Cardinale Named WVU Student-Athlete of the Week

March 22, 2021 04:28 PM | Baseball, General, Golf, Men's Soccer, Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving, Track & Field, Volleyball, Wrestling

Varsity Sports Report

By: Lindsay Auld

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Following a seventh-place finish in the 125-pound pool of the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, West Virginia University redshirt junior Killian Cardinale has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

After suffering a setback to eventual NCAA Champion Spencer Lee of Iowa in the championship second round, No. 17-seed Cardinale maneuvered his way through the consolation bracket, posting a 3-0 record on the second day of competition to advance to the medal round. The Bristow, Virginia, native took down a pair of top-eight seeded wrestlers in the process, as he upset No. 6-seed Jakob Camacho of NC State in the round of 12 to earn All-America status for the first time in his career. Cardinale followed up his All-America performance with a 12-7 decision over No. 19-seed Eric Barnett of Wisconsin to place seventh in his respective bracket.

A transfer from Old Dominion, Cardinale became the first wrestler in the Tim Flynn era to garner All-America accolades at the NCAA Championships. He scored a team-high 6.5 points for the Mountaineers, helping WVU finish 31st overall with 11.5 team points.

Of note, he posted a team-best 17 wins in his first season as a Mountaineer. He also compiled a 5-1 record at his first-ever Tournament.

This Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia does not compete this week … based on their current National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 195.769, the Mountaineers are mathematically locked into qualification for the 2021 NCAA Regional Championships, hosted by WVU from April 1-3 ... West Virginia will learn its seed when the NCAA Selection Show airs Monday, at 5 p.m. ET, on NCAA.com.

Last Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia (2-7, 0-6 Big 12) scored a 195.725 and finished fourth at the 2021 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship on March 20, held at the WVU Coliseum, in Morgantown … the Mountaineers posted a trio of 49.0+ performances, finishing as high as third on floor exercise with a 49.275 showing to mark their second-best floor total of the season … WVU finished fourth on the uneven bars (49.025), vault (49.0) and balance beam (48.425) … the squad's vault score was good for a season high … sophomore Abbie Pierson earned West Virginia's highest individual finish of the championship, matching her season-best total of 9.9 on floor to place fourth overall.

Notes: The top 36 teams based on NQS will be selected for NCAA regional competition … WVU's regional bid will be its 41st in program history and 36th in NCAA competition … it also will be the team's sixth consecutive qualification … under the new NCAA regional format, four meets will be held in three days … on Thursday, April 1, two squads will compete in a dual meet … the winner will advance to the second round of competition on Friday, April 2, with a pair of quad meets taking place … the top-two teams from each second-round meet will advance to the regional final, which will be held on Saturday, April 3 … the Mountaineers have advanced to the NCAA National Championships three times (1995, 1999 and 2000) since 1983.

This Week in Volleyball: Up next for the Mountaineers (9-9, 8-8 Big 12) is a contest with No. 19 Pitt (11-4, 10-4 ACC) on Wednesday, March 24, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania … first serve from Fitzgerald Field House is tabbed for 7 p.m. ET, and the match will be livestreamed on the ACC Network.

Last Week in Volleyball: West Virginia earned a 3-1 victory over nonconference foe Delaware on March 19, at the Bob Carpenter Center, in Newark, Delaware … the Mountaineers topped the Blue Hens in set scores of 24-26, 25-20, 25-12 and 25-21 … after dropping the first set, WVU responded by winning the next three to eventually claim the match … the Mountaineers hit .268 on the night and tallied six service aces … senior middle blocker Briana Lynch paced WVU's offense, hitting .407 with 11 kills and no errors on 27 total attacks … additionally, junior outside hitter Kristin Lux led the team in kills with 15 swings and a season-high 10 digs to tally a double-double, while junior setter Lacey Zerwas notched a double-double of her own with 37 assists and a season-high matching 14 digs.

Notes: WVU is 3-38 all-time against Pitt and 2-10 against Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponents … the two squads last met on Oct. 15, 2011, when the Mountaineers captured a five-set victory over the Panthers at the WVU Coliseum … West Virginia last played an ACC foe on Sept. 15, 2018, when the Mountaineers defeated Wake Forest, 3-1, at the WVU Coliseum, in Morgantown.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: Five Mountaineers from the men's team are set to compete at the 2021 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships from March 24-27, at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia was off last week.

Notes: Senior David Dixon, redshirt juniors Jacob Cardinal Tremblay and Jake Lowe, junior PJ Lenz and sophomore Owen Johns are set to represent the Mountaineers in the NCAA Championships this week … with four divers set to compete at the championships, this marks the first time in program history that multiple divers will compete at the championship, after the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled last year … WVU's five NCAA competitors are the most for the men at a single championship since 2007, when eight Mountaineers competed at the meet … Tremblay is set to compete on all three diving events … Lenz will compete on 1-meter and platform … Lowe and Johns are set to appear in the 1- and 3-meter springboard events … Dixon earned a bid to compete in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly events, as well as the 200 individual medley … this year's bid marks Dixon's fourth consecutive NCAA qualification, as he becomes the first Mountaineer from the men's team to qualify four straight seasons.

This Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 and will play No. 5-seed Georgia Tech on Tuesday, March 23, at the UTSA Convocation Center in San Antonio … opening tip against the Yellow Jackets is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET … Tuesday's contest will be broadcasted on ESPNU, with Roy Philpott and Brooke Weisbrod on the call.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: No. 4-seed West Virginia is coming off a 77-53 win over No. 13-seed Lehigh in the opening round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament on March 21, at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio … the Mountaineers were led in scoring by redshirt senior guard Kysre Gondrezick, who tallied 26 points … with her 26 points against Lehigh, Gondrezick surpassed 1,000 points during her WVU career to become the 37th 1,000-point scorer in program history … of note, the Benton Harbor, Michigan, native now has 1,500 points in her NCAA career … sophomore guard Kirsten Deans also scored in double figures against the Mountain Hawks, notching 19 points, to surpass 500 points in her Mountaineer career … sophomore forward Esmery Martinez tallied her 15th double-double of the season against LU, with 16 points and a team-best 11 rebounds … the Mountaineers led by as many as 26 points in Sunday's game and held the lead for 32:49.

Notes: West Virginia has now won 22 or more games for the first time since 2018-19 … thirteen of those wins have come in the Big 12 this year, WVU's most conference victories since the 2013-14 season, when the Mountaineers won 16 games to claim a share of the Big 12 regular-season title … West Virginia has only allowed two opponents to score 80 or more points this season … this year, WVU is shooting 44.2% from the floor, which is up 5.7 points from last year's shooting percentage (38.5%) … the Mountaineers also are shooting 6.3 points better from 3-point range this year (35.6%; 2019-20 – 29.3%) … West Virginia is outrebounding opponents by 3.9 rebounds per game this season, up two rebounds from a season ago … Gondrezick currently leads the Mountaineers in scoring, with a total of 543 points and an average of 20.1 per game … she is the first Mountaineer since Tynice Martin (575) in 2019-20 to total 500 or more points in a season … Gondrezick also is the first Mountaineer to score 500 or more points and dish out 100 or more assists in a season since Bria Holmes in 2014-15 (716 points, 105 assists) … Martinez is pacing WVU in the rebounding department this season, with 326 rebounds and 11.6 boards per game … she also has tallied a double-double in 15 games this season, including a streak of seven consecutive games between Dec. 13-Jan. 16 … Martinez's 326 rebounds this season are good for No. 5 in single-season program history and are the most rebounds by a Mountaineer since Georgeann Wells in 1985-86 (348) … Deans and Martinez also are averaging double figures for WVU this season, at 13.8 and 13.6 points per game, respectively … junior forward Kari Niblack holds the team lead in blocks (44) … Niblack ranks No. 5 in WVU program history in blocked shots, with 145.

This Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers have concluded their 2021 season.

Last Week in Wrestling: Redshirt juniors Noah Adams (197) and Killian Cardinale (125), redshirt freshman Ryan Sullivan (133) and freshman Peyton Hall (165) competed at the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, at the Enterprise Center, in St. Louis, Missouri, from March 18-20 … the Mountaineer quartet led WVU to a 31st-place finish with 11.5 team points … Cardinale earned WVU's highest individual finish of the weekend, earning All-America honors with a seventh-place finish in the 125-pound weight bracket … No. 17-seed Cardinale capped his first NCAA Tournament with a 12-7 decision over No. 19-seed Eric Barnett of Wisconsin on March 20, finishing the three-day event with a 5-1 overall record … the two-time NCAA Qualifier scored a team-high 6.5 points for the Mountaineers.

Notes: WVU placed 43rd at the 2019 tournament, improving 12 places in this year's team standings … despite Adams receiving NWCA All-America First Team honors last season, Cardinale became the first wrestler in the Tim Flynn era to garner All-America accolades at the NCAA Championships … the last Mountaineer grappler to earn All-America status at the national tournament was Zeke Moisey, as he placed eighth in the 125-pound pool in 2018 … Moisey also was the last Mountaineer to finish seventh or higher, as he earned a runner-up finish at the 2015 event … Hall suffered a setback to No. 2-seed Anthony Valencia of Arizona State in the 165-pound blood rounds, just short of earning All-America honors … the Chester, West Virginia, native recorded a 3-2 mark at his first NCAA Tournament, completing his freshman campaign with 16 wins to rank second on the team … additionally, Adams and Sullivan finished their tournament runs with a pair of losses in the second round of wrestle-backs on March 19 … Sullivan capped his first season in a Mountaineer singlet with an 8-5 overall mark, while Adams finished with a 14-5 record … WVU has qualified 10 wrestlers to the national tournament in the Flynn era.

This Week in Track and Field: WVU is off this week.

Last Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers hosted 12 schools in the annual Stan Romanoski Open on March 20, at the Track and Field Complex at Mylan Park ... WVU competed in seven events at its first home meet this season and earned two first-place finishes ... junior Tessa Constantine placed first in the women's 400-meter dash with a time of 58.21 and senior Marianne Abdalah took first in the women's 3,000-meter run finishing in a time of 10:12.49 … saturday's meet began with junior Sada Wright's second-place showing in the discus throw with a distance of 40.02 … the Mountaineers then saw action in pole vault, where freshman Lydia Moell placed second with a 3.70 distance and redshirt freshman Sarah Stair placed sixth with a 3.30 distance ... sophomore Erica Hegele took seventh place in shot put with a mark of 10.49 meters, while freshmen Emily Oiler and Lilly McMullen followed Constantine in the 400-meter dash, placing third (58.95m ) and fourth (59.54m), respectively ... on the track, McCabe took second place in the 1,500-meter run, with a time of 4:19 ... four Mountaineers participated in the 200-meter run. Constantine took third place with a time of 25.45, while McMullen finished with a time of 26.28, good for sixth … Oiler and Hegele followed behind placing ninth (26.87) and 12th (27.01), respectively ... in the Mountaineers final competition, redshirt sophomore Malina Mitchell followed Abdalah in the women's 3,000-meter run placing fourth with a time of 10:50.99.

Notes: The Mountaineers returned to the NCAA Championships as a team for the first time since 2014 … most recently, Maggie Drazba and Jillian Forsey represented WVU at the 2016 NCAA Championships … WVU earned 668 team points at the NCAA Championships … BYU won the race with 96 points, while NC State (161) and Stanford (207) finished second and third, respectively … Michigan State (212) and Minnesota (239) rounded out the top five.

This Week in Baseball: The Mountaineers play four games this week … on Tuesday, WVU travels to Huntington, West Virginia, for an in-state clash against Marshall at 3 p.m. ET … from there, West Virginia plays host to Kansas in a three-game, weekend series to open Big 12 Conference play from March 26-28, at Monongalia County Ballpark … first pitch of Friday's series opener is set for 6:30 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday's games will begin at 4 p.m., and 12 p.m., respectively.

Last Week in Baseball: WVU (8-7) won three of its five games last week … the Mountaineers swept a two-game, midweek series against Morehead State from March 16-17, in Morgantown, claiming victories of 7-1 and 4-2 … West Virginia dropped two-of-three games to Coastal Carolina over the weekend (March 19-21) … WVU fell, 5-2, on Friday, before earning a 5-4 win on Saturday … in Sunday's series finale, the Chanticleers won, 9-6 … sophomore outfielder Victor Scott led the way offensively, finishing 7-for-17 (.412) for the week, including three extra-base hits, five runs scored, four RBI and four stolen bases … on the mound, junior right-handed pitcher Madison Jeffrey was dominant in two relief appearances, earning saves on March 17, against Morehead State, as well as March 20, against CCU … Jeffrey struck out four and didn't allow a hit in 2.0 innings of work … freshman left-hander Ben Hampton earned the win against Morehead State on March 16, while freshman right-hander Tyler Chadwick was credited with the victory the following day … in Saturday's triumph against Coastal, freshman utility/right-handed pitcher Ben Abernathy took home the win.

Notes: Hampton, Chadwick and Abernathy's wins on the mound were the first in their careers … WVU now leads Morehead State in the all-time series, 13-6 … Coastal owns a 12-5 advantage over the Mountaineers following last weekend's matchups … WVU is set to play Marshall in Huntington for the first time since 1988 … in all, WVU holds a 48-24 lead in the series, including seven wins in a row … WVU also holds a 13-10 edge against the Jayhawks … the Mountaineers last played both opponents in 2019 … freshman infielder Mikey Kluska continues to lead West Virginia in several offensive categories, including batting average (.362), hits (21) and RBI (12) … fifth-year senior infielder Kevin Brophy and sophomore catcher/infielder Matt McCormick are tied for the team lead in home runs with four … on the base paths, junior outfielder Austin Davis and Scott each have swiped six stolen bases this season … last week, WVU received votes in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, as well as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll … Tuesday's game marks WVU's first away from home since Feb. 28 … WVU is 77-87 in Big 12 Conference play since joining the league in 2013 … West Virginia enters the week ranked No. 25 nationally in triples (6) and No. 29 in strikeouts per nine innings (10.7).

This Week in Men's Soccer: West Virginia has a pair of matches on tap this week, starting with a break from conference play on Wednesday, March 24, as the squad hosts in-state foe No. 8 Marshall at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET … then the Mountaineers hit the road to travel to Bowling Green and return to conference play on Sunday, March 28, with kickoff from Cochrane Soccer Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio, scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Men's Soccer: The Mountaineers went 1-1 in a pair of Mid-American Conference contests last week, first falling to Bowling Green, 1-0, at home on March 17 … the Falcons scored an early, first-half goal, and the Mountaineers couldn't find the back of the net to tally the come-from-behind score … despite the loss, WVU held a 10-7 advantage in shots, while the two teams tallied a matching trio of shots on goal … senior goalkeeper Steven Tekesky notched a pair of saves, surrendering the game-winning goal in the 12th minute … West Virginia got back on the winning side on March 21, with a 2-0 win at SIU Edwardsville … redshirt freshman defender Sergio Ors Navarro got the Mountaineers on the board with a 15th-minute, game-winning goal off the right post … senior defender Kevin Morris notched the second score as the final seconds were ticking away in the first half … freshman defender Jesus De Vicente sent a high ball to redshirt freshman defender Bjarne Thiesen and headed it over to Morris, whose strong header found the goal in the 45th minute to secure the win for WVU.

Notes: The win over SIUE marked the Mountaineers' first win this season while also outshooting their opponent, tallying 13 shots to just nine from SIUE … Navarro's 15th-minute goal was the first score for WVU since March 6, as the Mountaineers have gone scoreless in their two previous matches … with his third clean sheet of the season, Tekesky's career shutout number now moves to 17, which ranks just behind No. 4 all-time in program history … the win over SIUE also was WVU's first multi-goal performance since the season-opening win at Charlotte on Feb. 26 … West Virginia holds a 15-6-1 all-time advantage in the series with Marshall … WVU and BGSU meet for the second time this season, with the Falcons holding an 8-5-2 series lead over the Mountaineers.

This Week in Golf: The Mountaineers are idle this week and will be back in action March 28-30 at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in Charleston, South Carolina.

Last Week in Golf: West Virginia completed play at the George Hannon Intercollegiate at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas … the Mountaineers finished tied for ninth place with Kansas State and Baylor … WVU had rounds of 287-295-295=877… junior Kurtis Grant was WVU's top finisher … he shot 3-over-par and finished at 4-over-par for the tournament … the Herndon, Virginia, native tied for 24^th with rounds of 69-69-74=217 … senior Mark Goetz paced WVU in the final 18 holes with a 1-over-par round and finished 9-over-par for the tournament with rounds of 78-72-72=222 … senior Logan Perkins also shot 3-over-par on Tuesday, including an eagle on the 13^th hole, a 375-yard, par-4 … he finished at 12-over-par (76-75-74=225) … freshman Jackson Davenport shot 4-over-par (71-75-75=221) on Tuesday and finished at 8-over-par for the tournament … sophomore Trent Tipton was 8-over-par (71-74-79=224) today and completed his three rounds at 11-over-par.

This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers continue their four-match homestand in Morgantown from March 26-28, playing host to two top-50 opponents … West Virginia opens this weekend's action on Friday, March 26, against No. 45 Kansas … Friday's contest against the Jayhawks is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET … WVU then concludes its homestand on Sunday, March 28, against No. 46 Kansas State … first serve against the Wildcats is set for 10 a.m. … the location for this weekend's matches will be announced in the coming days.

Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia opened its four-match homestand last weekend against a pair of ranked Big 12 opponents … the Mountaineers began the weekend on March 19, against No. 41 TCU at the Summit Tennis Academy in Morgantown … WVU won the doubles team point and the No. 6 singles match, but TCU ultimately took the match by a score of 5-2 … West Virginia concluded the weekend on March 21, against No. 30 Texas Tech … playing with an incomplete lineup, the Mountaineers suffered the defeat to the Red Raiders, 7-0.

Notes: WVU coach Miha Lisac is in his eighth season as the Mountaineers' head coach … during his time in Morgantown, Lisac has amassed 49 victories and has 111 career wins … the 2020-21 squad is made up of two seniors, two juniors and three freshmen … Hunter Bleser, a graduate transfer from Virginia, and Anne-Sophie Courteau make up the senior class for West Virginia … Courteau leads the team in career wins (88), singles wins (45) and doubles wins (42) … this season, Maslova leads the Mountaineers in singles victories with three … the duo of Bovolskaia and Maslova currently lead the team in doubles play with three doubles victories.

This Week in Women's Soccer: The No. 7-ranked Mountaineers return to action by playing host to No. 5 Duke in a top-10 matchup on Saturday, March 27, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown … kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Women's Soccer: WVU (8-2) last played a regular-season contest at Saint Joseph's on March 7, earning a 3-1 victory … junior forward Alina Stahl scored a pair of goals for the Mountaineers, who opened their spring campaign with the win, while sophomore forward/defender Julianne Vallerand tallied the game-winning goal in the 20th minute … West Virginia tallied season highs in shots (22) and shots on goal (15) in the road win.

Notes: WVU is 2-2-1 all-time against Duke, with the last meeting occurring on Sept. 8, 2017, in Morgantown … WVU has defeated a top-10 opponent in 14 of the last 15 seasons … the Mountaineers are 4-0 at home this season … West Virginia is 1-2 against ranked foes this season, earning a 2-1 win over then-No. 11 Kansas on Oct. 30, in Morgantown … WVU has won 50 of its last 51 matches when scoring twice or more in a match, including 7-0 this season … last week, West Virginia was included in the top 10 in a pair of national polls … WVU continued to rank No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, as well as No. 9 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com poll … senior midfielder Stefany Ferrer-van Ginkel paces WVU with six goals and 14 points in 2020-21 … Ferrer-van Ginkel's four game-winning goals rank No. 4 nationally … in goal, sophomore goalkeeper Kayza Massey is 5-1 since taking over the starting position in the fall … she has made 10 saves in six matches played this season.