Phillips Named Student-Athlete of the Week

January 29, 2018 02:09 PM | General, Golf, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling

Varsity Sports Report

By: WVU Athletic Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Following a career-best showing in the Mountaineers' 12th straight win, sophomore Morgan Phillips 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 Salisbury, Maryland, Phillips finished first in smallbore against Navy on Jan. 26, with a career-best 592 (197 kneeling, 199 prone, 196 standing) mark, two shots better than her previous best. She also tied for fourth place in air rifle with a 594 score.

The Mountaineers defeated the Midshipmen, 4733-4656, Friday afternoon at the WVU Rifle Range.

This Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia (17-5, 5-5) travels to Norman, Oklahoma, on Saturday to square off with the Sooners … tipoff is set for 3 p.m. EST on FOX Sports Oklahoma.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: The No. 20/19 Mountaineers went 1-1 on the week … WVU downed Texas Tech, 82-52, on Wednesday at home … junior guard Katrina Pardee made six 3-pointers on her way to a team-high 23 points … senior guard Chania Ray and senior forward Teana Muldrow each had 18 points … on Sunday, the Mountaineers fell to No. 3 Baylor, 83-72 … junior guard Naomi Davenport had a 27-point effort in the loss, while Muldrow added 21 points.

Notes: The Mountaineers rank at No. 20 in the latest AP Poll and at No. 19 via the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll … their 30-point win over Texas Tech was their largest margin of victory in Big 12 play this season … senior forward Teana Muldrow moved into the all-time top-10 for scoring at WVU on Wednesday … junior guard Katrina Pardee tied her career high with six 3-pointers against the Red Raiders … the win was the 400th at the WVU Coliseum for the women's basketball program … a total of 5,073 fans attended "I Belong" Day on Sunday, the largest crowd at the WVU Coliseum this season and the most since 5,080 came to watch the Mountaineers take on Oklahoma State on Feb. 27, 2016 … the Mountaineers scored 47 points in the first half, the most Baylor has allowed in a half this season … Naomi Davenport recorded a game-high 27 points, marking her sixth 20-point game of the season.

This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers continue with action away from Morgantown and open their 2018 Big 12 Conference slate at No. 25 Iowa State, with Northern Illinois, on Friday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 p.m. EST, inside Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU (3-3) scored 195.05 and earned two wins at The Pavilion in Davis, California, on Jan. 26 ... the host Aggies finished second with a 194.2 total, and Illinois-Chicago scored 193.025 and finished third … the Mountaineers hit 24-for-24 and finished first as a team on vault (48.8) and floor (49.075) and placed second on balance beam (48.575) and third on uneven bars (48.6) … junior Kirah Koshinski won vault with a season-high matching 9.9 … she also tied senior Jordan Gillette for first on floor with a 9.875 score, a career-best matching mark for Gillette … senior Zaakira Muhammad finished a team-high fifth on bars with a 9.8 … Gillette paced WVU and finished third overall with a 9.775 mark.

Notes: Muhammad's bars score was the second highest awarded Friday night … sophomore Kassidy Cumber made her season debut on balance beam and scored 9.625 … WVU did not have a gymnast compete in the all-around Friday night.

This Week in Track and Field: WVU travels to Akron, Ohio, for the Akron Invitational from Feb. 2-3.

Last Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers earned a total of four wins at the PSU National Open, from Jan. 26-27, in University Park, Pennsylvania ... WVU's winners included: senior Shamoya McNeil in the women's triple jump with a mark of 12.76 meters (41 feet, 10.5 inches), redshirt sophomore Candace Jones in the women's 1,000-meter invitational in 2:50.88, redshirt senior Amy Cashin in the women's mile invitational in 4:41.17 and senior Sara Finfrock in the women's pole vault with a mark of 3.50 meters (11 feet, 5.75 inches).

Notes: Along with the Mountaineers' four wins at Penn State, the team also combined for three runner-up finishes and one third at the two-day event ... on Jan. 24, redshirt senior Amy Cashin was named the Big 12 Track and Field Female Athlete of the Week, becoming WVU's first women's track and field Big 12 weekly award winner since joining the conference in 2012-13 ... the Mountaineers will compete at the Akron Invitational for the sixth consecutive season, dating back to the 2012-13 indoor season ... the meet marks the fourth straight week in which the Mountaineers will compete.

This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia (3-5, 2-3 Big 12) travels to Colorado for a pair of Big 12 matches at Air Force and Northern Colorado on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3, respectively ... the Mountaineers will take on the Falcons (6-2, 1-1 Big 12) for the first time in program history at 9 p.m. ET, on Friday, inside Clune Arena in USAF Academy, Colorado … Friday's match against Air Force will be streamed live via FloWrestling … on Saturday, WVU will square off against the Bears (2-7, 1-2 Big 12) for the first time in Big 12 action … the two squads first met in 2013, as the Mountaineers took a 35-4 victory in a neutral-site meeting at the Hoosier Duals … Saturday's dual is set to begin at 9 p.m. ET inside the Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado … live stats for both matches can be found on TrackWrestling.

Last Week in Wrestling: West Virginia did not compete.

Notes: Four wrestlers appear in the top 33 of their respective weight classes in the first of four coaches' panel rankings for the 2017-18 season, released on Jan. 18 ... redshirt junior Zeke Moisey ranks 14th at 125 pounds, while redshirt senior Jacob A. Smith ranks 17th at 197 pounds ... redshirt freshman Matthew Schmitt (133) and redshirt sophomore Zachary Moore (157) each enter the coaches' panel rankings for the first time in their careers at No. 32 in their respective weight classes ... the final rankings will be used in determining qualifiers for the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, at Quicken Loans Arena, from March 15-17 … Moisey and Schmitt are tied for the team lead with 16 wins on the year, with each of them boasting a 16-7 overall record in their respective weight classes ... in addition, Moisey paces the Mountaineers with 24 match points and sports a team-best 19 takedowns on the year ... freshman Nick Kiussis, who wrestles at 165 pounds for the Mountaineers, has a team-best five pins.

This Week in Rifle: The No. 1-ranked Mountaineers do not compete this week.

Last Week in Rifle: WVU pushed its season win streak to 12 with a 4733-4656 victory over Navy on Jan. 26 at the WVU Rifle Range … the Mountaineers (12-0, 8-0 GARC) defeated the Midshipmen in smallbore (2351-2319) and air rifle (2382-2337) … sophomore Morgan Phillips shot a career-high 592 smallbore for the individual win … junior Ginny Thrasher won air rifle with a 597 mark.

Notes: Friday's match was previously scheduled for Jan. 27 in Annapolis, Maryland … Phillips' smallbore mark was two shots better than her previous best … senior Elizabeth Gratz shot a season-high matching 588 smallbore and placed second … junior Will Anti and redshirt-freshman David Koenders shot matching program-record 200 prone scores … redshirt-freshman Noah Barker set a career high in air rifle for the third straight match with a 591 mark … five Mountaineers counted toward the team's scores: Gratz, Thrasher, Phillips, Koenders and sophomore Milica Babic … WVU improved to 27-8 all-time against Navy.

This Week in Swimming & Diving: The Mountaineers are off this week.

Last Week in Swimming & Diving: WVU closed the regular season on Jan. 27, at the WVU Natatorium, as the men's team defeated Villanova, 229-69, and the women's team topped Big 12 foe Iowa State, 160-140, while falling to Villanova, 163-137 ... the men swept the Wildcats, winning all 16 events ... sophomore Trayton Saladin led the team with three individuals wins, while senior Logan McHenry won on both springboards ... sophomore Morgan Bullock notched four total wins, including two individually, for the women.

Notes: With the win, the men's team finished with a 5-0 record in dual meets, marking the group's first undefeated campaign since 2006-07 ... the men opened Saturday's meet with a pool-record performance in the 400 medley relay, as juniors Merwane El Merini, Tristen DiSibio and Drew Damich and freshman David Dixon combined to finish in 3:19.53 to set a WVU Natatorium-best mark ... El Merini and Damich finished the day with three total victories, two coming on relay teams ... Saturday marked the first dual-meet victory over Iowa State for the women's team ... on Jan. 24, WVU swept the Big 12 bi-weekly Swimmers and Divers of the Week awards ... Dixon was named the Big 12 Male Swimmer of the Week, while Bullock earned Big 12 Female Swimmer of the Week honors ... additionally, senior Michael Proietto was named Big 12 Male Diver of the Week, while junior Madelyn Woods was named Big 12 Female Diver of the Week ... the accolades marked the second time this season, and third time in program history, in which WVU has swept the Big 12 bi-weekly awards ... WVU next competes at the Big 12 Championship, from Feb. 21-24, in Austin, Texas.

This Week in Tennis: WVU will open the season this weekend with a pair of matches at home … the Mountaineers will kick off the season against James Madison on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 11 a.m. ET, before taking on VCU the following day at noon … the two matches will take place at Ridgeview Racquet Club, and free pizza and posters will be available to each fan in attendance.

Last Fall in Tennis: The Mountaineers competed in five tournaments in the fall, including the Martha Thorn Pink Invite held in Morgantown … Lyn Yuen Choo led the Mountaineers with an 11-4 singles record this fall ... Paula Goetz ranked second on the team, going 10-5 in singles play ... Choo also tallied a team-high nine victories in doubles, while Giovanna Caputo placed second on the team with seven wins ... Choo maintained a record of 20-11 in the fall.

Notes: The match between the Dukes and Mountaineers will be the 31st meeting all-time, with the first contest taking place in 1976 … the last time the two teams met, WVU bested JMU, 6-1, at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., in 2016 … VCU and the Mountaineers will meet for the second straight year in the sixth all-time meeting … WVU dropped the Rams, 4-3, in 2016.

This Week in Golf: West Virginia travels to Reunion Resort in Orlando, Florida, to face Penn State in head-to-head competition on Sunday … the two compete for the Athletic Directors Trophy … Matthew Sharpstene, Max Sear, Mark Goetz, Logan Perkins, Etienne Papineau and Philipp Matlari will represent WVU … six golfers will compete for each team with the top five scores counting.

Last Week in Golf: The Mountaineers were off last week.

Notes: It marks the second year in a row that WVU has resumed its head-to-head rivalry against Penn State … the Nittany Lions won last year's meeting, 377-386 … the battle for the Athletic Directors Trophy started in 1971 with Penn State, West Virginia, Syracuse and Pitt … all but Penn State ended their golf programs soon after … WVU golf was reinstated as a varsity sport in 2015-16 and resumed the competition during the 2016-17 season … it marks WVU's first competition since November 2017, when they competed in the Ka'anapali Collegiate Classic Invitational.