Trio Named Student-Athletes of the Week

February 26, 2018 03:00 PM | Baseball, 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 their championship-winning performances, junior Ginny Thrasher of the rifle team and juniors Jake Armstrong and Tristen Di Sibio of the men's swimming and diving team have been named the West Virginia University Student-Athletes of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

A native of Springfield, Virginia, Thrasher shot a winning 454.8 in the smallbore final on Feb. 24, and 250.7 in the air rifle final to push her career GARC title count to four. The air rifle victory was her second in as many years.

Thrasher helped the No. 1-ranked Mountaineers win their ninth straight and 13th overall GARC Championships title with a 4699 score, shot at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range over the weekend. WVU finished first in smallbore with a 2333 score and second in air rifle with a 2366 mark.

Armstrong, a Dover, Ohio, native, won his second consecutive men's 100 breaststroke title at the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship, from Feb. 21-24, in Austin, Texas. Armstrong earned a winning time of 52.59 in the event on Feb. 23. Armstrong also broke the 100 breast school record during preliminaries, as he qualified for the event's final with a 52.11.

With the win, Armstrong became the fourth multiple-time Big 12 champion in program history. He finished the meet with one gold, two silver and one bronze medal.

Di Sibio won the men's 200 breaststroke title on Feb. 24 in a time of 1:56.00. He earned the first-place finish by just .06 seconds, becoming WVU's eighth men's Big 12 champion and 12th overall. The Lantana, Texas, native also earned a silver medal in the men's 100 breaststroke.

This Week in Women's Basketball: WVU caps the regular season on Monday with a tilt at No. 3 Baylor … tipoff is at 9 p.m. EST at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas … the Mountaineers then depart for the 2018 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship … the tournament runs from March 2-5 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma … WVU currently sits in line to be the No. 6 seed.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: The Mountaineers (20-9, 8-9) went 1-1 while playing home and away … on Tuesday, WVU downed K-State, 75-66, in Manhattan, Kansas … all five starters finished in double figures, led by senior forward Teana Muldrow's double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds … West Virginia then dropped a 79-69 loss to No. 25 Oklahoma State on Saturday at the WVU Coliseum … seniors Muldrow, Chania Ray and Kristina King were honored prior to the start of the game … Muldrow again led the way with 23 points … Ray hit a trio of 3-pointers on her way to 16 points.

Notes: Tuesday's win at K-State was the 20th win of the season for the Mountaineers … it marks WVU's fifth straight 20-win season and the 12th under coach Mike Carey … all five starters finished in double figures for the fourth time this season … senior forward Teana Muldrow collected her 13th double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebound … it was her 23rd career double-double, putting her into a tie for fifth place all-time … senior forward Kristina King tied her career high with 16 points … she last put up 16 in December of 2016 … Muldrow led the scoring again in Saturday's loss to Oklahoma State with 23 points … it was her 16th 20-point game of the season … senior guard Chania Ray was credited with a pair of assists, putting her at 416 in her career … she moved into 10th place all-time at WVU despite playing just two and a half seasons.

This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers travel north to Pittsburgh for a tri-meet at Pitt with Penn State on Sunday, March 4, with action inside Fitzgerald Field House set for 2 p.m.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU (7-7, 0-3) tallied a season-best road score in a 198.025-195.75 loss at No. 1 Oklahoma on Feb. 23, at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma … the Mountaineers' best event of the night was vault, where the team finished with a season-high 49.325 score, the fifth-best mark in program history … WVU finished second to OU on all four events, also scoring season-best road scores of 49.1 on floor and 49.025 on balance beam … the Mountaineers also scored 48.3 on uneven bars … junior Kirah Koshinski tied for the vault win with a season high and career-best matching 9.95 … Koshinski, junior Jaquie Tun and sophomore Chloe Cluchey paced on floor and finished fifth overall with 9.85, a season best for Cluchey and a career-best matching mark for Tun … junior Carly Galpin finished a team-best fifth on beam with a career-high matching 9.875 … Tun paced on bars with a seventh place, 9.775 showing.

Notes: In addition to Koshinski's career-high showing on vault, senior Robyn Bernard opened the lineup with a career-high 9.925 score, a near-perfect vault, as her start value is 9.95 … Bernard finished fifth overall … sophomore Julia Merwin placed sixth on vault with a career-high 9.875 … she has set a career best twice in four weeks … the team's vault score was its top mark since earning 49.375 at Penn State Feb. 6, 2011 … on Galpin has matched her career-high beam score in consecutive meets … the Mountaineers last faced Pitt on Feb. 18 and earned a 196.225-195.25 win at the WVU Coliseum.

This Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers are off this week … select members of the team will next compete at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, from Mar. 9-10, in College Station, Texas.

Last Week in Track and Field: WVU earned six All-Big 12 accolades in three events at the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship, from Feb. 23-24, in Ames, Iowa … senior Shamoya McNeil placed third in the women's triple jump, earning a season-best mark of 12.85 meters (42 feet, 2.5 inches) … redshirt senior Amy Cashin registered a fifth-place finish in the women's 3,000 meters, crossing the finish line in 9:32.42 … Cashin also was a part of the fourth-place distance medley relay team (11:28.20), along with redshirt freshman Sarah Wills, freshman McKenna Smith and redshirt sophomore Candace Jones.

Notes: The Mountaineers had six student-athletes ranked in five events in last week's Mid-Atlantic Regional rankings … the team also featured nine representatives in the Big 12's top-10 event list entering the conference meet … Cashin was named the Big 12 Track and Field Female Athlete of the Week for the second time this indoor season on Feb. 21 … she is the only Mountaineer in program history to win the weekly conference honor … WVU is awaiting the announcement of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship qualifiers, which is set to be released on Tuesday, Feb. 27.

This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia (6-7, 4-4 Big 12) begins the postseason this weekend, as the Mountaineers travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the 2018 Big 12 Wrestling Championship … the two-day tournament will take place on March 3-4 at the BOK Center … action starts Saturday with preliminary and quarterfinal rounds set for a noon ET start … the semifinals and consolation quarterfinals will take place at 6 p.m. ET … the consolation semifinals, as well as the third- and fifth-place matches, will start at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, with the championship matches set for 7 p.m. ET … the championship will be streamed live to subscribers by FloWreslting, with live stats on FloArena … pre-seeds were announced on Monday afternoon … brackets and official seeds will be announced following Friday evening's coaches' meeting.

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

Notes: The Big 12 Conference was awarded 45 automatic qualifying spots, third most behind the Big Ten Conference (80) and the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (47) ... the 125-pound weight class will qualify the top-seven finishers at the 2018 Big 12 Championship – the most of any weight class ... each Division I starter was evaluated for Division I wins at their respective weight class, RPI and coaches' panel rankings ... for each Big 12 wrestler that reached the threshold in two of three categories, the league was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class ... NCAA tournament spots will be awarded at the Big 12 Championship based solely on place-finish ... wrestlers who do not earn a bid at their qualifying tournament may still be eligible for one of 47 at-large bids, which will be announced on March 6 ... all weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers ... a trio of Mountaineers rank in the top-33 of their respective weights in the most recent NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings released on Feb. 22 ... redshirt junior Zeke Moisey comes in at No. 15 at 125 pounds ... the Northampton, Pennsylvania, native finished the regular season with a team-leading 20 wins on the year ... Moisey also paced the Mountaineers with 28 takedowns and is currently tied for the team lead with five pins ... of note, five of West Virginia's six wins this season started with bonus victories from Moisey, including a trio of pins, one tech. fall and one major decision … redshirt senior Jacob A. Smith checks in at No. 22 in his weight class of 197 pounds ... the Charleston, West Virginia, native finished the regular season with an 11-6 overall mark, winning four of his last five duals … redshirt freshman Matthew Schmitt rounds out the Mountaineers in the coaches' panel, coming in at No. 32 at 133 pounds ... the Platte City, Missouri, native ranks second on the team with 18 wins, finishing the regular season with an 18-10 overall mark ... he also has a team-high five major decisions on the year ... additionally, Moisey and Schmitt both appear in the RPI rankings, checking in at No. 12 and No. 24, respectively ... to be eligible for an RPI ranking, a wrestler must have a minimum of 17 Division I matches at their given weight class.

This Week in Rifle: The No. 1-ranked Mountaineers do not compete this week as they prepare for the 2018 NCAA Championships.

Last Week in Rifle: WVU (13-0, 9-0 GARC) claimed its ninth straight and conference-best 13th Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championship title with a 4699 showing at the two-day championships, held Feb. 24-25, at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range inside the WVU Coliseum … the Mountaineers finished first in smallbore with a 2333 score and second in air rifle with a 2366 total … junior Ginny Thrasher swept the individual titles, shooting 250.7 in the air rifle final and 454.8 in the smallbore final … five Mountaineers counted toward the team's smallbore total: sophomore Morgan Phillips (586), senior Elizabeth Gratz (585), Thrasher (583), redshirt-freshman David Koenders (579) and freshman Sarah Osborn (575) … five Mountaineers counted toward the team's air rifle total: Thrasher (595), Phillips (592), Gratz (590), junior Will Anti (589) and Koenders (588).

Notes: Phillips finished second to Thrasher in smallbore and air rifle … Gratz finished seventh in the smallbore final, and freshman Sarah Osborn finished fifth in air rifle … Thrasher now shows four career GARC titles … on Friday night, Gratz was named the GARC Outstanding Senior and Scholar-Athlete … seven Mountaineers claimed 18 All-GARC honors … prior to the championship, the Mountaineers earned the No. 1 seed for the 2018 NCAA Championships.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: WVU is off this week … the Mountaineer divers next compete from March 5-7, at the NCAA Zone A Championship in Piscataway, New Jersey, from March 5-7.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: The Mountaineers earned a pair of second-place finishes at the 2018 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship in Austin, Texas, from Feb. 21-24 … junior Jake Armstrong (100 breast) and redshirt junior Tristen Di Sibio (200 breast) won Big 12 individual titles for the men, as WVU combined to finish with two gold medals, 16 silvers and 12 bronzes throughout the four-day meet … Armstrong successfully defended his 100 breast championship on Feb. 23, earning a victory in 52.59 … the Dover, Ohio, native became the fourth Mountaineer to win multiple Big 12 titles … Di Sibio's breakthrough came on Feb. 24, when he touched the wall in 1:56.00 to win the 200 breast title by just .06 seconds.

Notes: WVU broke 14 school records at the championship meet and finished with 24 All-Big 12 First Team selections … ten others were named to the All-Big 12 Second Team … the men's team finished with a program-best 947.5 team points, while the women collected 650.5 points … the meet marked the third consecutive year in which the Mountaineer men have finished second at the conference meet … Armstrong and Di Sibio's titles marked the first time since 2014 that WVU headed home with multiple Big 12 champions … additionally, diving coach Michael Grapner was named the Men's Diving Coach of the Meet … the Mountaineer swimmers are now awaiting for the announcement of the NCAA Championships qualifiers … the women's meet commences from March 14-17 in Columbus, Ohio, while the men's meet is slated for March 21-24 in Minneapolis.

This Week in Tennis: West Virginia (4-3, 0-0 Big 12) will be back in action on Sunday, March 4, as the Mountaineers take on Old Dominion in Morgantown ... the match is slated to begin at 10 a.m. at the Summit Tennis Academy.

Last Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers won a pair of matches this weekend in Morgantown … on Saturday, WVU halted a Buffalo comeback attempt to win the match 4-3 … West Virginia jumped out to a fast start, leading the Bulls 3-1 before Buffalo tied the match at three all … freshman Giovanna Caputo used her second match-clinching victory to give WVU the 4-3 victory … the Mountaineers earned the weekend sweep with a 5-2 win over Towson on Sunday … WVU won all three doubles matches, before winning the first three singles contests to jump out to an early 4-0 lead … Towson won two of the last three singles matches as Caputo earned a victory at No. 6.

Notes: Sunday's contest between WVU and Old Dominion will be the 10th all-time meeting between the two schools … senior Lyn Yuen Choo and freshman Caputo are tied for the team lead with five singles wins apiece … the doubles pair of Christina Jordan and Sofía Duran tie Choo and Paula Goetz for the most wins in doubles action with four … freshman Anne-Sophie Courteau earned her first career match-clinching victory in Sunday's win over Towson.

This Week in Golf: WVU is off … the Mountaineer return to competition on March 18-19 when they travel to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, for the Hayt Invitational.

Last Week in Golf: WVU returned to Florida for the third straight competition, taking ninth place at the Seminole Intercollegiate … the event was hosted by No. 20 Florida State at Golden Eagle Country Club in Tallahassee … the Mountaineers carded a 303 for 15 over par on the day, slipping three spots to ninth … they shot 291-289-303=883 for 19-over par … junior Max Sear posted his fourth top-20 finish in tournament play, taking 18th … he registered a trio of birdies in the final round, but posted back-to-back double bogeys to finish at four-over par on the day … Sear shot 69-71-76=216 to finish even par … sophomore Etienne Papineau just missed finishing in the top 25, taking 26th at two-over par … he carded a pair of birdies on the final day on his way to a score of 72-72-74=218.

Notes: It marked Sear's fifth top-20 finish in tournament play this season … he is tied with Matthew Sharpstene for the team lead in scoring average at 72.56 … Avery Schneider is third at 73.13 … Etienne Papineau leads the team in par-3 scoring (3.11) … Sear leads the way with a team-best 63 birdies on the season … WVU has played three straight events in Florida; a head-to-head match against Penn State (Feb. 3) and the Martin Downs Collegiate Invite (Feb. 13).

This Week in WVU Baseball: West Virginia continues its season-opening roadtrip with a series at Western Kentucky from March 2-4 … first pitch on Friday, March 2, is set for 4 p.m. ET, while Saturday's contest will commence at 2 p.m. … the series finale at Nick Denes Field is set for Sunday, March 4, at 1 p.m.

Last Week in WVU Baseball: West Virginia traveled to Conway, South Carolina, for the Brittain Resorts Invitational last weekend, where it went 1-3 … WVU opened with a 6-2, 11-inning loss to VCU on Friday in the opener … the Mountaineers followed with a 10-8 victory against Illinois in Saturday's first game, before an 8-5 defeat to VCU in the nightcap … West Virginia concluded the weekend against host Coastal Carolina, with a 5-2 loss … in Saturday's win over Illinois, Kevin Brophy hit three home runs and had eight RBIs, including a grand slam, while Christian Young earned his first win as a Mountaineer and Sam Kessler picked up his second save of the season.

Notes: Brophy's three home runs in Saturday's win over Illinois are tied for second-most in a single game in team history, while his eight RBIs are tied for fifth-most and two shy of tying the program record … both the three home runs and eight RBIs are the most since Grant Buckner hit three home runs and had a WVU-record 10 RBIs on May 8, 2010, vs. Notre Dame … Bill Biddle owns the school record for home runs in a game with four, set on May 9, 1947, vs. the Quantico Marines … Brophy extended his hitting streak to a career-high and team-best five games this weekend after hitting his fourth home run of the day in Saturday's second contest … Tyler Doanes singled in the fifth inning of Friday's game, his first career hit … catcher Ivan Gonzalez threw out a career-high-tying two runners in two games this weekend and also extended his hitting streak to a season-best four games … Andrew Zitel extended his hitting streak to a career-best four games and recorded his third career multi-hit game, and first since 2016, on Sunday … Jimmy Galusky hit home runs in back-to-back games and has three on the season and eight in his career … Kyle Gray hit his first home run of the year and fourth of his career on Sunday, as Galusky and Gray went back-to-back … Friday's 11-inning contest vs. VCU was WVU's first extra-inning game of the year … Connor Hamilton made his Mountaineer debut as a pinch-hitter on Friday, while Jackson Wolf and Nick Denicola made their WVU debuts in Saturday's second contest.