Gardner Named Student-Athlete of the Week

February 05, 2018 02:37 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 record-setting performance at the Akron Invitational on Feb. 3, redshirt junior Madelin Gardner of the track and field team has been named the West Virginia University Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Gardner broke the indoor school record in the women's pole vault with a mark of 4.37 meters (14 feet, 4 inches), earning a second-place finish in the event. She topped her former indoor record of 4.15 meters, which was set on Dec. 2, 2017, at the Marty Pushkin Track Classic in Morgantown.

The Williamstown, West Virginia, native was one of 10 top-five finishers for the Mountaineers at the two-day meet. She cleared marks of 4.23 meters, 4.30 meters and 4.37 meters. Her final jump ranks second in the Big 12 this indoor season, as well as eighth nationally.

This Week in Women's Basketball: WVU will host No. 8 Texas in a rematch on Monday … the game is set to air on FS1 with Ted Emrich and Dan Hughes on the call … the Longhorns won the first meeting, 79-58, in Austin, Texas, on Dec. 31.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: The No. 21 Mountaineers traveled to Norman, Oklahoma, for a Big 12 contest against the Oklahoma Sooners … they fell to the Sooners, 76-57 … junior guard Katrina Pardee led the scoring with 13 points … senior forward Kristina King had 12, and junior guard Naomi Davenport added 11.

Notes: The Mountaineers ranked at No. 21 in both the AP and USA TODAY Polls last week … senior forward Teana Muldrow had a team-best 11 rebounds in the loss … it was her 12th 10-rebound performance of the season, tying her for the league lead … all five WVU starters are currently averaging in double-figure scoring: Teana Muldrow (19.9), Davenport (16.7), Pardee (12.1), Chania Ray (11.0) and King (10.0) … the Mountaineers went 16-for-17 from the free-throw line to shoot 94.1 percent - a season best … WVU's five 3-pointers was its lowest output from beyond the arc since Jan. 7 vs. Iowa State (4).

This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers complete a three-week swing away from Morgantown at No. 11 Denver with No. 25 George Washington on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 8 p.m. EST.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU (5-4, 0-1) scored 195.025 and finished second at No. 24 Iowa State on Feb. 2, at Hilton Coliseum, in Ames, Iowa … the Cyclones scored 196.2 and finished first … Northern Illinois scored 194.375 and finished third, while Yale placed fourth with a 192.8 total … the Mountaineers surged ahead to second in the fourth rotation, scoring a meet-high 49.05 on vault, their second-best score of the season … WVU also placed second on uneven bars (48.775) and third on beam (48.525) and floor (48.675) … senior Zaakira Muhammad matched her vault career high of 9.9 and tied for the event win … junior Kirah Koshinski scored 9.875 and finished in third … junior Carly Galpin tallied a season-high 9.85 on beam and finished in second … classmate Jaquie Tun matched her bars season high of 9.85 and placed second … three Mountaineers – senior Jordan Gillette and sophomores Abby Kaufman and Erica Fontaine – scored 9.775 on floor and placed fifth.

Notes: Friday marked WVU's Big 12 Conference season opener … the Mountaineers are 0-3 against ranked teams this season … sophomore Julia Merwin scored a career-high 9.85 on vault and finished in fifth place.

This Week in Track and Field: WVU travels to a pair of meets from Feb. 9-10 ... the Mountaineers will compete in the Marshall Invitational in Huntington, West Virginia, while select members of the team visit Boston University's David Hemery Invite in Boston.

Last Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers earned a total of three wins and 10 top-five finishes at the Akron Invitational, from Feb. 2-3, in Akron, Ohio ... on Friday, senior Sara Finfrock tied for first in the women's pole vault blue division, earning a mark of 3.83 meters (12 feet, 6.75 inches) ... WVU saw a pair of victories on Saturday, as freshman McKenna Smith won the women's 400 meters blue division (57.08) and senior Shamoya McNeil won the women's triple jump gold division with a mark of 12.82 meters (42 feet, 0.75 inches) ... additionally, redshirt junior Madelin Gardner broke the indoor school record during the women's pole vault gold division, earning a mark of 4.37 meters (14 feet, 4 inches) ... Gardner broke her own indoor record mark of 4.15 meters, which was set on Dec. 2, 2017, at the Marty Pushkin Track Classic in Morgantown ... the Williamstown, West Virginia, native finished second in the event, clearing marks of 4.23 meters, 4.30 meters and 4.37 meters.

Notes: Gardner's record-setting jump is the second-best mark in the Big 12 this indoor season and eighth-best nationally ... redshirt freshman Kyrielle Williams placed second in the women's long jump blue division in Akron, earning a mark of 1.60 meters (5 feet, 3 inches) ... redshirt freshman Antigone Archer finished third in the women's mile blue division in 5:14.37 ... WVU will compete for the fifth straight weekend when it travels to Marshall and Boston University ... the Mountaineers are competing at Marshall for the second straight year and third time in four years.

This Week in Wrestling: After a month on the road, the Mountaineers (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) return home for a match against South Dakota State on Sunday, Feb. 11, at 2 p.m. … West Virginia will host its annual Cradles for Cancer event against the Jack Rabbits for the second straight year ... the match was started by fourth-year coach Sammie Henson in 2015 in honor of his wife, Stephanie, a breast cancer survivor, as a way to raise awareness for cancer … WVU Medicine will be sponsoring the match and collecting donations for the breast cancer program at the WVU Cancer Institute ... fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match and can get the WVU Athletics official "pink" t-shirt with a donation of $10 or more to WVU Medicine ... Mountaineer fans also can bring their valentine to the meet and get two tickets for the price of one … tickets are available at a cost of $5 for general admission and $3 for youth and seniors … groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $2 each … tickets are available by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVU-GAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum.

Last Week in Wrestling: West Virginia came back to Morgantown on Sunday with a pair of Big 12 wins … on Friday, the Mountaineers overcame a 18-12 deficit to defeat Air Force, 19-18, on the third tiebreaker criteria, picking up their first-ever conference road win at Clune Arena, in USAF Academy, Colorado … with the dual split at five matches apiece and each team owning a six-point victory, it came down to total match points … the Mountaineers outscored the Falcons, 28-27, to take the dual victory over their Big 12 opponent … West Virginia then completed its five-day road trip with a 24-16 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday, at the Bank of Colorado Arena, in Greeley, Colorado … redshirt freshman Kyler Rea earned his first pin of the season at 149 pounds, winning by fall over UNC's Jimmy Fate in 1 minute, 32 seconds … redshirt junior Zeke Moisey also earned his third tech. fall (15-0) of the season over Sean Cannon of Northern Colorado at 125 pounds … junior Christian Monserrat notched his third major of the year with a 9-1 victory over UNC's Ben Polkowske at 141 pounds.

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 ... 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 sports a team-high 18-7 record on the year, winning six of his last seven duals … the Northampton, Pennsylvania, native also paces the Mountaineers with 32 match points and owns a team-best 23 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 line up against No. 3 Kentucky on Sunday, Feb. 11, at 10 a.m., at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building.

Last Week in Rifle: WVU (12-0, 8-0 GARC) did not compete last week.

Notes: Sunday's match marks the debut of the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range … the winner will claim the Great America Rifle Conference regular-season title, an honor the Mountaineers have won the last four years and a conference-best 10 times overall.

This Week in Swimming & Diving: The Mountaineers are off this week ... WVU returns to action at the Big 12 Championship, from Feb. 21-24, in Austin, Texas.

Last Week in Swimming & Diving: WVU was off last week.

Notes: With WVU's dual-meet win over Villanova on Jan. 27, the men's team finished with a 5-0 record in dual meets this season, marking the group's first undefeated campaign since 2006-07 ... the men opened the 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 ... sophomore Trayton Saladin tallied three individual victories over the Wildcats in the 200 freestyle, 200 backstroke and 500 freestyle ... senior Logan McHenry swept both springboard events at the meet, while sophomore Morgan Bullock paced the women's team with three total victories.

This Week in Tennis: WVU will host George Washington on Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Summit Tennis Academy in Morgantown.

Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia (0-2) opened its 2018 campaign with a pair of matches against James Madison and VCU in Morgantown … the Mountaineers fell to the Dukes, 6-1, at the Summit Tennis Academy … on Sunday, WVU overcame a fast start by VCU, but ultimately fell 4-2 to the Rams.

WVU Coach Miha Lisac Following Sunday's Loss against VCU: "We definitely showed more resilience today. We showed a different approach. Doubles were big. Unfortunately, it didn't click in doubles two days in a row and that hurt us both days, especially today. Looking forward, we are looking to improve on the areas that didn't go as well."

This Week in Golf: The Mountaineers return to Florida to compete in the Martin Downs Collegiate … UNCG will host the event at Martin Downs Golf Club in Palm City from Feb. 11-13.

Last Week in Golf: WVU traveled to Orlando, Florida, to face Penn State in head-to-head action for the Athletic Directors Trophy at Reunion Resort … the Mountaineers shot 378 as a team, finishing 18 over par … the Nittany Lions finished with a team score of 363 for three over par, winning the trophy … six players represented each team, with the top five scores counting for their respective programs ... it was the second head-to-head meeting in two years for the programs, who started battling for the Athletic Directors Trophy in 1971 .. Max Sear led the Mountaineers with a 73 for one over par, while freshman Matthew Sharpstene shot two over with a 74.

Notes: Etienne Papineau leads the team in scoring with a stroke average of 72.42 … Matthew Sharpstene, who became WVU's first-ever Big 12 Golfer of the Month in December, is coming off a top-20 finish at the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational ... he ranks second on the team with a scoring average of 73.17 … Max Sear boasts a scoring average of 73.75 and a pair of top-10 finishes on the season … he competed in last season's Athletic Directors Trophy Battle, as did Nicholls and Papineau.

WVU Coach Sean Covich following Saturday's action against Penn State: "I saw a lot of good stuff out there today from our guys, especially our effort and attitude. We've come a long way since this time last year. (I'm) disappointed we didn't come out with the win, but we learned a lot and this event helps us get ready for our first full-field tournament next weekend."