Grant Named Student-Athlete of the Week

October 01, 2018 01:21 PM | General, Golf, Men's Soccer, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Cross Country, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Volleyball

Varsity Sports Report

By: WVU Athletic Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Following his collegiate debut in which he tied the lowest 54-hole total in program history, freshman Kurtis Grant of the West Virginia University golf team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Grant, a native of Herndon, Virginia, began his Mountaineer golf career at the Old Town Club Collegiate Open on Sept. 24-25. After shooting 69-69 in the first two rounds, he registered a pair of birdies and an eagle on his way to two-under-par with a 68.

Grant just missed a top-10 finish, tying for 12th place at four under with a 206 to lead the team. His three-round total matches the lowest on record in program history, matching Alan Cooke's 206 at the Seminole Intercollegiate in 2017.

Additionally, Grant helped the team to a third-round score of 275, the second lowest in WVU history.

This Week in Women's Soccer: The No. 23-ranked Mountaineers host a pair of Big 12 Conference foes this weekend at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium … first up, WVU faces Baylor on Friday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m., before kicking against No. 6 Texas on Sunday, Oct. 6, at 1 p.m. … Friday is Soctoberfest, and the first 300 fans will receive a WVU stein … Happy Hour prices will be in effect, with half-priced beverages available from 6-7 p.m., and Oktoberfest-themed food also will be offered … Sunday is WVU's Pink Match for breast cancer awareness, and all fans are encouraged to wear pink, as the team will celebrate its annual fundraising efforts for the Betty Puskar Breast Care Center at halftime … it's also a Dollar Day, and all tickets and select concessions will be available for $1 each courtesy of WVU Medicine … the first 1,000 fans will receive a free pink shaker.

Last Week in Women's Soccer: Though the Mountaineers made fans wait for their first goal, the payoff was spectacular, as the team tallied three second-half goals in a seven-minute span and rolled to a 4-0 win over Kansas State on Sept. 28, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium … sophomore forward Lauren Segalla tallied the game-winner, her second in three matches, in the 48th minute … seniors Sh'Nia Gordon and Nadya Gill added scores in the 51st and 52nd minutes, respectively, and freshman forward Alina Stahl chipped in a fourth score in the 85th minute … senior forward Hannah Abraham assisted on each of the first three goals for the second-best single-game performance in program history … freshman Lizzie Mayfield earned the assist on the fourth goal … junior Rylee Foster made one save for the team's seventh shutout of the season … WVU finished with a 31-7 edge in shots and forced K-State into eight saves … WVU also earned a 14-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Notes: WVU (7-2-3, 3-0) rides a six-match win streak into its content vs. Baylor, the reigning Big 12 Conference Tournament champions … the Mountaineers are unbeaten in their last 40 home conference matches … the clean sheet was WVU's fifth in a row, and a Big 12 opponent has not scored against the defense this season … since a 2-0 loss to No. 11 Georgetown on Sept. 2, the Mountaineers have outscored their opponents, 16-1 … Abraham's assist total was the best single-game performance for a Mountaineer since Kailey Utley earned four assists in an 8-0 win against Villanova on Sept. 5, 2015.

This Week in Men's Soccer: West Virginia's homestand concludes with a matchup against Binghamton on Tuesday, Oct 2, at 7 p.m. ET, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium … tickets are available at WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800 WVU GAME … it is a Dollar Night, with $1 tickets and select concession items … the matchup also is Club Sports Night, where there will be a wing-eating contest during halftime … the Mountaineers then commence Mid-American Conference play at Western Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 6 … kickoff in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is set for 4 p.m. ET at the reigning MAC regular-season champions.

Last Week in Men's Soccer: The Mountaineers went 1-1 last week, with a loss to Radford on Sept. 25, before a victory over Delaware on Sept. 29 … junior defender Ryan Kellogg scored both goals in Saturday's 2-0 victory, as WVU recorded its fourth shutout of the year … Kellogg's first goal came in the 62nd minute, and his second came less than 10 minutes later, in the 71st … his game-winning goal was the second of his career, and his first multi-goal game of his career … junior midfielder Sebastian Garcia-Herreros assisted on both goals, while sophomore forward Spenser Myers earned an assist on the first goal and sophomore midfielder Nic Short assisted on the second … sophomore goalkeeper Steven Tekesky had three saves in the win … WVU's three-match win streak was snapped with a 4-1 loss to Radford on Tuesday night … junior defender Pascal Derwaritsch scored for the Mountaineers, and junior defender Albert Andres-Llop assisted on the second-half goal … Tekesky made four saves in the loss.

Notes: West Virginia (6-4) is unbeaten in 15 of its last 19 nonconference home contests and sports a 4-1 mark at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium this season … Tekesky ranks No. 20 nationally with four shutouts, while he leads the MAC with 38 saves and 3.80 saves per game … Tekesky ranks second in the league with a .809 save percentage and a 0.907 goals-against average … Derwaritsch and senior midfielder Joey Piatczyc are tied for second in the MAC with two game-winning goals, while Garcia-Herreros and Piatczyc are tied for third with four assists on the year … Tuesday's opponent, Binghamton, is coached by former Mountaineer player and coach Paul Marco … in his 17th season at BU, Marco played for WVU from 1988-90 and scored six goals in 32 career games … he served four years as an assistant coach before serving as head coach from 1996-2001, where he went 47-62-4 and was named the 1999 Big East Coach of the Year.

This Week in Volleyball: West Virginia (8-8, 1-3) hits the road for a match against Kansas (9-4, 2-0) on Wednesday, Oct. 3 … first serve is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, inside the Horejsi Family Athletics Center, in Lawrence, Kansas … the Jayhawks hold a 13-1 lead in the all-time series ... however, West Virginia upset then-No. 14 Kansas in its regular-season finale last season for its first-ever win over a top-25 team ... the Mountaineers took the match from the Jayhawks in set scores of 20-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-22 and 15-12.

Last Week in Volleyball: The Mountaineers claimed their first Big 12 Conference win of the season, going 1-1 in Big 12 action last week … West Virginia earned its fourth sweep of the season with a 3-0 win over Kansas State on Wednesday evening, at the WVU Coliseum, in Morgantown … the Mountaineers downed the Wildcats in set scores of 25-21, 25-15 and 25-17 … with the win, WVU has picked up a victory over K-State in its last three meetings … four Mountaineers hit above .330 against the Wildcats, as junior right side hitter Natania Levak paved the way with a match-high hitting percentage of .647, recording 11 kills on 17 total attempts and no errors … sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo had eight block assists to lead WVU's blocking efforts, while sophomore defensive specialist Alexa Hasting led the floor defense with 11 digs … WVU also had a season-high nine service aces on the evening, as freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan and freshman setter Lacey Zerwas each added three … West Virginia ended the night hitting .290, the fifth time this season the squad has hit .225 or better … the Mountaineers registered 40 kills on 93 total attempts with 11.0 team blocks and 37 digs in the win over the Wildcats … West Virginia then dropped a 3-0 loss to No. 4 Texas on Saturday afternoon, at the WVU Coliseum … the Mountaineers fell to the Longhorns in set scores of 25-18, 25-15 and 25-19.

Notes: The Mountaineers are four wins away from collecting their 700th win in program history ... West Virginia currently holds a 696-731 all-time record since its inaugural season in 1974 … West Virginia has played a trio of teams ranked inside the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Poll in 2018, with five of its eight losses coming against teams which made the NCAA Tournament last season … DeMeo ranks second in the Big 12 with 1.52 blocks per set, totaling 76 on the season … as of Sept. 28, DeMeo ranks fifth among all NCAA Division I players in blocks per set … the Mountaineers also rank fifth in the Big 12, averaging 2.60 blocks per set, and are 25th in the nation … WVU is outblocking its opponents, 151.0-115.5 … junior outside hitter Katelyn Evans leads the team with 3.06 kills per set to rank ninth in the Big 12, while Zerwas paces WVU in assists with 8.90 per set to rank eighth in the league.

This Week in Cross Country: The Mountaineers are off this week … the team next competes on Friday, Oct. 12, at the Penn State National Open in University Park, Pennsylvania … the women's 6k race is set to begin at 10:45 a.m., at the Blue-White Golf Course.

Last Week in Cross Country: WVU earned an 18th-place finish at the 45th annual Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 29 … freshman Charlotte Wood led the Mountaineers in a 39th-place finish (21:38) at Lehigh's Goodman Campus Cross Country Course … redshirt sophomore Sarah Wills finished 49th in 21:44, while sophomore Bree Warren took 61st in 21:50 … freshman Marianne Abdalah finished 116th in 22:22, ahead of redshirt sophomore Antigone Archer, who crossed the finish line in 24:07 for 265th.

Notes: Saturday's meet was one of the largest intercollegiate cross country meets in the nation, and it featured four women's races and more than 130 teams … the Mountaineers raced in the women's gold 6k, a field of 41 teams and 353 total finishers … Wood was WVU's first finisher for the second time this season … West Virginia's trip to the PSU National Open will mark the team's second visit to University Park this season … WVU placed fifth at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 7, also hosted by Penn State … Saturday also will mark the Mountaineers' 11th trip to Penn State since 2014 … WVU will return to the Blue-White Course for a third time this season for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on Friday, Nov. 9.

This Week in Golf: WVU is off this week … the Mountaineers next compete Oct. 8-9, when they host The Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational at Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport.

Last Week in Golf: After getting rained out at VCU, West Virginia opened the 2018-19 season at the Old Town Club Collegiate Invitational … the event was hosted by Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina … the Mountaineers claimed eighth place as a team, shooting 279-283-275=837 for three under in the event … freshman Kurtis Grant led the team as he shot 69-69-68=206 to tie for 12th place overall … junior Etienne Papineau shot 71-72-68=211 and senior Max Sear finished at 72-69-70=211 to tie for 29th place.

Notes: Grant tied the program record with a 54-hole total of 206 in his collegiate debut … he also ranked fourth in par-5 scoring at the tournament … he finished with 10 birdies and an eagle … the team's third-round score of 275 ties for the second-lowest in program history … their 54-hole team total of 837 is also the lowest in program history.

This Week in Rifle: The No. 1-ranked Mountaineers (1-0, 1-0 GARC) do not compete this week.

Last Week in Rifle: WVU opened its 2018-19 season with a 4704-4662 win at Akron on Sept. 29 … the Mountaineers swept their Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) opponent in both disciplines, winning smallbore, 2328-2312, and air rifle, 2376-2350 … senior Ginny Thrasher and junior Milica Babic shot winning 597 air rifle marks, while sophomore Sarah Osborn led the way in smallbore with a 584 total.

Notes: The victory pushes WVU's win streak over Akron to 17-0 … five Mountaineers combined for the Mountaineers' scores: Thrasher, Babic, Osborn, senior Will Anti and sophomore David Koenders … freshman Jared Eddy made his career debut for WVU and finished 10th in air rifle (586) and smallbore (573).

This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers are off this week … the team will next compete at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic Regionals in Lynchburg, Virginia, from Friday, Oct. 12, to Tuesday, Oct. 16 … this year's ITA Atlantic Regionals will be hosted by Liberty University.

Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia traveled to Blacksburg, Virginia, to compete in the Hokie Fall Invite, hosted by Virginia Tech … highlighted by stellar performances from senior Abigail Rosiello and sophomore Anne-Sophie Courteau, WVU finished the weekend with a 20-15 match record between singles and doubles play … the duo of Rosiello and Courteau would finish 3-0 in doubles action, on their way to a championship win in the Sacrifice Doubles flight … three Mountaineers capped the weekend with a 3-1 record in singles action (Rosiello, Courteau and senior Kirsten White).

Notes: WVU returns seven letterwinners for the 2018-19 campaign, including three seniors: Paula Goetz, Rosiello and White … Goetz has won a team-high 28 singles matches and 33 doubles matches … Goetz also leads the team in total wins (61) … Giovanna Caputo (8-5) and Goetz (10-5) led all returners in wins last fall with a combined singles record of 18-10 … Caputo led the team in singles wins last spring, going 8-5 … Goetz led the team in doubles wins last spring, going 10-4.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: WVU is off this week … the Mountaineers open the 2018-19 regular season at the West Virginia State Games, from Oct. 12-13, in Huntington, West Virginia … Marshall will serve as host of the annual in-state meet at Frederick A. Fitch Natatorium … competition is set to begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 12, while events resume at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia unofficially opened the season with the Gold-Blue Meet, the team's annual intrasquad competition, on Saturday, Sept. 29, at the WVU Natatorium … the Blue team won the 13-event, combined meet, 238.5-224.5, marking its second consecutive victory … the men's Blue team won, 120-85, while the women's Gold team was victorious, 119.5-87.5 … senior Merwane El Merini and sophomore David Dixon earned two individual wins and two relay wins for the men's Blue team, while junior Morgan Bullock led the women's Blue team with two individual wins and a relay win … the Blue team also swept the mixed synchronized diving events, as redshirt freshman Jacob Cardinal Tremblay and Nick Cover won on 1-meter, while seniors Averly Hobbs and Madelyn Woods took the 3-meter competition.

Notes: The Mountaineers return 19 All-Big 12 selections from a year ago, including 11 first teamers … WVU also welcomes 18 newcomers to the team this season … the 2018-19 campaign marks the last in the WVU Natatorium; the squad is set to host three meets this season, including two during the regular season ... five NCAA qualifiers, two Big 12 champions and two honorable mention All-Americans also return to the squad this season.