on Friday, April 22, followed by Texas Tech on Sunday, April 24 … Friday’s contest is set to begin at 4 p.m., while Sunday’s match is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. … Sunday’s match is Senior Day, as the Mountaineers will honor their lone senior Hailey Barrett.
Last Week in Women’s Tennis: WVU dropped a pair of Big 12 road matches on April 16 on April 17, respectively … the Mountaineers dropped a 5-0 decision to No. 25 Texas on April 16, followed by a 4-0 loss to No. 45 Baylor on April 17.
Notes: Sophomore Habiba Shaker leads the team in singles play with an overall record of 12-3, followed by freshman Paula Goetz with seven singles victories ... sophomores Lyn Yuen Choo and Carolina Lewis each own six singles wins apiece … the doubles tandem of senior Hailey Barrett and Shaker holds a team-best 7-3 mark at the No. 1 slot, while the duo of junior Kaja Mrgole and Choo hold a perfect 5-0 record at the No. 3 slot this season.
Coach Miha Lisac after the match at No. 45 Baylor: “Score wise, it was a tough day on the courts. Baylor played well. However, there is progress that we can take away from this weekend and apply it to our upcoming week of work in order to prepare for TCU and Texas Tech. We are focusing on playing our best tennis when we go into the conference tournament. We will take lessons from the matches this weekend, and we will work on being better prepared.”
This week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers will split to compete at the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville, Virginia, at Lannigan Field and at the Jesse Owens Classic in Columbus, Ohio, at Jesse Owens Memorial Track from April 22-23.
Last Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers completed the two-day Bison Outdoor Classic from April 16-17, with a pole vault victory and multiple career-best and season-best times, in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania ... with perfect weather over the weekend, the event was highlighted by senior Tori Bertrand’s victory in the pole vault and six top-five finishes ... for the second weekend in a row, Bertrand won the pole vault, marking 3.75 meters ... sophomore Sara Finfrock placed third, vaulting a personal-best mark, tying 3.60 meters ... senior Hannah Stone tied for second place in the high jump with a season-best mark of 1.70 meters ... sophomore Shamoya McNeil placed third in the long jump, leaping a career-best 5.80 meters ... McNeil improved .81 meters from her previous best set in the 2015 indoor season ... freshman Danique Bryan notched a top-five finish, placing fifth with a season-best mark of 5.78 meters ... in the 100-meter hurdles, sophomore Meghan Jean-Baptiste took fourth place with a time of 14.86 ... sophomore Bria Welker ran in the 400-meter dash, placing fifth with a personal-best time of 56.61 ... Welker shed .59 seconds off her previous best, set during the 2014 indoor season.
Coach Sean Cleary after the Bison Outdoor Classic: “We had a very good weekend. The weather was perfect, and with that came the many performances that we were looking for. The vast majority of our group had either lifetime or season-best marks. If we can get a few more weekends like this, we will be setting ourselves up for a very successful season. For those that did compete up to the standards that have been set for them, it’s very simple. Go home, take care of business in practice and in the classroom. Time management is imperative as we draw closer to the postseason and final exams. Only those that can manage both aspects of their lives will be standing when the last important meet arrives.”
This Week in Golf: West Virginia takes the week off before heading to the Big 12 Championships in Trinity, Texas, on April 29.
Last Week in Golf: The Mountaineers capped their first regular season in three decades with a runner-up finish at the Rutherford Intercollegiate on Sunday at Penn State … it marked WVU’s top finish of the season… the team shot 284-284-285=853 to finish one over … only No. 31 Penn State (843) finished ahead … Alan Cooke and Max Sear both posted top-10 finishes … Cooke was the individual runner-up with a score of 207 for six under … Sear shot a 208 to finish fourth … Tristan Nicholls also finished in the top 25, shooting a 219 for 22nd.
Notes: WVU posted its lowest team score of the season with an 853 at Penn State, besting its previous low by six strokes … Alan Cooke set a new record with a 207 … Cooke and Max Sear each fired a 67 in the final round, tying the lowest individual round of the season … it marked the second time this year Cooke has shot a 67 in tournament play … Sear’s fourth-place finish was his third top-10 finish of the year … both Tristan Nicholls (219) and Chris Williams (223) posted their lowest three-round scores of the season as well.
Coach Sean Covich after the Rutherford Intercollegiate: “I’m very proud of the guys this week. We showed we can compete and, more importantly, our guys now believe in themselves. We have some validation for our hard work. This will provide some momentum for our young program.”
This Week in Rowing: The Mountaineers return to the water this week for a scrimmage against Duquesne on Saturday, April 23, in Pittsburgh … competition is set to begin at 8 a.m. on the Allegheny River.
Last Week in Rowing: The Mountaineers were idle last week.
Notes: WVU last competed at the prestigious Knecht Cup Regatta from April 9-10, in West Windsor Township, New Jersey … the two-day event featured crews from 70 schools across the country, including more than a dozen Division I women’s programs … Big 12 foes Alabama, Kansas and Old Dominion competed on Mercer Lake as well … the novice four crew placed sixth out of 30 entries with a Grand Final time of 8:11.70 … the second varsity eight boat finished in fourth place with a Petite Final time of 7:01.00 … overall, WVU placed 10th out of 27 entries in the Second Varsity Eight event.
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SWIM: What it Means to Become a Mountaineer
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