Babic Named Student-Athlete of the Week

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

October 28, 2019 03:48 PM | General, Golf, Men's Soccer, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Cross Country, Rowing, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Volleyball, Wrestling

Varsity Sports Report

By: WVU Athletics Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After leading the No. 1-ranked Mountaineers to a victory over No. 2 TCU, the defending National Champions, senior Milica Babic of the West Virginia University rifle team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

For the second straight match, Babic led the way in air rifle, matching her career-high score of 599 (100-99-100-100-100-100) to finish first. The last time she recorded a 599 mark was against Army West Point on Nov. 5, 2017. The Belgrade, Serbia, native also tied for sixth in smallbore, shooting 582. In all, the eight-time All-American finished in a four-way tie for first place with a combined score of 1181.

Although the two squads had matching aggregate totals of 4708, the Mountaineers outshot the Horned Frogs in center shots, 311-293, ultimately handing WVU the match victory.

This Week in Women's Soccer: West Virginia (9-6-2, 4-3-1 Big 12) concludes its regular-season slate against TCU on Thursday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. … Thursday's match will be televised nationally on FS1 … the Mountaineers will recognize the team's four seniors prior to the match and celebrate Halloween by offering free admission and candy to fans who come dressed in a costume … a costume contest also will be held during the game.

Last Week in Women's Soccer: The Mountaineers earned a draw and a win in their final conference road trip of the regular season … WVU opened the week with a 1-1 draw against No. 23 Kansas at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence … freshman forward Enzi Broussard opened scoring in the fifth minute after she took a low cross from sophomore Jordan Brewster and sent a shot just inside the left post … KU found the equalizer in the 84th minute … the two teams battled through 26 minutes of play before the match ended in a 1-1 draw … the Mountaineers stretched their unbeaten streak to three matches on Sunday as WVU earned a 3-0 win over Kansas State at Buser Family Park … freshman Gabby Robinson secured her first career goal in the 42nd minute … Broussard added a goal in the 63rd to extend her scoring streak to two matches, while senior Jade Gentile scored two minutes later to give WVU a 3-0 win.

Notes: Sunday's shutout win over Kansas State marked the seventh clean sheet of the season for WVU … WVU is unbeaten in 10 of its last 11 conference road matches dating back to 2017 … senior goalkeeper Rylee Foster tied a career-high with nine saves on Thursday … she ranks second in the Big 12 with 60 saves on the year … Foster is also tied for second with six shutouts this season … Broussard's scoring streak marks the first time this season a student-athlete has scored in consecutive games this season and the second time a player has earned points in two straight matches (Jessica Lisi vs. Stanford and High Point).

This Week in Men's Soccer: The Mountaineers' two-match road trip concludes on Saturday, Nov. 2, at SIU Edwardsville … kickoff at Korte Stadium in Edwardsville, Illinois, is set for 8 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Men's Soccer: West Virginia (6-7-1, 0-3 MAC) fell at Bowling Green 3-0 on Oct. 26 … the Falcons began the scoring with a goal in the 36th minute, before adding two more tallies in the second half … BGSU outshot WVU 12-8 including 7-3 in shots on goal … junior goalkeeper Steven Tekesky made four saves for the Mountaineers, including three in the second half … senior midfielder Andres Muriel Albino led the squad with two shots, including one on goal.

Notes: Saturday's match marks the third meeting between WVU and SIUE … the Mountaineers lead the all-time series, 2-0 … last year, WVU topped the then-No. 20 Cougars 5-1 in Morgantown … Muriel Albino and freshman forward Rodrigo Robles Grajera co-lead the team with six goals each, which is tied for No. 3 in the MAC … senior defender Albert Andres-Llop and freshman midfielder Luke McCormick each have five assists this season, good for a tie of No. 5 in the conference … McCormick is tied for No. 6 nationally in assists among freshmen … last week's loss at Bowling Green was West Virginia's first regular-season, conference setback on the road since Oct. 29, 2016, at Western Michigan.

This Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia will host Salem in an exhibition on Tuesday … the two will square off at 7 p.m. as part of the Mountaineers' annual Haunted Hoops game … Trunk-or-Treat starts in the Coliseum parking lot at 5 p.m. and will continue inside the Coliseum when gates open at 5:30 p.m.

Last Season in Women's Basketball: The Mountaineers finished the 2018-19 season with a 22-11 mark overall and an 11-7 record in league play … WVU tied for fourth place in the Big 12 … the Mountaineers earned their second straight postseason WNIT bid … the team advanced to the third round before falling to Northwestern … WVU picked up wins over No. 18 Iowa State and No. 12 Texas last year … the upset of the Longhorns marked the Mountaineers' first-ever win at Texas.

Notes: West Virginia returns four letterwinners from last season's squad … 2019 Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Kari Niblack and Big 12 All-Freshman Team honoree Madisen Smith return after stellar freshmen campaigns … senior Lucky Rudd and junior Kysre Gondrezick each return for their second season with the Mountaineers … WVU welcomes a pair of freshmen in guard Kirsten Deans and forward Esmery Martinez … juniors Blessing Ejiofor and Arleighshya McElroy, as well as redshirt sophomore Jada Wright are slated to make their WVU debuts after transferring from junior colleges, while redshirt freshman Rochelle Norris will play her first game after sitting out last year due to injury … walk-on Maddox Cherry is a recent addition to the team.

This Week in Volleyball: Looking to get back on track in the second half of Big 12 Conference play, West Virginia (10-11, 1-7) welcomes Kansas State (7-13, 2-6) to the WVU Coliseum on Wednesday, Oct. 30, for a 6 p.m. ET tilt ... it is the first of two Dollar Nights planned for the year … all tickets and select concessions will be available for $1 each … attendees also are invited to enter a Halloween costume contest, and a pumpkin patch photo station will be set up for pictures ... additionally, the Mountaineers will pass out candy following the match … following Wednesday night's contest, West Virginia will return to the Lonestar State on Sunday, Nov. 3, for a nationally televised matchup against No. 1 Texas (14-2, 8-0), at Gregory Gymnasium, in Austin, Texas … first serve is set to begin at 1 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

Last Week in Volleyball: West Virginia dropped a pair of Big 12 matches on the road last week, falling in three sets at TCU on Thursday and dropping a four-set match at No. 1 Baylor on Saturday … WVU finished the week hitting .165 with 83 kills and 18 total blocks … senior outside hitter Katelyn Evans led the team with 32 kills last week, averaging 4.57 per set to rank second in the Big 12 … sophomore setter Lacey Zerwas dished out 73 assists to average 10.43 per set, ranking fourth in the conference … additionally, junior middle blocker Briana Lynch (1.75 b/s) and redshirt junior middle blocker Audrey Adams (1.29 b/s) finished the week ranking third and eighth, respectively, in blocks per set.

Notes: As a team, WVU is hitting .201 and averaging 12.58 kills per set … Evans paces WVU's offense, averaging 3.16 kills per set to rank seventh in the league, followed by sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Kristina Jordan in ninth, with 3.03 kills per set … Zerwas quarterbacks the Mountaineer offense, ranking fourth in the Big 12 with 10.12 assists per set … junior defensive specialist Alexa Hasting anchors WVU's floor defense, averaging 4.10 digs per set to rank third in the league … Hasting, a native of Plain City, Ohio, eclipsed her 1,000th career dig in the loss at Baylor on Saturday … the last Mountaineer to reach 1,000 career digs was Gianna Gotterba, as she hit the mark at Iowa State on Nov. 2, 2016.

This Week in Golf: West Virginia travels to Hawai'i for the Ka'anapali Collegiate Classic … the University of Hawai'i will host the event at the Royal Ka'anapali Course, in Lahaina, from Nov. 1-3 … it marks WVU's third straight season at the event.

Last Week in Golf: The Mountaineers joined UCF in hosting The Tavistock Collegiate Invitational from Oct. 20-22 at Isleworth Golf and Country Club, in Windermere, Florida … WVU took 15th place with a team score of 891 for 27-over-par … UCF claimed top honors at 22-under-par … senior Etienne Papineau tied for 33rd place at four-over … junior Logan Perkins tied for 38th place at five-over-par.

Notes: The Mountaineers sit at No. 45 in the Golfstat rankings … they come in at No. 40 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings … Papineau leads the scoring with a 71.83 stroke average … Perkins leads the team at 0.25 vs. par with a 72.00 scoring average … junior Matthew Sharpstene (72.00), senior Philipp Matlari (72.00) and freshman Nico Lang (72.50) all boast scoring averages under 73.00 this season.

This Week in Cross Country: The Mountaineers open postseason action at the Big 12 Championship on Saturday, Nov. 2 … the women's 6k race is scheduled to begin at noon ET, at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Club, in Waco, Texas.

Last Week in Cross Country: WVU was off last week.

Notes: Saturday's competition marks the 24th annual running of the championship … the Mountaineers finished fourth at last year's race … then-sophomore Hayley Jackson finished eighth overall (20:42.2) and earned All-Big 12 honors for a top-15 finish … Jackson became the ninth Mountaineer to earn all-conference honors since WVU joined the conference in 2012 … Olivia Hill, Charlotte Wood, Bree Warren and Candace Jones also competed for WVU, helping the team earn fourth place with 96 team points … it was WVU's second consecutive year finishing fourth at the conference meet … the Mountaineers' best finishes at the Big 12 Championship were in 2013 and 2014, when they earned second place … WVU is seeking its third conference championship and first Big 12 title in program history … the Mountaineers earned conference titles as members of the Big East (2007) and Atlantic 10 (1994).

This Week in Rifle: The No. 1-ranked Mountaineers (2-0, 1-0) will hit the road for a pair of Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) matchups this week … West Virginia will lineup at No. 7 Ole Miss (2-0 1-0) on Saturday, Nov. 2, with action inside the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center, in Oxford, Mississippi, set to begin at 9 a.m. ET ... WVU closes the weekend at No. 10 Memphis (0-1, 0-1) on Sunday, Nov. 3, with the head-to-head match set for a 9 a.m. ET start at the Fogelman Rifle Range, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Last Week in Rifle: West Virginia shot an identical aggregate score of 4708 in a marquee matchup against No. 2 TCU, the reigning National Champions, on Saturday, at the WVU Rifle Range, in Morgantown … although the two squads had matching aggregate totals, the Mountaineers outshot the Horned Frogs in center shots, 311-293, ultimately handing WVU the victory ... WVU defeated TCU in air rifle, 2382-2374, but suffered a 2334-2326 setback in smallbore.

Notes: Five Mountaineers shot toward the team score in both disciplines on Saturday: senior Milica Babic, juniors David Koenders and Sarah Osborn, sophomore Jared Eddy and freshman Akihito Shimizu … with the win, WVU improves to 7-2 all-time against TCU … senior Morgan Phillips and Babic finished in a four-way tie for first place overall, with each shooter posting an aggregate total of 1181 … Babic also led the way in air rifle for the second straight contest, matching her career-high score of 599 to finish first … additionally, Phillips matched her season-best 589, including a program-record matching 200 prone, to place first in smallbore … WVU's season aggregate average of 4713.5 ranks first nationally.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: The Mountaineers open their home slate this weekend as they host the annual West Virginia State Games in the inaugural meet at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park from Nov. 1-2 … action begins on Friday at 6 p.m., then continues on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: WVU did not compete last week.

Notes: The annual West Virginia State Games features swimming and diving programs from across the state … the meet is now in its ninth year … the Mountaineer men have won the State Games in each of its eight seasons … the women have claimed the meet victory in seven of its eight seasons … Marshall hosted last year's State Games, as WVU finished in first place at the meet … the men earned 1,829 points to capture first place, while the women earned 1,462.5 points to top the leaderboard … this weekend marks the first competition in WVU's new home in the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park … the team hosted its final meet in the WVU Natatorium, the home of the WVU swimming and diving program since 1975, on January 12, 2019 … the brand new, state-of-the-art facility is Morgantown's first 50m, Olympic-sized swimming pool.

This Week in Rowing: West Virginia travels to Fairfax Station, Virginia, for the 35th annual Head of the Occoquan ... Saturday's regatta will mark the first intercollegiate competition for 29 student-athletes, who were named to the novice squad on Sept. 12 ... this season marks the 12th time WVU has competed at the Head of the Occoquan … the Mountaineers began competing in Fairfax Station in 2000 … it also marks the 10th consecutive season that West Virginia has competed in the regatta.

Last Week in Rowing: The Mountaineers were off last week ... WVU last competed at the inaugural Yinzer Cup in Neville Township, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 19, hosted by Robert Morris ... West Virginia competed against Canisius, George Mason, Marietta and host Robert Morris and raced its way to three top-five finishes in two events ... two WVU 4s placed second (11:51.89) and fourth (12:14.29) in the varsity 4+ race ... the Mountaineer first varisty eight crew capped the regatta by placing third (10:47.70) in the varsity 8+ race.

Notes: The 2019-20 season marks the 21st season of competition for the Mountaineer rowing program ... WVU coach Jimmy King enters his 12th season at the helm of the Mountaineers ... this year's squad is comprised of 65 student-athletes, including 30 returners and 35 newcomers ... West Virginia added 29 members to its novice squad on Sept. 12.

This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia officially begins its 2019-20 season on Sunday, Nov. 3, at the Southeast Open … the open is set to start at 9 a.m. at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia.

Last Season in Wrestling: West Virginia finished 4-14 in 2018-19, earning a ninth-place finish at the 2019 Big 12 Wrestling Championship and placing 43rd at the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

Notes: The 2019-20 campaign marks the program's 94th season … coach Tim Flynn's second season will be highlighted by 12 dual matches, including six at the WVU Coliseum … the Mountaineers will wrestle nine Big 12 duals, including four at home … West Virginia will compete in its first dual match of the season on Nov. 16, as it takes on Big 12-member Northern Colorado at Bank of Colorado Arena, in Greeley, Colorado … the match marks the second consecutive season the Mountaineers and Bears have faced each other in the dual-match opener as WVU topped UNC 22-14, in Morgantown last season.

This Week in Tennis: West Virginia travels to Louisville, Kentucky, from Nov. 1-3, for the Louisville Tennis Classic ... this year's tournament is hosted at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center ... WVU is set to travel to the Louisville Tennis Classic for the third consecutive year.

Last Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers traveled to Blacksburg, Virginia, to compete at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Women's Atlantic Regional from Oct. 25-27 ... junior Anne-Sophie Courteau and freshman Kat Lyman led the team in wins last weekend, as they each collected three (all doubles) at this year's regional ... the duo claimed victories against No. 2 -seed and preseason No. 27-ranked Holly Hutchinson and Brooke Pilkington of Old Dominion, 8-7, and against No. 15-seed Natalia Perry and Mila Saric of William & Mary, 8-5 ... Courteau and Lyman reached the quartefinals of the doubles main draw, before dropping their final contest, 5-8 ... sophomore Anastasiia Bovolskaia paced the team in singles at this year's regional, with two wins ... Bovolskaia collected wins over VCU's Kanako Yano and No. 15-seed Natalia Perry of William & Mary, as she reached the round of 16 in the singles main draw.

Notes: WVU has compiled a combined record of 50-33 (33-21 in singles, 17-12 in doubles) through five tournaments ... Courteau leads the Mountaineers with an overall record of 15-8 ... Courteau and Lyman are tied for the team lead in singles wins, with eight ... Courteau also leads the team in doubles wins, with seven ... junior Giovanna Caputo leads the team in win percentage (.667) ... Bovolskaia (11), Caputo (10), Courteau (15) and Lyman (14) have each posted 10 wins this fall ... Courteau and Lyman's appearance in the quarterfinals of this year's ITA Regional marked WVU's first appearance in the fourth round since 2013, when Kaja Mrgole and Oana Manole represented West Virginia against William & Mary's Maria Belaya and Jeltje Loomans ... Bovolskaia's appearance in the round of 16 marks WVU's first appearance in the third round since 2017, when Lyn Yuen Choo reached the round of 16 after upsetting No.14-seed Ines Milosevic of Penn State, 6-0, 6-3.