Smith Named Student-Athlete of the Week

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Following a two-win weekend, senior Jacob A. Smith of the WVU wrestling team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

VSR

Jacob A. Smith led West Virginia with a 2-0 mark in Big 12 action this weekend. Smith first won a 3-2 decision over Oklahoma State’s Derek White on Friday to pick up his first league win of the season. After a scoreless first, Smith scored an escape from the defensive position in the second period for a 1-0 lead. He rode White for more than a minute in the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie on riding time for the win.

Smith then moved to 2-0 with a 3-1 decision over No. 20 Brad Johnson in Sunday’s dual at Oklahoma. Smith scored a takedown in the final 30 seconds of the first period for a 2-0 lead before making it 3-0 with a second-period escape. He yielded an escape to Johnson in the third, but ultimately took the 3-1 decision.

This Week in Women’s Basketball: No. 22/23 West Virginia returns home to host Texas Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 25, in a 7 p.m. tilt at the WVU Coliseum … Wednesday’s contest is Faculty/Staff night … all WVU faculty and staff are admitted free … the Mountaineers then hit the road for a matchup at No. 12/12 Texas on Sunday, Jan. 29 … tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT in Austin, Texas … the game is televised on FS1 … the second Mike Carey Show of the season is set for Monday, Jan. 23 … the show airs from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Kegler’s, Morgantown’s most popular sports bar, on various affiliates across the state on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG and WVUsports.com.

Last Week in Women’s Basketball: The Mountaineers went 1-1 last week with a 62-51 win at Kansas and a 79-73 setback at No. 2/2 Baylor … Lanay Montgomery and Teana Muldrow combined for double-doubles in the victory over the Jayhawks … Montgomery tallied 15 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked six shots in the win … Muldrow followed with 12 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and a personal-best six assists … Tynice Martin led the way with 21 points … in a road loss at Baylor, the Mountaineers gave the Lady Bears their toughest challenge in nearly two months … WVU led for 3:21 in the first and second quarters and trimmed the game to four points late in the fourth quarter … the 73 points were the most scored against BU this season and the closest margin of victory for the Lady Bears in league play … Muldrow led the way with 20 points and eight rebounds in the setback.

Notes: West Virginia is 15-1 this season when outrebounding its opponent … Montgomery registered her eighth double-double this season against Kansas, while Muldrow netted her fourth … with Kansas shooting 27.6 percent from the field, the Jayhawks became the 14th Mountaineer opponent this season to shoot less than 40 percent from the field in a contest ... Since Feb. 1, 2015, West Virginia is 6-0 in its next game after losing back-to-back games … WVU’s 73 points were the most points scored against Baylor in Big 12 play this season … Baylor led by six at halftime, marking the closest margin that the Lady Bears have seen at halftime in a Big 12 game this season … Martin recorded 18 points against the Lady Bears and has scored in double-figures in 22 straight games.

Quote from coach Mike Carey after Saturday’s loss at Baylor: “I thought both teams played hard and aggressive. I thought Baylor executed down the stretch better than we did. We got into a little bit of foul trouble deep inside. They are so deep in the post and we’re not. So, when we get into foul trouble in the post, it hurts us a lot more than it does them. Give our players a lot of credit. They played hard. Baylor played hard.”

This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers (1-2, 0-1) stay at the WVU Coliseum and play host to No. 7 Denver, Temple and Towson on Sunday, Jan. 29, with the team’s first quad meet of the season set to begin at 2 p.m. … it’s “Teacher Appreciation Day,” and WVU faculty and staff members, as well as all teachers at any level, will be admitted free with a valid employee ID … fans who bring books and school supplies for a donation also will receive free admission … also, the first 150 youth gymnasts inside the Coliseum that afternoon will receive a free WVU gymnastics t-shirt, and Mr. Twister will be in attendance to make balloon creations and offer face painting.

Last Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers tallied a season-high score but lost to No. 1 Oklahoma, 197.925-195.55, on Jan. 21, in their home opener at the WVU Coliseum … WVU finished with season highs on floor (49.2) and uneven bars (48.8), while also scoring 48.95 on vault and 48.6 on balance beam … sophomore Kirah Koshinski had the team’s top individual mark, matching her floor career high of 9.95 and tying for second place … Koshinski and junior Zaakira Muhammad tied for fifth place on vault with 9.85s … sophomore Tiara Wright placed fourth on bars with a season-best 9.825, while senior Brooklyn Doggette finished a team-best fourth on balance beam with a 9.825, matching her career high first hit in 2015.

Notes: WVU competed in front of 2,076 fans, the 13th-best attendance mark in program history … junior Robyn Bernard and freshman Chloe Cluchey hit for a season-best 9.75 on vault … junior Jordan Gillette matched her bars career high of 9.775 … WVU tallied four scores of 9.8 or better on floor, including a season-high 9.85 from Muhammad and career-best 9.825 and 9.8 marks from freshman Kassidy Cumber and Bernard, respectively … freshman Julia Merwin also earned a career-high 9.775 on floor … OU freshman Maggie Nichols earned each event win and became the first visiting gymnast to earn a 10.0 on any event inside the WVU Coliseum, as she hit the perfect score on vault … she also finished first in the all-around with a 39.875 mark.

This Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers start competition on the road as they travel to University Park, Pennsylvania, to compete at the two-day PSU National Open on Jan. 27-28 … Friday’s events are set to begin at 5:00 p.m. ET, and Saturday’s events begin at 9:00 a.m. ET.

Last Week in Track and Field: West Virginia did not compete

Notes: Last year, the Mountaineers posted six top-five finishes, three in second and two in third, on the final day of the PSU National Invitational … WVU added two career-best times and two season-best times.

This Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers (2-10, 0-2) do not compete this week.

Last Week in Wrestling: West Virginia suffered a pair of setbacks in Big 12 action in Oklahoma last week … the Mountaineers fell to No. 1 Oklahoma State, 38-3, on Friday evening at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater … No. 6 Jacob A. Smith got the lone win of the day for WVU at 197, winning a 3-2 decision over Derek White … on Sunday, WVU dropped a 37-6 match to No. 14-ranked Oklahoma at McCasland Field House in Norman … Cory Stainbrook won a 4-2 decision over Jacob Rubio at 133 … Smith picked up his second win of the weekend with a 3-1 win over No. 20 Brad Johnson.

Notes: Cory Stainbrook leads the Mountaineers with 12 wins on the season … tied with Christian Monserrat (149) for a team-best three pins … Dylan Cottrell (165) leads the team with four bonus-point victories … he boasts a pair of tech. falls, a major decision and a pin on the season … Jacob A. Smith is undefeated in Big 12 action at 2-0, while Stainbrook also has a pair of Big 12 wins on the season … Smith and Cottrell continue to rank in the top-20 of the nation at 197 and 165, respectively … Smith ranks at No. 6 via InterMat and FloWrestling … Cottrell is No. 8 according to InterMat and No. 10 via Flo.

Quotes from WVU coach Sammie Henson following Sunday’s loss at OU: “We had some heartbreaking losses in winnable matches by Devin (Brown) and Christian (Monserrat). I don’t think this match was indicative of what we can accomplish.”

This Week in Rifle: The No. 2 Mountaineers do not compete this week.

Last Week in Rifle: WVU (10-0, 7-0 GARC) earned two wins in Morgantown over the weekend, defeating No. 16 Navy, 4725-4651, on Jan. 20, and No. 8 Nebraska, 4710-4646, on Jan. 22 … the Mountaineers defeated the Midshipmen in smallbore (2341-2311) and air rifle (2384-2340) … WVU also earned the smallbore (2344-2303) and air rifle (2366-2343) wins vs. the Cornhuskers … freshman Milica Babic shot a career-high 598 for the air rifle win on Friday … sophomore Will Anti matched his career-high smallbore score of 590 and took the win against Navy … Babic also won air rifle on Sunday with a 597 … she also placed second in smallbore with a career-best 589, which included a school-record 199 standing mark … sophomore Ginny Thrasher won smallbore Sunday with a 592 score.

Notes: WVU’s aggregate and air rifle totals Friday were season bests … Thrasher shot a school-record 200 prone on Friday … senior Jean-Pierre Lucas matched his air rifle season high of 595 on Friday and placed third overall … freshman Morgan Phillips also shot a career-best 594 air rifle on Friday … Sunday’s air rifle match was shot on the indoor track inside the WVU Shell Building … five Mountaineers counted toward the team’s totals in both matches: junior Elizabeth Gratz, Babic, Lucas, Phillips and Thrasher.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: The WVU men and women return to the road for a pair of races at Bucknell and Villanova … West Virginia faces Bucknell on Friday, Jan. 27, at 6 p.m. ET, before traveling to Villanova the following day for a 1 p.m. ET matchup.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: The West Virginia University women’s swimming and diving team competed against Big 12 foe Iowa State on Saturday, Jan. 21, as the Mountaineers fell short, 153-147 at Beyer Pool in Ames, Iowa … the Mountaineers held a tight lead throughout the meet, but it came down to the final event where the Cyclones won the 200 freestyle relay … West Virginia notched eight victories, one in relay competition and seven in individual events … the Mountaineers’ day included two 1-2-3 finishes in the 200 backstroke and the 100 butterfly … freshman Morgan Bullock led WVU with three wins, one in relay and two in individual events.

Notes: Competition started off well for the Mountaineer women, as a team of freshman Julia Miranda, sophomore Emma Harris, Bullock and freshman Julia Nilton won the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:50.71 … the Mountaineers went 1-2 in the 1,000 freestyle … senior Emma Skelley won, touching the wall in 10:22.32 … freshman Alex Pampalone came in second with a season-best time of 10:29.92, shedding 9.1 seconds off of her previous season-best time … Miranda took her second victory of the day and her first individual win in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.57 … West Virginia grabbed a 1-2 finish in the 200 butterfly, as Bullock won with a time of 2:04.29 … WVU went 1-2-3 in the 200 backstroke, thanks to junior Amelie Currat’s win in 2:03.06 … in the 200 breaststroke, Harris’ 2:18.72 won the race for the Mountaineers … Skelley claimed her second individual win of the day in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:58.98 … West Virginia added its second 1-2-3 finish in the 100 butterfly … Bullock scored her second individual win with a 57.66 … on springboard, sophomores Madelyn Woods and Julia Calcut posted top-two finishes … Woods placed second on 3-meter, scoring 273.60, and Calcut finished second on 1-meter with a score of 302.65.

Coach Vic Riggs after the women fell short at Iowa State: “I couldn’t be prouder of these ladies. We knew it was going to be close and knowing that each of these ladies competed and fought like Mountaineers today, we just ran out of bodies at the end. It is certainly disappointing to lose such a close meet but many of our swims were as good as last week, which is great considering we’re on the road.”

This Week in Tennis: WVU will open its home slate this weekend with back-to-back matches on Saturday, January 28, against Akron and on Sunday, January 29, against Maryland … Saturday’s match is slated to begin at 11 a.m., while Sunday’s match will begin at noon … both matches will be held at the Ridgeview Racquet Club in Morgantown.

Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia opened its dual-match season on Saturday with the 36th edition of the Backyard Brawl at Pitt … the Mountaineers fell to the Panthers 6-1 in Pittsburgh at the Alpha Tennis and Fitness Club … on Sunday, The Mountaineers got off to a fast start against Penn State when they took the doubles point and led 3-1 … the Mountaineers weren’t able to overcome a late Penn State push and fell to the Nittany Lions 4-3 in State College

Notes: After Saturday’s 6-1 loss at Pitt, WVU now leads the series all-time 28-7 … the Mountaineers won all three doubles matches against Penn State, marking the first time that they have swept doubles play since sweeping James Madison on February 21, 2016

Quotes from WVU coach Miha Lisac following Sunday’s loss at Penn State: “Overall, we had a pretty positive start to the season. In both matches, yesterday and today, we battled well which is absolutely what we were looking for starting the season off. Unfortunately, in both matches we weren’t able to get over the hump.”

Schedule

Footer

Upcoming Events

Smith Named Student-Athlete of the Week

Related Videos

Promotional Background Photo

Footer