Robles Grajera Named Student-Athlete of the Week

Photo by: Parker Sheppard

September 16, 2019 02:17 PM | General, Golf, Men's Soccer, Cross Country, Women's Soccer, Tennis, Volleyball

By: WVU Athletics Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Following his two-goal performance in the Mountaineers' 5-2 win over No. 15 Coastal Carolina, freshman forward Rodrigo Robles Grajera of the men's soccer team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Robles Grajera came on as a sub and scored two goals in a 32-second span against the Chanticleers. He scored his first career goal off a CCU turnover in the 37th minute, before he headed in a second goal moments later.

A native of Burgos, Spain, Robles Grajera is WVU's co-leader in goals and points. He enters the week tied for No. 6 in the Mid-American Conference in points.

With the win, WVU (3-1-1) has now defeated a top-25 opponent in 12 of the last 14 seasons under coach Marlon LeBlanc. Earlier in the week, the Mountaineers earned a 0-0 draw against No. 12 Charlotte on Sept. 10.

This Week in Women's Soccer: West Virginia begins a three-game homestand with a pair of matches against Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday, Sept. 17, and Bowling Green on Sunday, Sept. 22 … Friday's match will be School Night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium … all local elementary schools will be given complimentary tickets and WVU pencils … it is also Friday Night Happy Hour, with half-priced beverages available from 6-7 p.m. … WVU will host Youth Soccer Day on Sunday as it welcomes Bowling Green to Morgantown … fans who wear a youth soccer jersey will earn free admission, and a free postgame clinic for children ages 12 and under will follow the match … the Mountaineers will Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer and don gold shoelaces during the match to raise money for WVU Medicine Children's.

Last Week in Women's Soccer: The Mountaineers (3-3-1) split a pair of matches last week, defeating Stony Brook, 6-1, on Sept. 12, before falling 3-0 to No. 15 Virginia on Sept. 15 … freshmen Nicole Payne and Julianne Vallerand registered a brace each in WVU's win over the Seawolves, marking the first time in program history that two freshmen have scored a pair two goals each in a match … Sophomore midfielder Isabella Sibley and freshman Gabby Hollar also scored in the win … Sibley's goal marked the first of the season, while Hollar registered the first goal of her career … Payne earned her first the game-winning goal in the 67th minute … sophomore Lizzie Mayfield became the first Mountaineer to register two assists in a game this season and the first since Jordan Brewster recorded two helpers against Radford on Nov. 10, 2018 … WVU secured season highs in points (16), assists (4), shot percentage (.333) and shots on goal (14) in the win … the Mountaineers outshot the SBU 18-4 in the contest … the Mountaineers fell 3-0 on Sunday after the Hoyas scored in the 41st, 62nd and 83rd minute … WVU and Georgetown recorded six corner kicks each, while Georgetown outshot 13-12.

Notes: Fairleigh Dickinson will become the 114th different opponent in its 24-year history … Vallerand leads the team with eleven points on the year (five goals, one assist) … senior associate head coach Lisa Stoia became the third women's soccer student-athlete to be inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday … Stoia broke the season assist record (12) in 2003 West Virginia's all-time assists leader with 33 career dishes … she became the first midfielder in Big East history to earn midfielder of the year honors in consecutive seasons by winning the award for the second time in 2003.

This Week in Men's Soccer: West Virginia plays a pair of non-conference matches this week … first, WVU travels to Cincinnati on Tuesday, Sept. 17, for a 7 p.m. ET, matchup against the Bearcats … on Saturday, Sept. 21, the Mountaineers return home to host Dayton … kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is set for 7 p.m.

Last Week in Men's Soccer: The Mountaineers went 1-0-1 against a pair of top-25 opponents … on Sept. 10, WVU drew No. 12 Charlotte, 0-0, before the squad returned to action with a 5-2 victory over No. 15 Coastal Carolina on Sept. 13 … West Virginia posted 16 shots but couldn't find the back of the net against the 49ers, who were issued three red cards during the contest, in the team's first scoreless draw since 2017 … on Saturday, WVU's offensive attack exploded with five goals, including three within an 81-second span in the first half, against the Chanticleers … freshman forward Rodrigo Robles Grajera scored twice, while senior midfielder Andres Muriel Albino was credited with the game-winning goal in the 38th minute … sophomore forward Tony Pineda and senior midfielder Pascal Derwaritsch also scored for West Virginia, while freshman midfielder Luke McCormick tallied a pair of assists on the night.

Notes: With Saturday's win over Coastal Carolina, WVU has now defeated a top-25 opponent in 12 of the last 14 seasons under coach Marlon LeBlanc … WVU also has won 21 of its last 26 home, non-conference contests … the Mountaineers have won their last 24 matches when scoring two or more goals … the Mountaineers tallied seven assists as a team on Saturday, the most since a 6-0 win over San Francisco on Aug. 30, 2015 … WVU is 6-0 all-time against Cincinnati … last season, the Mountaineers enjoyed a 2-0 win over the Bearcats on Sept. 18, 2018 … WVU leads the all-time series with Dayton, 2-0 … the Mountaineers and Flyers last met on Sept. 22, 2018, a 2-0 WVU victory.

This Week in Volleyball: West Virginia (5-4) returns home for the first time in three weeks, wrapping up the bulk of its nonconference slate by welcoming Duquesne (4-6), Eastern Kentucky (5-5) and Navy (4-4) to the WVU Coliseum, on Sept. 20-21, for the Mountaineer Invitational … WVU will give away jersey koozies to the first 250 fans in attendance at Friday's home opener against the Dukes at 7 p.m. … additionally, Mountaineer Maniac students in attendance will receive free food and a giveaway item … autographs also will take place following the match … WVU will start Saturday's doubleheader event with free donuts and coffee to the first 100 fans, as the Mountaineers take on Eastern Kentucky at 10 a.m. … West Virginia will return to the court later that evening, against Navy at 7 p.m. … the Mountaineers will host a canned food drive during their evening tilt … fans who bring a canned food item to donate to The Rack, WVU's student food bank, are eligible for a discounted ticket ($3) ... the second autograph session of the year also will follow the match against the Midshipmen … fans can purchase tickets 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 Volleyball: The Mountaineers made their way back to Morgantown following a 1-2 weekend at the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Volleyball Challenge, held on the University of Hawai'i's campus at the Stan Sheriff Center, in Honolulu, Hawai'i … junior defensive specialist Alexa Hasting earned all-tournament honors for her efforts at the three-day event … the Mountaineers started the weekend with a 3-1 setback to host Hawai'i, who was ranked No. 18 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 Poll last week, on Thursday evening, followed by a 3-0 loss to UCLA on Friday … despite back-to-back losses, West Virginia bounced back in its final match of the tournament, picking up a 3-0 sweep over Utah Valley on Saturday afternoon … sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Kristina Jordan led the squad with 29 kills on the weekend, while sophomore setter Lacey Zerwas dished out a team-high 86 assists … junior middle blocker Katie DeMeo led the team's blocking efforts with 11 total blocks, while Hasting dug 46 balls in three matches last week.

Notes: West Virginia embarks on its fourth three-match tournament of the year this weekend … as a team, West Virginia is hitting .204, while holding its opponents to a .194 clip … Jordan leads the team with 108 kills, followed by sophomore outside hitter Kristin Lux with 85 … Hasting leads the floor defense with 142 digs, while redshirt junior middle blocker Audrey Adams has a team-high 30 blocks.

This Week in Cross Country: The Mountaineers travel to the Lock Haven Invitational in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Sept. 21 … the women's 6k race is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Last Week in Cross Country: WVU earned a fourth-place finish at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 13 … junior Bree Warren paced the Mountaineers, crossing Penn State's Blue-White Course finish line in ninth place with a time of 21:32.20 … two others finished in the top 30 as redshirt freshman Peyton Kukura took 29th with a time of 22:33.60, closely followed by redshirt sophomore Marianne Abdalah in 30th (22:45.20) … redshirt freshman Amber Dombrowski registered a time of 23:14.10 to finish in 38th … also competing for WVU was redshirt freshman Malina Mitchell, who placed 40th, tallying a time of 23:30.90 … WVU finished fourth in the team standings with 104 points.

Notes: Friday's race marked WVU's eighth consecutive trip to the Spiked Shoe Invitational … it was also the team's 10th time competing in University Park since 2014 … WVU is scheduled to return to the home of the Nittany Lions on Friday, Oct. 18, for the Penn State National Open … the Mountaineers return to the Lock Haven Invitational for the second consecutive season on Saturday, Sept. 21 … WVU captured first place at last year's meet, led by then redshirt junior Olivia Hill, who finished in second place with a time of 20:59.50 … three other Mountaineers finished in the top 10 to give WVU the team victory.

This Week in Golf: WVU is off this week. The team returns to action on Sept. 23-24, when the Mountaineers head to the Old Town Club Collegiate Invitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Last Week in Golf: The Mountaineers opened the season with a fifth-place finish at the Gopher Invitational, hosted by Minnesota at Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Minnesota… WVU finished with a three-round score of 286-280-292=858 for six-over-par, sliding from third to fifth place in inclement weather… junior Matthew Sharpstene shot 72-71-71=214 to finish tied for 11th place at one-over… senior Philipp Matlari shot three-over in the final round to finish at 71-70-74=215, putting him at two-over-par and in a tie for 16th place… freshman Nico Lang finished at 70-67-80=217 to tie for 21st place at four-over in his collegiate debut… junior Mark Goetz totaled 73-74-72=219 for six-over in the tournament, tying for 30th… senior Etienne Papineau carded scores of 76-72-75=223 to finish 10-over-par and in a tie for 50th.

Notes: Last week marked the Mountaineers' first appearance at the challenging event in which 13 of the 14 teams in the field, including WVU, were represented at the NCAA regionals last season… five programs were represented at the 2019 NCAA Championships… Big 12 foe Baylor claimed the team title at four-under-par, while Texas A&M was the runner-up at two-under… Arkansas, who was tied with WVU entering the round, and Big 12 member Oklahoma tied for third place at two-over-par.

This Week in Tennis: WVU opens its fall season in Charleston, West Virginia, at Thunder in the Mountains from Friday, Sept. 20, to Sunday, Sept. 22 ... the three-day tournament is jointly hosted by West Virginia and Marshall at the Schoenbaum Tennis Courts in Charleston ... the Mountaineers and Thundering Herd are set to host Akron, James Madison, Toledo and Youngstown State for this weekend's event.

Last Season in Tennis: West Virginia finished the 2018-19 campaign with a 10-12 overall record, marking the Mountaineers' first 10-win season since 2010 ... coach Miha Lisac also earned his 100th career victory last season, with a 7-0 win against California (Pa.) ... WVU swept four opponents during spring 2019 (Niagara, Binghamton, Cal U and Towson), marking the most sweeps in a season since 2000, when West Virginia recorded eight ... last season, eight student-athletes recorded 10 or more wins, six recorded 15 or more wins and five recorded 20 or more wins ... sophomore Anastasiia Bovolskaia (34 wins) and junior Anne-Sophie Courteau (37 wins) both posted 30-win seasons in 2018-19 ... Courteau led the Mountaineers with 37 wins a season ago and earned a 22-13 overall record in the spring to lead the team ... sophomore Nicole Roc posted the best Big 12 record on the team last season, going 3-3 in singles during confernece matches ... she also posted a 10-5 singles mark during the spring ... to cap the season, five Mountaineers were named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team, including junior Giovanna Caputo and graduate Abigail Rosiello, who both achieved a perfect, 4.0 grade point average ... Rosiello also garnered CoSIDA Academic All-District honors and was named to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-America Women's At-Large Second Team, the highest selection for WVU in 2019 and the best in program history.

Notes: The 2019-20 season marks the 47th year of competition for Mountaineer tennis, with the first season in 1974 ... WVU holds an all-time record of 485-475-1 ... coach Miha Lisac enters his seventh season at the helm for the WVU tennis program ... Lisac is 39-80 at West Virginia and 101-136 during his 12-year coaching career ... WVU returns six letterwinners this, including two seniors - Sofia Duran and Christina Jordan ... junior Anne-Sophie Courteau leads the Mountaineers with 58 career wins ... Courteau also leads the team with 30 doubles victories ... junior Giovanna Caputo leads WVU in singles wins, with 33.