MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Following his conference win in the men’s 100 breaststroke at the 2017 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship this past weekend in Austin, sophomore Jake Armstrong of West Virginia University men’s swimming team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.
Armstrong brought back to Morgantown a gold medal, three silver medals and one bronze medal.
The Dover, Ohio, native took home the gold in the A final of the men’s 100 breaststroke with an NCAA B qualifying and career-best time of 53.09. One of three swimmers to finish under 54 seconds, he claimed the victory by 0.58 seconds. Armstrong’s time is the second-fastest mark in program history.
Armstrong earned three silver medals as a member of the 200 freestyle relay, the 200 medley relay and the 400 medley relay teams. In the men’s 200 breaststroke A final, Armstrong won bronze, touching the wall with an NCAA B qualifying and career-best time of 1:58.00.
Armstrong’s Big 12 title is WVU’s fifth men’s title and ninth overall since joining the conference in 2013. It is the Mountaineers’ first in a breaststroke event for either the men or women.
The Mountaineer men finished second in the Big 12 Conference for the second straight year, and the women placed fourth.
This Week in Women’s Basketball: West Virginia (19-10, 7-10) concludes the regular season on Monday evening with a 7 p.m. contest against the Jayhawks … the Mountaineers will recognize its two seniors, Lanay Montgomery and Desiree Rhodes, prior to the game … family night packages are available for purchase, where fans can purchase four tickets and receive a $15 concession voucher for $25 ... the first 300 fans at the WVU Coliseum Gold Gate will receive the third of three limited edition pint glasses … tickets can be purchased online at WVUGAME.com, by calling the Mountaineer Ticket Office at 1-800-WVU GAME or by purchasing at the WVU Coliseum Gold Gate on game day … after Monday’s contest, the Mountaineers will trek to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship held at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma … the Mountaineers are currently the No. 6-seed and would be slated to play at 9:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 4 … official pairings will be announced late Monday evening following the conclusion of the Big 12 Conference regular season.
Last Week in Women’s Basketball: The Mountaineers went 1-1 last week after picking up a 77-73 win over TCU and dropping a 67-63 decision at Oklahoma State … in the win over the Horned Frogs, Tynice Martin and Teana Muldrow combined for 50 points as the Mountaineers picked up their 14th home victory … Martin scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Muldrow snagged a career-high 25 points and corralled 14 rebounds … West Virginia charged back from an 11-point deficit with three minutes left in the game, but fell 67-63 to the Cowgirls on Saturday … Martin scored 19 points and Muldrow picked up her eighth double-double of the year with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Notes: With the victory over TCU, WVU won its 14th game at home this season, tied for the third-most home wins in school history … with a made free throw at the 2:51 mark of the second quarter against TCU, Teana Muldrow became the 33rd Mountaineer to reach the 1,000-point plateau … Tynice Martin scored 25 points against TCU, marking the 11th time that she has scored 20 or more points in her career … WVU is 10-1 all-time when Martin scores 20 or more points in a game … Martin has now made a field goal in a team-high 37 games … Martin is the 16th Mountaineer in program history to score 500 or more points in a season … her 516 points are tied for fifth on WVU’s sophomore scoring list with former teammate Bria Holmes … with a win over KU on Monday, WVU will have reached the 20-win plateau for the 11th time in 16 years and a school-record fourth consecutive season under coach Mike Carey … the Mountaineers are also seeking their 15th win of the season, which would be the third-most in program history.
Quote from coach Mike Carey about WVU’s two seniors, Lanay Montgomery and Desiree Rhodes: “They have been great on and off the floor. They are great young ladies and have done a great job in the classroom and in the community. I’m very excited for them and the bright futures ahead of them. We wish them the best.”
This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers are set to compete twice this weekend … WVU first returns to Pitt on Friday, March 3, for a 6:30 p.m. meet against the Panthers, Towson and Michigan State, at Fitzgerald Field House … the team will then close its home regular-season slate at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, March 5, and play host to Pitt, No. 16 George Washington and No. 24 Eastern Michigan, at 2 p.m. … Sunday is a Dollar Day, and all tickets are available for $1 each … additionally, seniors Brooklyn Doggette, Alexa Goldberg and Mackenzie Myers will be honored following competition.
Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU used a season-high beam score to surge past No. 24 Iowa State and Maryland with a winning, 195.95 mark at the Wendy M. Roach Invitational on Feb. 26, at the WVU Coliseum … ISU finished second (195.725) and UMD finished third (195.45) … junior Zaakira Muhammad made her season all-around debut and finished first overall with a career-high 39.4 … she also won beam with a career-best 9.875 and finished second on vault (9.875) and bars (9.825) … senior Alexa Goldberg won bars with a 9.85, and sophomore Kirah Koshinski won floor with a 9.9 … WVU (8-5, 2-2) finished first on beam with a season-best 49.1 and also won bars (48.825) and floor (49.125).
Notes: WVU’s final score matched its second-best mark of the season … WVU is now 2-2 against ranked opponents ... Muhammad’s all-around score ranks No. 42 in program history and is the team’s top all-around mark since Hope Sloanhoffer won the Big 12 title with a 39.425 total at the 2014 championship … Koshinski and sophomore Tiara Wright tied for second on beam with career-high 9.85 scores … freshman Julia Merwin tied for second place on floor with a career-high matching 9.85 mark.
This Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers concluded the 2017 indoor campaign … the team will have three weeks to regroup before beginning the outdoor slate. … WVU’s first competition is set for March 16-18 at the 49er Classic in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Last Week in Track and Field: Seven Mountaineers combined for eight All-Big 12 honors at the two-day Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship in Ames, Iowa, at Lied Recreation Athletic Facility on Feb. 24-25 … senior Megan Yuan (distance medley relay), juniors Bria Welker (DMR), Maggie Drazba (DMR), Jillian Forsey (3,000m) and Shamoya McNeil (triple jump), sophomore Danique Bryan (triple jump) and redshirt freshman Candace Jones (DMR) (1,000m) were honored for finishing in the top eight of their respective events … Jones finished in the top eight in the 1,000 meters finals and as a member of the distance medley relay, earning the accolade twice … in the women’s triple jump finals, the duo of McNeil and Bryan finished in the top seven … McNeil finished sixth, leaping 12.59 meters and Bryan placed seventh with a mark of 12.46 meters … Jones came out strong in the finals of the women’s 1,000 meter as she placed seventh with a career-best time of 2:49.43, shedding 3.64 seconds off her previous best set at this year’s Penn State National Open … in the women’s 3,000 meters, Maggie Drazba placed 16th, crossing the finish line in 9:43.13 … in the women’s 5,000-meter run, Forsey placed fourth in the finals with a time of 16:17.93 … the WVU distance medley relay team of Yuan, Welker, Jones and Drazba placed fifth, crossing the finish line in 11:38.39.
Notes: Baylor won the Big 12 title, while West Virginia finished 10th.
Coach Sean Cleary after the Big 12 Indoor Championship: “I am pleased that we added the three All-Big 12 awards to yesterday’s five. We came here wanting eight and we return home with eight. We will take a few weeks and regroup for the outdoor season. We will have a few more that we’re either hurt, redshirting and or did not have indoors added to the roster. Track is a tough sport in that many of these girls have been competing since either August or December. We need to keep focused, continue putting the hard work in and better ourselves in the final four months of the year.”
This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia (4-12, 1-3) heads to the 2017 Big 12 Wrestling Championship … the event will be held March 4-5 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Last Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers were off last week.
Notes: Conference allocations were announced last week … the Big 12 Conference was awarded 38 automatic qualifying spots, third most behind the Big Ten (77) and Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (42) … the 165-pound weight class will qualify the top six finishers at the 2017 Big 12 Championship – the most of any weight class … a pair of Mountaineers rank in the top-33 of their respective weights in the coaches’ rankings … Jacob A. Smith is No. 5 at 197 pounds … Dylan Cottrell is No. 11 at 165 pounds … Cory Stainbrook joins Smith and Cottrell in the RPI rankings … Cottrell ranks at No. 7 at 165, with Smith coming in at No. 8 at 197, and Stainbrook at No. 26 in the 133-pound rankings … Smith enters the Big 12 Championship on a 12-match win streak … he is undefeated in Big 12 action.
This Week in Rifle: The No. 2-ranked Mountaineers do not compete this week.
Last Week in Rifle: WVU (12-0, 8-0 GARC) won its eighth straight and 12th overall Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championship title with a 4725 mark this weekend at Akron’s Louis and Freda Stile Athletic Field House … the team shot a winning 2341 smallbore on Feb. 24 and a winning 2384 air rifle on Feb. 25 … sophomore Ginny Thrasher won the air rifle title on 208.4 final … freshman Morgan Phillips finished second in smallbore with a 454.3 score … prior to the championships, Thrasher was named the GARC Shooter of the Year on Feb. 23 … freshman Milica Babic was named the GARC Rookie of the Year and Jon Hammond was named the GARC Coach of the Year … additionally, six Mountaineers earned 16 All-GARC honors.
Notes: WVU’s winning air rifle mark matched its season high … WVU entered the second day of competition with a 30-shot lead on its next closest opponent … the Mountaineers have shot an aggregate score of 4724 or better in four of their last six matches … Thrasher is the fifth different WVU shooter to win the conference air rifle title since 2010 … Thrasher advanced to the final tied with junior Elizabeth Gratz for first place with 597 marks … Gratz finished fourth in the final with a 165.1 total … Phillips and Babic placed third in the open air rifle relay with matching 595 marks, a career-best matching score for Phillips … Babic placed sixth with a 122.8 total, and Phillips shot 100.4 and placed seventh … in smallbore, Thrasher shot 444.4 in the final and placed third, while Gratz finished seventh with a 396.0 score … earlier in the week, WVU qualified as the top seed for the 2017 NCAA Championships.
This Week in Swimming and Diving: Mountaineer divers, juniors Logan McHenry, Alex Obendorf, Mike Proietto, sophomores Julia Calcut, Averly Hobbs, Austin Smith and Madelyn Woods and freshman Gerald Hodges, will compete at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships on March 6-8 in Blacksburg, Virginia … WVU’s swim team is idle from competition this week.
Last Week in Swimming and Diving: The swimming and diving team closed the 2017 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship strong, as the men finished second in the conference for the second straight year and the women placed fourth at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas … after the four-day championship, WVU won a Big 12 title, 11 silver medals and eight bronze medals in addition to setting three school records – men’s platform, men’s 1-meter and the women’s 200 breaststroke … sophomore Jake Armstrong won the Big 12 title in the men’s 100 breaststroke with an NCAA B cut qualifying and career-best time of 53.09 … Armstrong’s time is the second fastest in WVU history … the Mountaineers’ first school record came from junior Michael Proietto on men’s 1-meter, winning the silver medal with a score of 366.85 … Next, sophomore Emma Harris set the WVU record in the women’s 200 breaststroke, finishing with an NCAA B qualifying and career-best time of 2:12.37, on top of winning silver … WVU’s third school record came on men’s platform thanks to junior Alex Obendorf’s prelim score of 332.70 to advance to the finals where he won bronze with a score of 324.75.
Notes: The men totaled a score of 870, while Texas took the Big 12 title with 1,081 and TCU finished third with 702 … the WVU women placed fourth with 581.5, while the Texas women took the title with 991 … Kansas came in second with 683.5, Iowa State was third with 591.5 and TCU finished fifth with 434.5.
Coach Vic Riggs after the Big 12 Championship: “It was a very strong week of competition for both teams. While the women came up just short of third place, I couldn’t be more proud of how they fought all year. This women’s team hasn’t competed at full strength all year, not one meet, and to be in a race for second after two days and third going into the last night is just great. It shows their desire and determination to win.”
This Week in Tennis: West Virginia will travel to Bloomington, Indiana, on Saturday, March 4, to take on the Indiana Hoosiers in their final nonconference match of the season ... Indiana heads into the match with a 7-5 overall record after winning two matches on February 25 against DePaul and IUPUI ... the Hoosiers swept both contests 7-0.
Last Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers (4-5) were off last week.
Notes: Saturday’s matchup with the Hoosiers marks the first time the two programs will compete ... Habiba Shaker leads WVU with a 6-3 record at the No. 1 slot … Paula Goetz and Yvon Martinez pace the Mountaineers with a 4-2 record in doubles play.
This Week in Golf: West Virginia travels to the Tiger Invitational Presented by Jason Dufner … the 54-hole event will be played at Grand National Golf Club in Opelika, Alabama, March 5-7.
Last Week in Golf: The Mountaineers were off last week.
Notes: Max Sear, Tristan Nicholls, Chris Williams, Etienne Papineau and Alan Cooke will represent WVU at the event … Sear leads the Mountaineers with a 72.93 scoring average … three Mountaineers have recorded rounds in the 60s … Sear shot a 66 while Cooke and Papineau have each shot 69 … Sear leads the team in subpar holes (8) and birdies (58) … Papineau leads the squad in par-3 scoring at 3.12.
This Week in WVU Baseball: Winners of four in a row, West Virginia begins the week at No. 18 Coastal Carolina on Monday, Feb. 27, in the final game of the Caravelle Resort Tournament … WVU defeated Coastal on Saturday, 22-9, and is 3-0 at the Caravelle Resort Tournament, which began on Feb. 24 … WVU then travels to Louisiana for six games in seven days … the roadtrip begins at Nicholls State on Thursday, May 2, at 7 p.m. ET … West Virginia then plays a three-game series at Tulane … the opener is set for Friday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m., while Saturday’s contest will begin at 5 p.m. … the finale in New Orleans is on March 5 at 2 p.m. … the following week, WVU plays two games at Southeastern Louisiana, on March 7-8.
Last Week in Baseball: West Virginia has won four in a row and went 3-0 last week, winning the first three games of the Caravelle Resort Tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina … led by 7.0 stellar innings from right-hander BJ Myers and a five-run seventh inning, WVU opened with a 5-3 win against George Mason on Friday, Feb. 24 … the Mountaineers followed with a record-setting 22-9 victory at No. 18 Coastal Carolina, the defending NCAA champions … WVU hit six home runs, one shy of tying the school record, batted around twice and scored 22 runs on 29 hits, three shy of tying the program record of 32 … the Mountaineers closed the week on Feb. 26 with a 4-1 win in a pitcher’s duel over Ball State, where they rallied with two runs in the eighth and ninth innings and held BSU to just two hits … the Caravelle Resort Tournament concludes on Monday, when WVU returns to Coastal Carolina for a 12 p.m. ET contest.
Notes: West Virginia has won four in a row and improved to 4-2 on the season … playing a defending national champion for the first time in program history, West Virginia beat No. 18 Coastal Carolina, 22-9 on Saturday, scoring 22 runs, the most since WVU scored 23 against Duquesne in 2010 ... WVU’s 29 hits were three shy of the school record of 32, set in 2009 ... West Virginia’s six home runs were one shy of the school record of seven, set in 1997 ... WVU’s 56 at-bats was a school record ... Jackson Cramer had a career-best five hits, four extra-base hits and three doubles, all one shy of tying the school record, and he added a career-high six RBIs ... Darius Hill hit his second home run in as many games Sunday against Ball State, his second homer of the season and fifth of his career … Hill has at least one hit in each of WVU’s first six games and has two or more RBIs in four games in 2017 ... in Sunday’s win against Ball State, WVU was held without a hit until the seventh inning ... freshman starter Carter Camp made his first career start and pitched 5.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits with seven strikeouts and no walks … BJ Myers, Braden Zarbnisky and Isaiah Kearns all picked up their first wins of the season and Alek Manoah earned his first career save.
