Deans Named WVU Student-Athlete of the Week

February 08, 2021 04:15 PM | General, Golf, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Track & Field, Wrestling

Varsity Sports Report

By: Lindsay Auld

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After scoring a career-high 30 points at Texas and helping WVU extend its win streak to 10 games, sophomore guard Kirsten Deans of the West Virginia University women's basketball team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Deans led the Mountaineers in scoring against the Longhorns on Feb. 6. The performance was the first 30-point game of her career, and she also became the second Mountaineer to score 30 or more points this season. The Greensboro, North Carolina, native has now led WVU in scoring five times during her career, including four times this season. The sophomore guard also made a career-high 12 field goals on 19 attempts at UT, marking the best shooting percentage by a WVU player (min. 19 attempts) since Ilse Opstaele on Feb. 12, 1997, against Seton Hall (12-19). Deans' 12 field goals made also were the most by a Mountaineer since Naomi Davenport on Dec. 28, 2017, at TCU (13).

She also went 3-of-6 from 3-point range at Texas, marking the seventh time this season Deans has shot 50% or better from behind the arc. Deans also was second on the team in rebounding at Texas, finishing with seven boards. In two games last week, she averaged 18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, while shooting 45.5% from the floor.

This Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia (0-3, 0-3) welcomes No. 7 Denver (3-2, 1-2) to the WVU Coliseum on Thursday, Feb. 11, for its Cancer Awareness Meet, sponsored by WVU Medicine … competition is set to begin at 1 p.m. ET …due to ongoing COVID-19 protocols, and for the overall safety of spectators at indoor events, attendance will be capped at 1,500 spectators … priority will be given to families and guests of the gymnasts and gymnastics coaching staffs, along with a limited number of WVU students and fans … fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance by visitingWVUGAME.comor calling 1-800-WVU GAME to avoid lines at the gate on meet day … Thursday's action will be carried live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, the conference's digital platform, with Michael Minnich and Julia Merwin on the call.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU earned a season-high score in a 196.125-195.175 loss to No. 17 Iowa State on Feb. 7, at the WVU Coliseum, in Morgantown … the Mountaineers finished second to the Cyclones on every event but floor … WVU ended the meet with a season-high 49.150 on floor … in addition to its win on floor, West Virginia registered a season-high 48.95 on balance beam and matched its season best on vault with a 48.775 … the Mountaineers also scored 48.3 on uneven bars.

Notes: The Mountaineers finished Sunday's meet with six podium finishes, including a tie for first on two events … junior Kendra Combs and ISU's Maddie Diab tied for first overall on floor with matching 9.9s … the mark matched her career-high in the event and was WVU's first 9.9 score of the season … Combs now owns 10 career podium finishes and four event wins, including three on floor … additionally, sophomore Kianna Yancey and ISU's Meixi Semple tied for first overall on beam with matching 9.85s … Yancey tallied a career-high in the event, as she competed on beam for the first time this season and for the third time in her career … Yancey now owns 11 career podium finishes and three event wins … with the loss, WVU drops to 6-12-1 all-time against the Cyclones … the Mountaineers are 0-2 at the WVU Coliseum this season and are looking for their first conference regular-season win since Feb. 26, 2017 … sophomore Emily Holmes-Hackerd paces the team with 105.25 season points, followed by Yancey with 96.875.

This Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers return to action for their last match of the regular season on Saturday,Feb. 13, as they head to Kentucky, at the UK Rifle Range, in Lexington, Kentucky.

Last Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers traveled to Ohio State on Jan. 26, where they defeated the Buckeyes 4712-4665, at the Lt. Hugh W. Wylie Range, in Columbus, Ohio … the Mountaineers swept the Buckeyes in both disciplines, winning smallbore, 2342-2299 and air rifle, 2370-2366 … senior Sarah Osborn placed first overall, earning a personal-best aggregate score of 1185 … she was followed by sophomore Calista Smoyer, who posted an aggregate score of 1181 .. WVU then hosted Akron, Ole Miss and Navy on Saturday, Jan. 30, winning with a score of 4734 … Ole Miss (4706) placed second, while Akron (4660) and Navy (4646) followed behind placing third and fourth, respectively … junior Jared Eddy finished first in smallbore with a 591 mark (195 kneeling, 199 prone, 197 standing) … Smoyer placed second in air rifle with a 598 mark (100-100-99-100-100-99) … the Mountaineers closed out the weekend on Sunday, Jan 31, with a 4737-4713 win over Ole Miss … the team was led by Eddy who claimed a first-place smallbore title with a career-high 595 mark (197 kneeling, 199 prone, 199 standing), while sophomore Akihito Shimizu finished first in air rifle with a personal best 599 (100-100-99-100-100-100).

Notes: Eddy matched the WVU school record in smallbore after he shot a 595 on Sunday… he also tied the smallbore standing record with a 199 … the smallbore record was previously set by Petra Zublasing (595) on Feb. 23, 2013, in Oxford, Mississippi, at the GARC Championships … the smallbore standing record was previously set by Ginny Thrasher (199) on Nov. 4, 2017, vs. TCU … the Mountaineers improve their 2021 season record to 7-0 and 6-0 GARC … WVU is 20-10 all-time against Kentucky since 1963.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia is off this week … the Mountaineers now look ahead to the 2021 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship, from Feb. 19-21 and 24-27, at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, in Austin, Texas.

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

Notes: A trio of Mountaineers collected Big 12 Swimmer and Diver of the Week awards for their performances against Notre Dame on Jan. 29-30 … senior David Dixon was named the Men's Swimmer of the Week, earning the honor for the second time this season and seventh time in his career … classmate Ally VanNetta notched the co-Women's Swimmer of the week award, collecting the conference nod for the first time in her career … junior PJ Lenz was named the Men's Diver of the Week for the second time this season and third all-time in his career … West Virginia returns to the Big 12 Championship after the men's team finished second in 2020 and the women's team finished in third place … WVU collected 11 medals in 2020, hosting the conference championship at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park, in Morgantown, for the first time in program history.

This Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia returns to the WVU Coliseum for a pair of games this week … the Mountaineers begin the week with a game against Kansas on Wednesday, Feb. 10 … tip-off against the Jayhawks is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET … WVU then welcomes Oklahoma to Morgantown, on Sunday, Feb. 14 … Sunday's game against the Sooners begins at 2 p.m. … both games this week will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ … single-game tickets for both contests are now available for purchase at WVUGAME.com.

Last Season in Women's Basketball: WVU continued to tack on to its win streak by earning a pair of Big 12 victories a week ago … the Mountaineers began the week with a 65-56 win against Iowa State on Feb. 3, at the WVU Coliseum … WVU was led by three double-figure performances from redshirt senior guard Kysre Gondrezick (24 points), junior guard Madisen Smith (15 points) and junior forward Kari Niblack (11 points) against the Cyclones … Niblack led the Mountaineers in rebounding with nine boards … West Virginia earned its fourth road win of the season on Feb. 6, as WVU defeated Texas, 81-75, at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas … four of WVU's five starters scored in double figures against the Longhorns, including sophomore guard Kirsten Deans, who led the team with a career-high 30 points … along with Deans, sophomore forward Esmery Martinez (12), Niblack (10) and Gondrezick (20) also scored 10-plus points … Martinez paced West Virginia's rebounding efforts, grabbing 13 boards to record her 10th double-double of the year.

Notes: West Virginia is 136-91 against its 2020-21 opponents, including 102-78 against members of the Big 12 Conference … West Virginia is currently riding a 10-game win streak, which includes nine consecutive Big 12 Conference wins … WVU's current stretch is the longest win streak since the 2018-19 season when the Mountaineers won 13 consecutive games … the Mountaineers' nine-game conference win streak also is the longest since the 2013-14 season, when WVU won 10 consecutive league games to help claim a share of the Big 12 regular-season title … West Virginia's 10-game win streak is the longest active win streak in the Big 12 … with its win at Texas, the Mountaineers have now swept two Big 12 opponents in a series this season and have swept the Longhorns in a season series for the first time since joining the conference in 2012 … the Mountaineers have defeated five opponents by 20 or more points this season… WVU is the only Big 12 team that has not allowed an opponent to reach the 80-point plateau this season … Gondrezick currently leads the Mountaineers in scoring, with a total of 344 points and an average of 21.5 per game … the Benton Harbor, Michigan, native has scored 20 or more points in 12 games this season, including five games in a row, the most by a Mountaineer since Teana Muldrow during the 2017-18 season (5)… Martinez is pacing WVU in the rebounding department this season, with 11.9 boards per game … she also has tallied a double-double in 10 games this season, including a streak of seven consecutive games between Dec. 13-Jan. 16 … Martinez and Deans also are averaging double figures for WVU this season, at 13.6 and 13.0 points per game, respectively.

This Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers (7-3, 3-2) trek to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for the Cowboy Challenge on Sunday, Feb. 14, inside Gallagher-Iba Arena … competition is set to begin at 12 p.m. ET … Sunday's action will be carried live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, the conference's digital platform …fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $59.99 per year) at ESPNplus.com, ESPN.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices) … it also is available as part of The Disney Bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (ad-supported) — all for just $12.99/month.

Last Week in Wrestling: West Virginia bounced back from a 21-12 loss at Wyoming to claim two-of-three conference matches on the road, defeating Fresno State (37-3) and Air Force (20-17) on Feb. 6, at the Bank of Colorado Arena, in Greeley, Colorado … WVU combined to win 18 bouts on the day, including five bonus victories ... Saturday's events also were highlighted by several wins over ranked opponents ... most notably, redshirt freshman Ryan Sullivan claimed a pair of top-20 wins at 133 pounds, as he bested No. 16 Job Greenwood of Wyoming and No. 17 Jared Van Vleet of Air Force ... he also captured an 8-4 decision over Fresno State's Haiden Drury to improve to 4-0 on the season … redshirt junior Killian Cardinale (125) and freshman Peyton Hall (165) also registered a 3-0 mark in their respective weight classes, while redshirt junior Noah Adams (197), sophomore Scott Joll (174) and redshirt freshman Michael Wolfgram (HWT) claimed two victories apiece … additionally, junior Jackson Moomau (184), redshirt sophomore Alex Hornfeck (157) and freshman Brayden Roberts (141) each picked up a win in their respective weight classes last weekend.

Notes: With Saturday's wins, the Mountaineers have won four of their last five matches for a 7-3 overall record and a 3-2 mark in Big 12 action, their best start to a season since the 2013-14 campaign … Adams dropped an 8-7 battle to No. 14 Stephen Buchanan of Wyoming to snap his 39-match win streak at 197 pounds … Greg Jones was the last Mountaineer grappler to win 39 or more consecutive matches, as he won 51 matches in a row from 2003-05 … Adams boasts a team-high four bonus victories on the year and paces the team with 38 match points.

This Week in Track and Field: West Virginia is off this week … the Mountaineers return to action on Feb. 26-27, at the 2021 Big 12 Indoor Championship, hosted by Texas Tech, at the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center, in Lubbock, Texas.

Last Week in Track and Field: West Virginia continued its spring season at the Marshall Classic, hosted by Marshall University, at the Jeff Small Track at the Chris Cline Athletic Complex, in Huntington, West Virginia, on Feb. 6 … the quad meet included Marshall, Eastern Kentucky and FIU … the meet was highlighted by Mountaineer freshman Abigale Mullings, who captured a victory in the high jump (1.69 m)redshirt junior Ellie Gardner led the way for WVU, finishing in second place with a height of 3.55 meters ... behind Gardner was redshirt freshman Sarah Stair with a height of 3.55, good for third place … freshman Lynsie Curtis and sophomore Katelyn Caccamo placed fifth (3.40 meters) and seventh (3.25 meters), respectively … junior Peter-Gay McKenzie placed second in long jump with a distance of 5.49, and she was followed by sophomore Erica Hegle who placed sixth with a 4.93 distance … freshman Jo-Lauren Keane and junior Tessa Constantine placed second (58.07) and third (58.41), respectively in the 400-meter run. A trio of freshmen participated in the 300-meter dash... West Virginia finished the meet in third place with 68 points ... Marshall placed first with 163.5 points and was followed by FIU in second with a score of 117 ... with 61.6 points, Eastern Kentucky placed fourth.

Notes: Last season, the Mountaineers' outdoor season was canceled due to COVID-19 … WVU finished 10th as a team at the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship … West Virginia registered a total of six podium finishes in eight events at the Big 12 Indoor Championship … 25 Mountaineers were named to the 2020 Academic All-Big 12 Team, with seven members being named to the First Team with a 4.00 grade-point average.

This Week in Golf: The golf team will be opening its spring season from Friday, Feb. 12 to Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Gators Invitational in Gainesville, Florida … the event will take place at the Mark Bostick Golf Course … WVU will compete against nine Top 25 teams at the event: No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Tennessee, No. 6 Georgia, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 16 Auburn, No. 18 Alabama, No. 21 South Carolina, No. 23 Florida and No. 25 North Florida.

Last Week in Golf: The Mountaineers were idle since competing in two events last October in Texas.

Notes: This will be the first of five regular-season competitions for the golf team … the Mountaineers will remain in Florida and compete in the Seminole Intercollegiate from Feb. 19-21 … the Mountaineers currently have the 16th-best schedule in the country, according to Golfweek.