MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Following an NCAA-record performance, junior Ginny Thrasher of the No. 1-ranked rifle team has been named the West Virginia University Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.
 
A native of Springfield, Virginia, she shot a perfect 600 air rifle Sunday, finishing first in the Mountaineers' match against Army West Point at the WVU Rifle Range. Prior to Sunday, she had shot 599 six times.
 
Thrasher also finished second in smallbore on Sunday with a 589 mark.
 
On Saturday against No. 3 TCU, Thrasher swept the individual victories, shooting 599 air rifle and 593 smallbore. Included in her smallbore total was a program-record matching 199 standing score.
 
The Mountaineers completed their home fall slate at the WVU Rifle Range with a pair of wins, defeating the Horned Frogs, 4727-4717, and the Black Knights, 4733-4640.
 
This Week in Women's Soccer: No. 5 West Virginia begins play in the 2017 NCAA Tournament this weekend … the Mountaineers will learn their tournament fate this evening during the NCAA Selection Show, set to stream at NCAA.com beginning at 4:30 p.m.
 
Last Week in Women's Soccer: The second-seeded Mountaineers (15-3-2, 7-1-1) went 1-0-1 at the 2017 Big 12 Soccer Championship, defeating No. 7-seed Texas Tech, 3-1, on Nov. 1, and drawing No. 3-seed TCU, 1-1 (2OT) on Nov. 3 … the Horned Frogs advanced on a 5-3 edge in penalty kicks … senior forward Heather Kaleiohi tallied the game-winner against TTU in the 68th minute, and senior forward Michaela Abam tallied the team's third goal in the 83rd minute … senior midfielder Alli Magaletta tallied the team's first goal in the 16th minute, but the Red Raiders answered 12 minutes later … sophomore Rylee Foster made two saves for the win, and WVU outshot TTU, 25-4 … after falling behind to TCU on Friday in the 52nd minute, senior defender Amandine Pierre-Louis found the equalizer directly off a corner kick in the 77th minute … neither team could score a game-winner, and the match went to a penalty kick shootout after two, 10 minute overtimes … WVU finished with a 16-12 shot edge, and Foster made five saves while WVU forced Katie Lund into four.
 
Notes: Prior to the championship's matches, Pierre-Louis was named the co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, marking the sixth straight season a Mountaineer has claimed the honor … eight WVU players collected a conference-best eight All-Big 12 honors, including first-team recognitions for Pierre-Louis, Abam and junior defender Bianca St. Georges … 10 Mountaineers were named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team … Abam's goal Wednesday was her team-best eighth of the season, putting her season point total at 19 (8 G, 3 A) ... the score was the 40th of her career, and she ranks No. 3 in program history. 
 
This Week in Men's Soccer: West Virginia begins postseason play at top-seeded and No. 5-ranked Western Michigan on Friday, Nov. 10, at 2 p.m. ET in the Mid-American Conference Championship semifinals … the winner between No. 4 WVU and No. 1 WMU will face the winner of Friday's first semifinal match between second-seeded Akron and third-seeded SIUE in the championship game on Sunday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. at the WMU Soccer Complex.
 
Last Week in Men's Soccer: West Virginia closed the regular season with a 2-1 overtime victory at SIU-Edwardsville on Saturday night in Edwardsville, Illinois … the Mountaineers found the game-winner in the 98th minute, off the foot of sophomore Sebastian Garcia-Herreros … WVU took a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute on a penalty kick goal by junior Rushawn Larmond … the Cougars evened the score at 1-1 in the 57th minute … Garcia-Herreros and senior Jad Arslan led WVU with three shots, while Garcia-Herreros had two on net … freshman keeper Steven Tekesky made two saves for the Mountaineers … WVU had nine shots to SIUE's 13, while the Mountaineers had five shots on goal and the Cougars had three.
 
Notes: West Virginia enters the postseason with a 9-5-4 record and a 1-2-2 mark in MAC play … Saturday's match at SIUE was WVU's seventh overtime game of the season and fourth in MAC play … the Mountaineers have qualified for the MAC Championship in five of its six seasons in the conference … sophomore Albert Andres-Llop leads the team with five goals and 12 points, while junior Jorge Quintanilla has a team-best five assists and is tied for second with nine points … West Virginia's nine shutouts in 2017 ranks fifth-most in school history, while its shutout percentage of .500 is No. 17 nationally and third in the MAC.
 
Coach Marlon LeBlanc on WVU's win at SIUE: "It was a must-win game for us, and we got the job done on the road, we've been so good on the road this year. We have to give a lot of credit to SIUE for fighting back and finding the equalizer. I think we had a couple of really good chances to win it earlier, once in regulation and once at the end in overtime. We had a couple of good sequences in overtime and were really pushing for the game winner, and I'm proud of my guys for getting it done."
 
This Week in Volleyball: The Mountaineers will return to the WVU Coliseum for a three-match homestand starting with No. 19 Iowa State (17-5, 7-4) on Wednesday, Nov. 8 … Wednesday's contest is Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night, as all members are admitted free with a valid I.D. … first serve is set 6 p.m. ET inside the WVU Coliseum … West Virginia will then take on Texas Tech (14-10, 3-8) on Saturday, Nov. 11, in a 1 p.m. ET league tilt … the first 500 fans through the gate on Saturday will receive a free mini volleyball … additionally, the Mountaineers will host a free youth clinic following Saturday's match.
 
Last Week in Volleyball: West Virginia (15-10, 3-8) swept Robert Morris, 3-0, on Oct. 31 to cap its nonconference slate, before dropping a five-set thriller to Big 12 foe Oklahoma on Saturday inside McCasland FieldHouse in Norman, Oklahoma ... WVU finished the week hitting .268 with 97 kills and 20.5 team blocks … five Mountaineers tallied double-digit kills on the week, as freshman middle blocker Briana Lynch led the team with 21 … sophomore setter Erin Slinde also dished out 68 assists to average 8.50 per set last week, while senior libero Gianna Gotterba had a team-high 27 digs to average 3.38 per set.
 
Notes: WVU is currently tied for sixth place in the Big 12 standings with Texas Tech and Oklahoma … West Virginia will play against the Cyclones and Red Raiders for the second time this season … WVU suffered four-set losses to ISU (Oct. 18) and TTU (Sept. 27) in its previous meetings on the road … through 25 matches, Caffrey leads the Mountaineers in kills with 294, Slinde leads in assists with 857, freshman defensive specialist Alexa Hasting leads in digs with 266 and senior middle blocker Mia Swanegan leads in blocking at 106.0 … Caffrey also leads the squad with 39 service aces on the year … as a team, West Virginia is hitting .222 and holding its opponents to a .183 clip, while out blocking its opponents, 206.0-194.0 … Caffrey continues to lead the Big 12 with 0.42 service aces per set and ranks inside the top 10 in points (seventh) and kills (10th) … additionally, Slinde sits inside the top five in service aces (tied for fifth) and assists (fifth) … the sophomore setter averages 0.25 service aces and 9.74 assists per set … Swanegan ranks fourth in the league with 1.18 blocks per set.
 
This Week in Cross Country: The Mountaineers travel to the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on Friday, Nov. 10, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania ... the 6k race begins at 10:45 a.m. ET, at Lehigh University's Goodman Campus Cross Country Course.
 
Last Week in Cross Country: WVU was off last week.
 
Notes: Friday marks the second time WVU will compete at Lehigh this season … the Mountaineers began the regular season with a win at the Lehigh Invitational on Sept. 1 … WVU enters the regional meet ranked fourth in the Mid-Atlantic Region rankings by the USTFCCCA … the team received votes in the most recent USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll, which was released on Oct. 31 … WVU finished fourth at the Mid-Atlantic Regional last season in University Park, Pennsylvania … redshirt seniors Jillian Forsey, Maggie Drazba and Amy Cashin earned All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors in 2016 … the top-25 finishers earn the regional accolade … the Mountaineers are looking to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships as a team for the first time since 2014 … the top-two teams in each of the nine regions receive automatic bids to the national meet, while 13 more at-large bids will complete the championship field … in WVU's last race, the Mountaineers earned a fourth-place finish at the 2017 Big 12 Cross Country Championships in Round Rock, Texas … Drazba (sixth) and Cashin (13th) earned All-Big 12 honors at the meet.
 
This Week in Rifle: The No. 1 Mountaineers close their home fall slate with a pair of road matches … WVU shoots at No. 10 Memphis on Nov. 11, and No. 3 Murray State on Nov. 12.
 
Last Week in Rifle: WVU (6-0, 4-0) earned two wins at the WVU Rifle Range this weekend, defeating No. 3 TCU, 4727-4717, on Saturday, and Army West Point, 4733-4640, on Sunday … on Saturday, WVU defeated TCU in smallbore, 2345-2335, and tied in air rifle, with both teams shooting 2382 … junior Ginny Thrasher swept the individual wins, shooting a then-career-high 599 air rifle and 593 smallbore … included in her smallbore showing was a program-record matching 199 standing … on Sunday, WVU defeated Army in both disciplines, winning 2348-2301 smallbore and 2385-2339 air rifle … the team's smallbore score was a season best … Thrasher shot an NCAA record 600 air rifle, while sophomore Morgan Phillips won smallbore with a career-best 590 … included in Phillips' score was a school-record 200 prone.
 
Notes: WVU improved to 5-2 all-time against the Horned Frogs, the 2017 NCAA National Runner-Up  … redshirt-freshman David Koenders matched his career high in smallbore Saturday with a 588 mark … senior Elizabeth Gratz shot a school-record 200 prone Saturday … freshman Sarah Osborn shot a then-career-high 581 smallbore vs. TCU, and sophomore Jack Anderson tallied a season-best 560 … Anderson also shot a season-high 584 air rifle … prior to Sunday, Thrasher had shot 599 air rifle six times … Osborn finished third in smallbore on Sunday with a career-high 588 … in air rifle Sunday, sophomore Milica Babic shot a career-high matching 599 and finished second.
 
This Week in Golf: WVU has concluded play this fall.
 
Last Week in Golf: The Mountaineers traveled to Hawaii to compete in the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational at the Royal Ka'anapali Course in Lahaina, Hawaii … freshman Matthew Sharpstene shot a career-low 210 … he tied for 18th to post his second top-20 finish … the Mountaineers finished tied for 14th in the 21-team field with a score of 274-303-297=874 … they were 22-over par as a team … No. 12 LSU took home the team title at 31 under with a score of 821, followed by runner-up South Carolina at 24-under par with an 828 …  No. 15 Cal was third at 23-under par (829).
 
Notes: Eleven of the 20 teams in the field, including WVU, ranked inside the Golfstat top 100 … in addition to the No. 80 Mountaineers and the host Rainbow Warriors, No. 14 LSU, No. 15 Cal, No. 19 Kent State, No. 34 Wyoming, No. 38 South Carolina, No. 46 Kansas, No. 53 Pepperdine, No. 62 Boise State, No. 84 Indiana, No. 92 Houston, Loyola Marymount, Georgia, Ball State, Air Force, Bowling Green, Gonzaga, UConn and Sacramento State participated in the event … WVU set a program record with a team low of 274 in the first round, besting their previous low of 275 set at the Janney VCU Shootout earlier this season … it marked the final tournament of the fall for WVU … the Mountaineers resume play Feb. 4 when they take on Penn State in head-to-head action in Orlando, Florida.
 
Coach Sean Covich after the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational: "We had what I thought were some pretty solid rounds out of Tristan (Nicholls), Etienne (Papineau) and Matthew (Sharpstene). Once again, the winds blew pretty hard and those guys adjusted and fought until the end. Now we will get some much-needed time off and prepare for the spring season."
 
This Week in Swimming & Diving: WVU is off this week … The teams next compete on Nov. 17-19 at the Ohio State Invitational (swimming) in Columbus, Ohio, and Frank Elm Invitational (diving) in Piscataway, New Jersey.
 
Last Week in Swimming & Diving: The Mountaineers were off last week.
 
Notes: In WVU's last meet, the Mountaineers swept the Big 12 vs. Big East Weekend, earning dual-meet victories over Seton Hall and Xavier on Oct. 27-28 at the WVU Natatorium … the men's team topped Seton Hall, 227-53, while defeating Xavier, 224-53 … WVU's women's team took down Seton Hall, 217-63, and defeated Xavier, 198-79 … WVU saw two records fall during the two-day meet … senior diver Logan McHenry broke the school record in the 3-meter dive with a score of 380.80 … redshirt senior Nate Carr broke his third pool record of the season with a first-place performance in the 400 individual medley, earning a time of 3:54.86 … WVU won 28 of 32 total events against the Pirates and Musketeers.
 
This Week in Rowing: The varsity and novice teams will be back in action on Nov. 11, when the Mountaineers race Duquesne in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to wrap up the fall season ... the race marks the second meeting between the Dukes and Mountaineers this fall ... the varsity team has been off since it competed against Robert Morris on Oct. 21, in Morgantown.
 
Last Week in Rowing: The WVU novice rowing team opened the fall season by securing a victory in the novice eight race and three top-10 finishes at the 33rd Annual Head of the Occoquan in Fairfax Station, Virginia, on Nov. 4 ... the Mountaineers kicked off the regatta with three entries in the novice women's four race, where WVU saw all three boats finish in the top 10 ... WVU's A boat, coxed by Olivia Martinelli and rowed by Madelynne Jones, Kileigh Lade, Jordan Wittmaack and Jelena Veskov, finished fourth with a time of 22:54.31 ... the C boat, which was rowed by Abigail Patrick, Payton Rea, Claudia Fife, Madelene Blackwood and coxed by Margaret Heflin, finished one spot behind their teammates to take fifth with a time of 23:13.95 ... the B boat, rowed by Alexandria Young, Danielle Hofmann, Margaret Wagner and Jordan Whitmaack and coxed by Morgan McCoy, finished two spots behind seventh with a time of 23:18.46 ... WVU ended the event with the novice women's eight race, where the Mountaineer boat, coxed by Martinelli and rowed by Jones, Lade, Heflin, Young, Wittmaack, Hofmann, Blackwood and Patrick paced the field with a time of 21:04.96, three seconds ahead of the second-place finishers, Delaware.
 
Assistant coach Tina Griffith following Saturday's Head of Occoquan: "The team really came together today and generated a lot of excitement. It was nice to see the student-athletes become more energized from the experience and the results, both in where we excelled and where we can develop."
 
This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers close the fall campaign on Nov. 10-12, as they travel to Tallahassee, Florida, for the FSU All-Conference Showdown ... WVU will be joined by host Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, Wisconsin and Central Florida in the three-day event.
 
Last Week in Tennis: WVU travelled to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete at the Louisville Tennis Classic ... the Mountaineers joined host Louisville, Ball State and Michigan State over the course of the three-day event ... on Friday, the Mountaineers opened the tournament by registering two wins in singles play against Louisville and a win in doubles action against Michigan State and Ball State ... West Virginia continued play on Saturday, by winning four of the six singles matches against Ball State, before claiming a victory over the Spartans in doubles ... WVU wrapped up play with a singles match against Michigan State ... the Mountaineers fell in all six matches against the Spartans. 
 
Notes: Senior Lyn Yuen Choo has registered a team-high eight wins in singles play this fall ... junior Paula Goetz ranks second on the team with seven, with freshman Giovanna Caputo ranking third with six singles victories ... the tandem of Choo and Caputo have a 4-1 record in the fall to lead the Mountaineers ... Choo has also tallied eight doubles wins to lead WVU.
 
Coach Miha Lisac following Sunday's Louisville Tennis Classic finale: "We had a heck of a battle in all of our matches today and competed well as a team. We got better and closer as a team this weekend and these lessons will help us in the spring."
 
This Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers will take a break in competition before traveling to St. Charles, Missouri, for the Lindenwood Open on Saturday, Nov. 18 … the tournament is set to begin at 8 a.m. ET.
 
Last Week in Wrestling: WVU opened its 2017-18 season with a 24-9 loss to Big 12 foe Utah Valley on Nov. 3 … the neutral-site match was held at Clarion Area Senior High located in Clarion, Pennsylvania, with both squads going head-to-head for the first time in program history … three Mountaineers picked up victories in their respective weight classes Friday evening … redshirt senior Parker VonEgidy downed a top-20 foe at 174 pounds, defeating Utah Valley's No. 18 Kimball Bastian in a 6-2 decision, while redshirt freshman Matthew Schmitt and redshirt sophomore Zachary Moore claimed wins at 133 and 157, respectively …  West Virginia then placed fourth at the 2017 Clarion Open on Sunday, as redshirt freshman Kyler Rea went 5-0 in his pool to earn a first-place finish at 149 pounds … in addition to Rea's first-place finish, a trio of wrestlers placed third in their respective weight classes – Schmitt at 133, Moore at 157 and VonEgidy at 174 … 2015 all-American Zeke Moisey also collected a fourth-place finish in the event at 125.
 
Notes: Senior Jacob A. Smith and Moisey started the season nationally ranked by a trio of media outlets, appearing in the top 10 of their respective weight classes … Smith appears at No. 6 according to FloWrestling and is ranked seventh via Intermat and Open Mat at 197 pounds … Moisey is ranked No. 8 at his weight of 125 pounds in both Intermat and Open Mat preseason polls ... he also is seventh according to FloWrestling … in addition, West Virginia enters the season ranked No. 18 in the nation in Open Mat's preseason Tournament Power Index (TPI) … the Mountaineers also check in at No. 25 via Intermat's preseason TPI and FloWrestling.
 
Coach Sammie Henson following last's week Clarion Open: "We performed well. I hope we can build off this. The freshmen came out and wrestled great. We had some good wins over ranked opponents, and we fought hard in each and every match throughout the day."
 
This Week in Women's Basketball: WVU will host Central Connecticut State on Friday, Nov. 10, to open the season … tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the WVU Coliseum … it will be Military and First Responders Appreciation Day … all military members and first responders will receive free admission with a valid ID.
 
Last Week in Women's Basketball: The Mountaineers were off last week.
 
Notes: Six Mountaineers scored in double-figures against West Virginia Wesleyan: Teana Muldrow (28), Naomi Davenport (19), Kristina King (18), Katrina Pardee (15), Destiny Harden (12) and Chania Ray (11) … five of the nine players who dressed made their WVU Coliseum debuts … three true freshmen saw action as Harden, Ashley Jones and Makayla Stanley all saw playing time … redshirt freshman Krystaline McCune saw her first action after missing her freshman season with an injury … Davenport, a transfer, also played in her first game as a Mountaineer … WVU scored 40 points off turnovers and got 22 from the bench.