Martin, Pierson Named Student-Athletes of the Week

January 13, 2020 03:19 PM | General, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Track & Field, Wrestling

Varsity Sports Report (PDF)

By: WVU Athletics Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After a pair of impressive performances last week, freshman Abbie Pierson of the West Virginia University gymnastics team and redshirt senior guard Tynice Martin of the women's basketball team have been named the WVU Student-Athletes of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Martin tallied 23 points against both Kansas and Texas, leading the Mountaineers in scoring for both contests. The redshirt senior guard has now tallied four 20-point performances this season and has 28 in her career. Against Texas, Martin shot 6-of-13 (46.2%) from the field, including 2-of-6 from 3-point range, and knocked down nine of her 11 free-throw attempts. Her 23 points against KU helped her move to No. 5 on WVU's all-time scoring list, passing Talisha Hargis (1995-98; 1,751 points).

Martin has accounted for 33 percent of WVU's scoring over the past two games, scoring 46 of the Mountaineers' 136 points. The Atlanta, Georgia, native has helped guide West Virginia to its first 3-0 start to Big 12 play since joining the conference in 2012-13.

Pierson, a native of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, tallied career highs of 9.9 on vault and balance beam at No. 17 Penn State on Saturday and finished first overall in both events. She also tied for sixth on floor exercise with a 9.750 total.

Earning a 9.95 score from one judge, Pierson competed in the anchor position on vault and helped WVU earn a 48.900-48.750 edge over PSU in the event. She later competed in the No. 4 lineup position on balance beam and captured her second event victory of the day with another 9.9 mark.

This Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia continues Big 12 play on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at the WVU Coliseum, in Morgantown, as the Mountaineers are set to host Oklahoma at 7 p.m. ET … Wednesday's game is Trivia Night at the Coliseum, with all general admission tickets priced at $1 … tickets are available at WVUgame.com … Wednesday's contest against the Sooners will be broadcasted on Nexstar stations throughout the state, including WOWK-CBS (Charleston), WVNS-FOX (Beckley) and WTRF-My Ohio Valley (Wheeling) … a live stream also will be provided on WVUsports.com.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: The Mountaineers moved to 3-0 in Big 12 play after defeating Kansas and Texas … WVU defeated KU, 68-49, on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas … redshirt senior guard Tynice Martin led all scorers with 23 points and moved up to No. 5 on WVU's all-time scoring list in the win … redshirt junior guard Kysre Gondrezick finished with 21 points to tally back-to-back, 20-point scoring performances … sophomore forward Kari Niblack led WVU on the glass, grabbing 11 rebounds … Niblack also tallied seven blocks, the most for the Mountaineers in a Big 12 game since Feb. 18, 2015, when Lanay Montgomery also posted seven against Oklahoma State … West Virginia edged Texas, 68-62, on Sunday, Jan. 12, at the WVU Coliseum … Martin once again led all scorers with 23 points, tallying back-to-back, 20-point scoring performances … Martin also reached 1,800 career points in the contest … Gondrezick posted her third consecutive performance of 20 points or more, finishing with 21 against the Longhorns … Niblack led WVU in rebounding for the second straight game, with 12 boards.

Notes: WVU is 3-0 to start Big 12 play for the first time since joining the conference in 2012-13 … West Virginia moved up two spots in the latest Associated Press Top-25 Poll, ranking No. 17 … Martin and Gondrezick have scored 130 combined points through the first three Big 12 contests, accounting for 62 percent of WVU's scoring … Gondrezick leads the Mountaineers in scoring this season, averaging 17.9 points per game … Martin is second on the team, averaging 16.8 points per game … Niblack is averaging a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game this season … West Virginia and Oklahoma are set to meet for the 19th time in the series on Wednesday, with the all-time series tied at 9-9 … WVU and OU split last year's series, with the Mountaineers and Sooners both earning wins on the road.

This Week in Rifle: The No. 2-ranked Mountaineers (7-0, 6-0 GARC) do not compete this week.

Last Week in Rifle: West Virginia kicked off its 2020 spring season in Tokyo, Japan, last weekend … a full recap will follow at WVUsports.com later this week.

Notes: WVU opened the spring season ranked No. 2 in the College Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) Rankings … last week's rankings were based on NCAA Team Selection Rankings, which are comprised of a squad's top-three scores earned at three different venues … the Mountaineers currently claim an average of 4717.67.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: The Mountaineers are set to travel to the Lone Star State for a pair of meets … on Friday, Jan. 17, the men's team will compete at SMU at 6 p.m. ET, in Dallas … on Saturday, Jan. 8, the two squads will square off against TCU in a Big 12 dual meet, set to begin at 11 a.m. ET, in Fort Worth.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia was off last week … the Mountaineers last competed when they opened 2020 with a dual meet against Pitt on Saturday, Jan 4 … the men's team (1-1) earned a 179.5-120.5 victory over the Panthers, while the women (0-2) fell by a score of 175-125.

Notes: Junior David Dixon paced the men's team in the dual meet against Pitt with four wins, while senior Morgan Bullock led the women with three … in total, the men grabbed nine victories against the Panthers and the women collected seven … the men topped the Panthers in the annual meet for the first time since 2017-18 … WVU's men's team travels to SMU on Friday to compete against the Mustangs for the first time in program history … the men have tallied six straight wins over TCU, most recently in 2018-19 when the squad grabbed the 233-64 win … the women have tallied three consecutive victories over the Horned Frogs, winning 208-92 last year.

This Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers (3-6, 0-1 Big 12) continue their road swing with a two-match trip through Oklahoma, heading to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to face No. 9 Oklahoma State (5-1, 2-0 Big 12) on Friday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m. ET, before taking on Oklahoma (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) in Norman on Sunday, Jan. 19, at 2 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Wrestling: Redshirt sophomore Noah Adams extended his win streak to 22, as West Virginia dropped a 36-3 contest to No. 4 Virginia Tech on Saturday, at Cassell Coliseum, in Blacksburg, Virginia … wrestling at 197 pounds, No. 4 Adams recorded the Mountaineers' lone victory of the evening ... with the win, Adams improved to 22-0 on the year and 9-0 in dual action.

Notes: Saturday's match marked the first dual since Dec. 22, when the Mountaineers earned wins over Edinboro, Hofstra and VMI at the Mountaineer Quad ... Adams followed up his 3-0 performance at the Mountaineer Quad by capturing WVU's first championship at the Southern Scuffle after going 5-0 in the prestigious tournament from Jan. 1-2 … for his performance, the Coal City, West Virginia, native was named the 2020 Southern Scuffle's Most Outstanding Wrestler.

This Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers are set to hit the road for the first time of the 2019-20 indoor season … the squad is set to travel to Youngstown, Ohio, to compete in the YSU Collegiate Invitational on Friday, Jan. 17 … action is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Track and Field: WVU hosted its second and final home meet of the indoor campaign with the WVU Open on Friday, Jan. 10 … the Mountaineers tallied seven victories in the meet, led by junior Ellie Gardner's victory on the pole vault … the Williamstown, West Virginia, native recorded a new career-best mark, jumping 3.88 meters … redshirt freshman Amber Dombrowski earned WVU's first win of the day in the 500-meter run (1:19.63), followed by freshman Erica Hegele's victory in the 60-meter hurdles (9.35) … redshirt sophomore Marianne Abdalah made her season debut in the mile, talking first in 5:13.96 … in field events, sophomore Myesha Nott took first in the triple jump (12.10 meters), and sophomore Sada Wright earned her second win of the season in the weight throw (14.57 meters).

Notes: Gardner's career-best mark in the pole vault topped her previous career high of 3.86 meters, which she reached at the YSU Collegiate Invite in 2018 … WVU travels to the YSU Invite for the third consecutive indoor season on Friday … last season, Hayley Jackson and Madelin Gardner paced the Mountaineers, earning wins in the 3,000 meters (9:54.40) and pole vault (4.31 meters), respectively.

This Week in Gymnastics: No. 24 West Virginia (0-1) remains on the road this week, flying west to Ames, Iowa, for its first Big 12 Conference meet of the season against No. 12 Iowa State (2-1) on Friday, Jan. 17 … the meet is schedule to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, inside Hilton Coliseum.

Last Week in Gymnastics: Despite recording its highest season-opening meet score in program history and posting a trio of first-place event finishes, West Virginia started its 2020 season with a 195.750-195.325 setback to No. 17 Penn State on Saturday, inside Rec Hall, in University Park, Pennsylvania … the Mountaineers hit 22-for-24 routines and earned a 48.900-48.750 edge over the Nittany Lions on vault and a 48.750-48.675 win on floor ... PSU claimed the balance beam (49.025-48.925) and uneven bars (49.300-48.750) victories … additionally, freshman Abbie Pierson posted a pair of 9.9 scores in her Mountaineer debut … for her efforts, the New Kensington, Pennsylvania, native finished first overall on vault and balance beam ... senior Chloe Cluchey also made her return on floor, notching a 9.850 score to place first.

Notes: Saturday's result drops the Mountaineers' all-time record against the Nittany Lions to 8-40 … four-of-five freshmen made their collegiate debut on Saturday: Maya Kraus, Kianna Yancey, Kayla Yancey and Pierson … sophomore Kendra Combs also competed on balance beam and floor exercise for the first time in her career, posting 9.100 and 9.725, respectively.