Koenders Named Student-Athlete of the Week

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

January 22, 2019 11:10 AM | General, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Track & Field, Wrestling

Varsity Sports Report

By: WVU Athletics Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After leading the No. 2-ranked Mountaineers to victory with two season-best winning scores, sophomore David Koenders of the West Virginia University rifle team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

A native of Mossautal, Germany, Koenders won the individual competitions in WVU's 4703-4665 victory over No. 7 Ole Miss on Jan. 20, shooting 585 smallbore and 594 air rifle. Both scores were season highs for the All-American.

The Mountaineers swept the Rebels on Sunday at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building, winning smallbore, 2328-2304, and air rifle, 2375-2361.

This Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia hosts a pair of Big 12 contests at the WVU Coliseum … the Mountaineers welcome Texas Tech to Morgantown on Wednesday in a 6 p.m. tipoff … the game is set to air on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh and FSN … it's Daddy/Daughter Night at the Coliseum with two-for-one tickets … it's also Faculty/Staff Night … WVU will play host to Kansas State on Saturday at 4 p.m. … it's Family Day with four tickets and a $15 concessions voucher for $25.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: The West Virginia women's basketball team went 1-1 in Big 12 action last week … on Wednesday, the Mountaineers posted a 73-64 upset win over No. 18 Iowa State at home … junior guard Lucky Rudd had a career-high 22 points to lead the way in the win … redshirt junior guard Tynice Martin had 20 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double … WVU shot 44.0 percent from the field and 82.8 percent at the free-throw line in the win … the Mountaineers fell to No. 2/3 Baylor, 79-47, on Sunday in Waco, Texas … Martin posted 18 points to lead the scoring, hitting four 3-pointers … senior forward Naomi Davenport added 10 points and a pair of steals, while freshman guard Madisen Smith hit double figures with 11 points.

Notes: West Virginia earned its biggest win of the season on Wednesday when it topped No. 18 Iowa State, 73-64, at home … the victory marked WVU's first over a ranked opponent since Dec. 3, 2017, when the Mountaineers downed Texas A&M, 70-56, at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas … it was the Mountaineers' first triumph over a ranked opponent at the WVU Coliseum since Feb. 15, 2017, when they earned a 66-59 win over Kansas State … West Virginia last beat a ranked Big 12 opponent on March 6, 2017, with a 77-66 win over No. 3 Baylor in the Big 12 Championship game … starting in place of injured guard Katrina Pardee, Rudd had a career night in the win over the Cyclones … the Kernersville, North Carolina, native finished with a career-high 22 points, surpassing her previous career best of 12 set at Oklahoma … Martin picked up her third double-double of the season in Wednesday's win over Iowa State … the Atlanta native grabbed 11 rebounds, then completed the feat with 20 points … she is one of four Mountaineers to register a double-double this season, as the Mountaineers have 11 in the books so far … Davenport leads the way with four double-doubles, including a triple-double, followed by Martin and freshman Kari Niblack with three each and senior center Theresa Ekhelar with one.

This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers open their 2019 home season at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 27, at 2 p.m., against George Washington and Kent State … it's Daddy-Daughter Day, and a brunch of donuts, coffee and juice will be provided to fans … additionally, it's Mountaineer Kids Club Day, and all members of the Mountaineer Kids Club can pick-up their t-shirt and pillow case at the WVU Coliseum Gold Gate … Mr. Twister will be in attendance, and a poster-making station will be available … the Mountaineers will meet with fans at Chalk Talk following the competition to sign posters.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU (6-2, 0-1) tallied 194.75 for a first-place finish at Air Force on Jan. 17 … the host Falcons finished second (193.675), and Cortland placed third (180.475) … the Mountaineers finished first on each event but balance beam, scoring 48.85 on vault and floor exercise and 48.425 on uneven bars … WVU finished second on beam with a 48.625 total … senior Kirah Koshinski matched her career-best vault score of 9.95 and finished first overall … she also tied for first on floor with a 9.85 … freshman Rachel Hornung won balance beam with a career-best 9.825, and classmate Esperanza Abarca won bars with a career-best matching 9.8 … junior Abby Kaufman tallied 38.7 in the all-around and finished second.

Notes: Koshinski ranks No. 8 nationally on vault with a 9.892 score … she is tied with WVU legend Kristin Quackenbush at No. 2 in the program record book with 35 career scores of 9.9 or better … Hornung and Abarca have paced WVU on beam and bars, respectively, in each of the three meets this season … junior Julia Merwin finished third on beam with a career-best 9.725.

This Week in Track & Field: The Mountaineers travel to the PSU National Open, in University Park, Pennsylvania, from Jan. 25-26 … the two-day meet is set to begin at 4 p.m. on Friday, with Saturday's start time set for 11 a.m.

Last Season in Track & Field: WVU earned two wins and a total of eight top-eight finishes, including four top-three performances, at the YSU College Invite, on Jan. 18, in Youngstown, Ohio … redshirt senior Madelin Gardner won the women's pole vault with a season-best and Watson and Tressel Training Site (WATTS)-record jump of 4.31 meters (14 feet, 1.75 inches) … redshirt freshman Hayley Jackson won the women's 3,000 meters with a time of 9:54.40 … additionally, freshman Peter-Gay McKenzie earned a pair of top-three finishes, placing second in the women's 60-meter dash (7.73) and third in the women's high jump (unseeded) with a mark of 1.57 meters (5 feet, 1.75 inches).

Notes: Gardner's jump ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 and tied for No. 6 nationally so far this season … Jackson's win in the 3,000 meters came by more than 17 seconds … this weekend marks the Mountaineers' first two-day meet of the season … it's also the first of two stops to University Park for WVU this indoor season (Penn State Tune-Up, Feb. 16) … the meet marks the eighth time WVU will compete at an indoor meet at Penn State since the 2014-15 season … last year, Shamoya McNeil won the women's triple jump at the PSU National Open, while Candance Jones won the 1,000-meter invitational, Amy Cashin in the women's mile and Sara Finfrock in the women's pole vault.

This Week in Wrestling: WVU (2-11, 2-4 Big 12) will hit the road for its next three matches to close out the month of January … the team will start its road swing in Orem, Utah, as WVU faces CSU Bakersfield (4-5, 0-0 WAC) in a neutral-site matchup on Jan. 25, at 5 p.m., followed by a dual against Big 12 affiliate Utah Valley (8-7, 0-1 Big 12) at 9 p.m. … from there, the Mountaineers will trek to Laramie, Wyoming, to square off with No. 11 Wyoming (11-3, 2-1 Big 12), the squad's second Big 12 match of the weekend, on Jan. 27, at 3 p.m. … direct links to the video stream and live stats can be found on the wresting schedule page on WVUsports.com.

Last Week in Wrestling: West Virginia suffered a 40-3 setback to No. 3 Oklahoma State on Friday, followed by a 36-3 loss to No. 16 Iowa State on Sunday … sophomore Nick Kiussis picked up a pair of wins last weekend, including a 6-4 decision in sudden victory over No. 19 Andrew Shomers of Oklahoma State … with the win, the 165-pound wrestler has topped a trio of ranked opponents and has won seven of his last eight duals for a 16-5 record on the year.

Notes: The Mountaineers have now faced nine teams ranked inside the USA Today/NWCA Coaches' Top-25 Poll this season … CSU Bakersfield owns a 2-0 lead in the all-time series, with the last meeting taking place in 2017 ... West Virginia met Utah Valley for the first time in program history last season, as the Wolverines walked away with the 24-9 neutral-site victory … Wyoming holds a 1-0 all-time series advantage, though the squads have not faced each other head-to-head since 2009 … the Mountaineers enter the week with a trio of wrestlers ranked at their respective weight class in the latest Intermat rankings … redshirt sophomore Matthew Schmitt (133) sits at No. 15, while redshirt senior Christian Monserrat (149) checks in at No. 16 … Kiussis moved up one spot to No. 19, following a win in sudden victory vs. Oklahoma State's Shomers, who was ranked at No. 19 by Intermat ... Kiussis leads the team with 16 wins, while Monserrat has a team-best 38 match points on the year.

This Week in Rifle: The No. 2-ranked Mountaineers continue their homestand against Navy on Saturday, Jan. 26, with action at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building set to begin at 10 a.m.

Last Week in Rifle: WVU (11-0, 6-0 GARC) opened its spring season with a 4703-4665 win over No. 7 Ole Miss on Jan. 20, at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range … the Mountaineers swept the Rebels, winning smallbore, 2328-2304, and air rifle, 2375-2361 … sophomore David Koenders shot a season-high 585 (198 kneeling, 107 prone, 190 standing) for the smallbore win … he also shot a season-best 594 (100-98-99-99-100-98) for the air rifle victory, a win he shared with junior Milica Babic (97-100-99-100-99-99) and freshman Verena Zaisberger (99-100-98-98-99-100).

Notes: WVU's aggregate and air rifle marks were the team's fourth-best scores of the season … Zaisberger, a freshman, made her WVU debut Sunday and also finished second in smallbore with a 584 score … five Mountaineers counted toward the team's scores: Babic, Koenders, Zaisberger, senior Ginny Thrasher and sophomore Sarah Osborn.

This Week in Swimming & Diving: The Mountaineer women's team closes the 2018-19 regular season by traveling to Ames, Iowa, for a Big 12 dual meet at Iowa State on Saturday, Jan. 26 … the competition is set to begin at 12 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Swimming & Diving: The WVU men fell to Penn State, 173-122, on Jan. 18, at McCoy Natatorium, in University Park, Pennsylvania … the Mountaineers earned five total victories, including two by sophomore Angelo Russo (100 backstroke, 100 butterfly) … senior Jake Armstrong and sophomore Philip Kay also earned individual wins for WVU … the men's team concluded the regular season with a 4-2 dual-meet record.

Notes: The women's team will compete against Iowa State for the sixth consecutive season … last year, WVU earned a 160-140 win over the Cyclones in Morgantown, marking the team's first win over the Big 12 foe … the Mountaineers and Nittany Lions met for the first time since the 2014-15 season last week … Saturday's meet marks the final competition before the 2019 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship, from Feb. 27-March 2, in Austin, Texas.