Tekesky Named WVU Student-Athlete of the Week

Photo by: Seth Seebaugh

March 08, 2021 05:04 PM | Baseball, General, Golf, Men's Soccer, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Cross Country, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball, Wrestling

Varsity Sports Report

By: Lindsay Auld

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After helping the Mountaineers tally their second-straight shutout of the season, senior goalkeeper Steven Tekesky has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

The Raymore, Missouri, native recorded four saves in WVU's conference-opening, 1-0 win against Northern Illinois on March 6. With his second clean sheet of the season and 16th of his Mountaineer career, Tekesky moves into 5th place all-time in program history in shutouts. Additionally, Tekesky ranks No. 1 in the Mid-American Conference in shutouts (2), shutouts per game (1.00), save percentage (1.000) and goals against average (0.00).

With the win over NIU, Tekesky's career record improves to 29-19-2, while the Mountaineers move to 2-0-0 this season, as well as 1-0-0 in conference play. Saturday's match marked the first conference and first home games for WVU this season, as well as first-year head coach Dan Stratford's first career victories at home and in the MAC.

This Week in Gymnastics: WVU (1-6, 0-6 Big 12) heads back to Pittsburgh on Friday, March 12, with competition set to begin at 7 p.m. ET., before the Panthers (5-9-1, 5-7-1 EAGL) travel to Morgantown for the Mountaineers' final regular season meet on Sunday, March 14, at 2 p.m. … Sunday is Senior Day, and West Virginia will celebrate the careers of its 2021 senior class: McKenna Linnen and Michelle Waldron … fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance by visiting WVUGAME.com or calling 1-800-WVU GAME to avoid lines at the gate on meet day … in addition, direct links to the video streams and live stats can be found on the gymnastics schedule page at WVUsports.com.

Last Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia earned a big win against its regional rival Pitt, 195.900-194.175, on March 5, at Fitzgerald Field House, in Pittsburgh … the Mountaineers hit 24-for-24 routines for the first time this season and earned a 48.700-47.900 edge over the Panthers on uneven bars, a 49.100-48.525 win on balance beam and a 49.300-48.950 victory on floor exercise … the two squads also posted matching 48.8 marks on vault … WVU's final total was good for a season best … the Mountaineers also scored a season high in their third rotation, tallying a 49.0 or higher on floor in five of their last six meets … additionally, the squad notched a season-best mark on vault.

Notes: Individually, nine gymnasts earned 12 podium finishes at Pitt … junior Kendra Combs paced WVU and won the bars and floor titles outright … the Windsor, Connecticut, native posted a winning, 9.825 performance on bars, good for a season high, before scoring her third 9.9 of the season on floor and matching her personal best for the fourth time … WVU is 66-16-2 all-time against Pitt … The Mountaineers also hold a 26-10-1 record in Pittsburgh, as well as a 20-4-1 mark inside the WVU Coliseum … this week's Road to Nationals Rankings were determined by National Qualifying Scores (NQS) … due to the limited number of meets for some teams in 2021, an NQS is calculated by taking a team's top four scores instead of six … the top four scores, two of which must be from road meets, will be averaged and no score will be dropped … WVU comes in at No. 36 with an NQS of 195.456, meaning if the 2021 season ended today, the Mountaineers would qualify for an NCAA Regional meet … WVU ranks as high as No. 23 on floor (49.225 NQS) … the Mountaineers also are tied at No. 33 on beam (49.013 NQS) and No. 43 on vault (48.781 NQS) … West Virginia also sits at No. 43 bars (48.663 NQS).

This Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers head to the 2021 NCAA  Rifle Championships on Mar. 12-13, at The Ohio State University, in Columbus … both matches will begin at 9:30 a.m. ET from the French Field House.

Last Week in Rifle: WVU was off last week.

Notes: The No. 4-ranked West Virginia University rifle team took the Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championship crown with a two-day score of 4727, shot in a virtual match, in Morgantown on February 28 … the squad stood in first place after one day of competition with a 2346 smallbore score on February 27 … the Mountaineers took the GARC Crown after shooting a 2381 in air rifle on February 28 … five Mountaineers counted toward the team's score in the GARC Championships – junior Jared Eddy, freshman Tal Engler, freshman Molly McGhin, sophomore Akihito Shimizu and  sophomore Calsista Smoyer … junior Verena Zaisberger shot a career high in smallbore and shot particularly strong in prone, matching the program record with a perfect 200 and tied her air rifle personal best … Eddy's air rifle total was a personal best … Smoyer's air rifle (596) total tied a personal best … nine shooters earned a combined 21 All-GARC honors. The Mountaineers last saw action at the NCAA's in 2019 and placed second overall ... WVU has won 19 championships with their last championship in 2017.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: The Mountaineer divers travel to the 2021 NCAA Zone A Diving Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, on March 11-13 … the championships are set to take place at the Greensboro Aquatic Center from March 11-13.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: The diving teams completed competition at the 2021 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship, hosted by the University of Texas at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas … on the first night of diving, four Mountaineer men competed in the 1-meter finals, led by junior PJ Lenz in fourth place with a score of 359.16 … the women were paced by junior Camille Burt's sixth-place performance on 3-meter, tallying a 297.85 total … on the second day, a pair of women appeared in the 1-meter finals, as sophomore Holly Darling led the way in sixth (281.20) … on 3-meter, the men were led by a fifth-place finish from sophomore Owen Johns with 341.15 points … the two squads concluded the competition on platform, where Lenz paced both teams with a bronze-medal and record-setting finish … he earned 377.00 points to tally WVU's first top-three finish at the championship since 2019 … in the final team standings, the Mountaineer men finished in second place with 850 points, while the women took fourth place with 526 points.

Notes: Lenz's record-setting performance on platform at Big 12s marked the second consecutive season where the men's team set a platform record at the conference championship … his score of 377.00 bested the previous record of 349.80, set by Austin Smith in 2020 … in total, the Mountaineers earned 11 medals at the 2021 Big 12 Championship, including four solo bronze-medal finishes … the Mountaineers tallied a pair of program records at the championship, including Lenz's record on platform and the women's team's record in the 200 free relay … the team of sophomores Emily Haimes, Harna Minezawa and Jacqueline McCutchan and freshman Jordan Buechler combined for a time of 1:31.05 to tally the school record … West Virginia returns to the Zone A Diving Championships this week after hosting the championship for the first time in program history last season … a pair of Mountaineers – Nick Cover and Jacob Cardinal Tremblay – earned bids to the 2020 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships with a pair of top-four finishes on platform at the Zone meet … the duo were the first Mountaineer divers to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 1983.

This Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia travels to Waco, Texas, on Monday, March 8, for a top-25 matchup against No. 6 Baylor to conclude its 2020-21 regular season … opening tip against the Lady Bears is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ … following Monday's game, WVU travels to Kansas City, Missouri, from March 11-14, for the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship … the Mountaineers are seeded No. 2 in this year's event and will begin tournament action on Friday, March 12, at 6:30 p.m.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia secured a 72-64 win against Kansas State on March 3, at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas … with the win, the Mountaineers now have thirteen Big 12 victories this season, their most Big 12, regular-season wins since the 2013-14 season when the team notched 16 league victories, and have secured second place in the conference and the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Championship … sophomore forward Esmery Martinez once again led West Virginia's offensive efforts, tying a career high with 23 points … she also recorded her 13th double-double of the season, grabbing 12 rebounds on the night … three other Mountaineers scored in double figures against the Wildcats, as redshirt senior Kysre Gondrezick (14), sophomore guard Kirsten Deans (13) and junior guard Jasmine Carson (11) also reached the 10-point threshold.

Notes: West Virginia is 140-93 against its 2020-21 opponents, including 106-80 against members of the Big 12 Conference … West Virginia has now won 19 or more games for the first time since 2018-19 … 13 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 … WVU is 8-2 over its last 10 games, tied for second in the Big 12 … West Virginia has only allowed one opponent to score 80 or more points this season … the Mountaineers are one of 23 teams nationally and two teams in the Big 12 who have 19 or more wins this season … this year, WVU is shooting 45.5% from the floor, which is up seven points from last year's shooting percentage (38.5%) … the Mountaineers also are shooting seven points better from 3-point range this year (36.3%; 2019-20 – 29.3%) … West Virginia is outrebounding opponents by 5.8 rebounds per game this season, up 3.9 rebounds from a season ago … the Mountaineers have 94 less turnovers and have committed 151 less fouls than they did a year ago… Gondrezick currently leads the Mountaineers in scoring, with a total of 454 points and an average of 20.6 per game … Martinez is pacing WVU in the rebounding department this season, with 277 rebounds and 12.0 boards per game … she also has tallied a double-double in 13 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 13.9 and 13.4 points per game, respectively … junior forward Kari Niblack leads the team in shooting percentage, at 53.2%, and also holds the lead in blocks (40).

This Week in Wrestling: WVU does not compete this week … a trio of Mountaineers earned automatic bids to the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, slated for March 18-20, held at the Enterprise Center, in St. Louis, Missouri … the Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining at-large qualifiers to fill out the 33-man bracket in each weight class, which will be announced on March 9, followed by brackets and seeding on March 10.

Last Week in Wrestling: Six Mountaineer grapplers finished on the podium, including two third-place finishes from redshirt juniors Killian Cardinale (125) and Noah Adams (197), as West Virginia completed the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championship on March 7, at the BOK Center, in Tulsa, Oklahoma … in addition, freshman Peyton Hall placed fourth in the 165-pound bracket, and redshirt sophomore Alex Hornfeck finished sixth in the 157-pound pool … redshirt freshman Michael Wolfgram also placed seventh in the heavyweight division, while classmate Anthony Carman finished eighth in the 184-pound bracket … with their podium finishes at this year's conference championships, Cardinale, Adams and Hall all qualified for the NCAA Tournament at their respective weights … as a team, WVU collected 57 points throughout the two-day event to place ninth overall.

Notes: Four Mountaineers rank in the top 33 of their respective weights in the most recent NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings, released on Feb. 25 … to be eligible for the second rankings, wrestlers must have participated in at least three matches against Division I opponents in the weight class and have wrestled within the last 30 days … for the final coaches' ranking, wrestlers will need a minimum of four matches against Division I foes in the weight class … Adams comes in as WVU's highest-ranked wrestler, checking in at No. 6 at 197 pounds, while redshirt freshman Ryan Sullivan moves up three spots to No. 16 in his weight class of 133 … Hall moves up one spot and ranks No. 20 at 165 pounds, while Cardinale rounds out the Mountaineers in the coaches' panel, jumping two spots to No. 22 in the 125-pound division.

This Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers closed out their indoor track season at the Big 12 Championship on Feb. 26-27... West Virginia now prepares to open the outdoor season later this month.

Last Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers were off last week.

Notes: After finishing in eighth place with 34 points, the Mountaineers brought home eight All-Big 12 performances at the Big 12 Championships … redshirt freshman Ceili McCabe's second-place finish in the 3,000-meter race with a time of 9:25.32 ranks second in the Big 12 and 33rd in the NCAA in the event … the distance medley relay team led the way with a first-place finish at the conference meet, as the team of redshirt junior Hayley Jackson, junior Tessa Constantine, McCabe and freshman Jo-Lauren Keane crossed the finish line in a time of 11:21.35 to claim the Mountaineers' first individual Big 12 title since joining the conference in 2012.

This Week in Baseball: The No. 23-ranked Mountaineers are scheduled to play host to Central Michigan, from March 11-13, at Monongalia County Ballpark in Morgantown … Thursday and Friday's matchups are slated for a 3 p.m. ET first pitch, while Saturday's series finale is set for 1 p.m.

Last Week in Baseball: WVU did not compete last week … the program announced a seven-day pause in all team activities on March 2.

Notes: The Mountaineers (4-3) are set to open the seventh season of action at Monongalia County Ballpark this week … WVU is 78-43 at home since the ballpark opened in 2015 … WVU and Central Michigan are set to meet for the first time since 2013 … CMU leads the all-time series, 1-0 … in all, the Mountaineers are 109-78-1 against members of the Mid-American Conference … WVU continues to rank No. 23 in the latest D1Baseball.com Top 25, which was released on Monday … WVU ranks No. 15 nationally in stolen bases per game (2.29) and home runs per game (1.71) … last week, fifth-year senior infielder Kevin Brophy was named one of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's National Players of the Week after slugging three home runs and seven RBIs at the CCU Baseball Tournament, from Feb. 26-28, in Conway, South Carolina … WVU finished with a winning record in February for the fifth time in the last six seasons.

This Week in Men's Soccer: West Virginia returns to the road on Sunday, March 14, for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Western Michigan … Sunday's match at WMU Soccer Complex in Kalamazoo, Michigan, marks WVU's first conference road game of the season.

Last Week in Men's Soccer: The Mountaineers improved to 2-0-0 and 1-0-0 in Mid-American Conference play with a 1-0 victory over Northern Illinois on March 6 … in their home and MAC debuts, West Virginia recorded their second consecutive shutout to total two clean sheets this season … senior goalkeeper Steven Tekesky earned his 16th career clean sheet in the win … the lone score in the contest came on an early penalty kick for redshirt freshman defender Bjarne Thiesen … with his second penalty goal of the season, Thiesen tallied the first game winner of his career … Tekesky recorded four saves against NIU, while the Huskies outshot the Mountaineers 11-2, while holding a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Notes: WVU evented the all-time series with Northern Illinois to 4-4-2, while moving to 3-3-3 all-time in MAC openers … with his 16th career shutout, Tekesky moves into fifth place all-time in program history in the category … going into this weekend's contest at Western Michigan, the all-time series between the two squads is tied at 4-4-2 … Tekesky ranks No. 1 in the MAC in shutouts (2), shutouts per game (1.00), save percentage (1.000) and goals against average (0.00) … WVU is first in the conference in goals allowed (0) and shutouts (2) … the team is tied for second in the league in goals per game (2.00) and saves per game (3.50) … Thiesen and junior forward Tony Pineda sit in a tie for first place in the conference in points per game (2.00) and goals per game (1.00).

This Week in Golf: The Mountaineers are idle until the George Hannon Intercollegiate in Austin, Texas, on March 15-16.

Last Week in Golf: Senior Mark Goetz finished 6-under-par and tied for sixth place on the individual leaderboard to lead the Mountaineer golf team at the Seminole Intercollegiate on Feb. 19-21, in Tallahassee, Florida … the Greensburg, Pennsylvania, native shot 1-under-par on Sunday to post a three-day score of 72-67-71=210 … he recorded 18 birdies during the 54-hole tournament to tie his second lowest three-day total of his Mountaineer career … Goetz's 67 round on Saturday matched his season-best score of the abbreviated 2019-20 season … sophomore Trent Tipton shot even par in the final round to finish at 6-over-par with rounds of 77-73-72=222 … the Orient, Ohio, native finished tied for 39th place … junior Kurtis Grant finished with rounds of 74-69-81=224, while senior Logan Perkins (78-69-80=227) and freshman Jackson Davenport (77-73-77=227) rounded out the Mountaineers' scoring … West Virginia finished the tournament with rounds of 300-278-300=878 … WVU finished tied for 10th place in its second spring tournament of the season … the tournament was played at the par-72, 6,695-yard Golden Eagle Country Club.

Notes: WVU shot the eighth-best round in school history with a 10-under-par day in the second round of the Seminole Intercollegiate in Tallahassee, Florida … WVU's 10-under-par score for round two was three shots shy of the school record, and it was the second-lowest score of the day behind No. 1 Oklahoma's 12-under round.

This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers begin Big 12 Conference play in Texas this week … West Virginia begins its road trip in Austin, on Friday, March 12, for a showdown at Texas at 5 p.m. ET … the Mountaineers then travel to Waco, on Sunday, March 14, to conclude its road trip at Baylor at 2 p.m.

Last Week in Tennis: 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 of 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 a record of 2-1.

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 of 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, freshman Nadya Maslova leads the Mountaineers in singles victories, with three … the duo of Bovolskaia and Maslova currently lead the team in doubles play with a record of 2-1.

This Week in Cross Country: The Mountaineers are off this week but return to action on March 15, for the NCAA Championships, in Stillwater, Oklahoma … the meet will begin at 12:50  p.m. ET.

Last Fall in Cross Country: In its last meet, the West Virginia University cross country team finished in 6th place in the Garnet Women's 6000-meter race, at the FSU Winter XC Classic, hosted by Florida State University, at Apalachee Regional Park, in Tallahassee, Florida, on Feb. 5 … sophomore Ceili McCabe was the first Mountaineer to cross the finish line with a 6k time of 20:31.2 in 8th place … McCabe was followed by senior Hayley Jackson who took 27th in 20:53.5 … redshirt sophomore Katherine Dowie completed the Seminoles' home course in 21:24.2, good for 45th place, while redshirt senior Antigone Archer finished in 50th with a time of 21:29.5.

Notes: The Mountaineers return 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.

This Week in Volleyball: The Mountaineers return to regular-season action by traveling to Bowling Green, Kentucky, for a match against Western Kentucky on Friday, March 12, at 6 p.m. ET.

Last Fall in Volleyball: WVU earned a program-best, 8-8 mark in its conference-only slate last fall … the Mountaineers also were ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-15 Poll three times, sitting as high as No. 13 – also a program best … of note, West Virginia captured its first win over a top-10 opponent, defeating No. 10 Kansas on back-to-back nights on Oct. 10-11, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, in Lawrence, Kansas.

Notes: The Mountaineers and Hilltoppers meet for the second time in program history on Friday, with WVU earning a 3-1 win in a neutral-site match on Sept. 21, 1996 … West Virginia is set to play four regular-season contests this spring, leading up to the NCAA Tournament in April … last fall, the NCAA approved moving fall championships to spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic … seniors Alexa Hasting, Briana Lynch and Lindsay Proctor, redshirt junior Alison Thomas, juniors Kristin Lux, Lacey Zerwas and Natali Petrova, redshirt sophomore Marielena Somoza, sophomores Emmy Ogogor and Natalie Winter and freshmen Meghan Dombrowski, Melisa Temiz and Skye Stokes return to the court for the Mountaineers this spring … additionally, sixth-year coach Reed Sunahara added two transfers to the 2021 spring roster … Athena Ardila comes to Morgantown from Northeastern, where she was a three-year starter for the Huskies … Adrian Ell also joins the Mountaineers from Florida State, where she appeared in 213 career sets for the Seminoles … Lynch paced the team with .340 hitting efficiency last fall, while Hasting led the floor defense with 3.70 digs per set.

This Week in Women's Soccer: The No. 7-ranked Mountaineers return to exhibition play with a matchup against Racing Louisville FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) on Saturday, March 13, in Louisville, Kentucky … kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Women's Soccer: WVU (8-2) opened its spring campaign with a 3-1 win at Saint Joseph's on March 7, at Sweeney Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania … junior forward Alina Stahl led the Mountaineers with a pair of goals, while sophomore forward/defender Julianne Vallerand was credited with the game-winner … Stahl opened the scoring in the 10th minute, before completing her brace in the 48th minute … Vallerand's game-winner came in the 20th minute of play … WVU outshot the Hawks, 22-3, including 15-2 in shots on goal … freshman midfielder Lilly McCarthy led West Virginia with five shots, including four shots on goal … in all, eight different Mountaineers finished with multiple shot attempts … in goal, sophomore goalkeeper Kayza Massey made one save and improved to 5-1 on the year.

Notes: Stahl's two goals marked her third career multi-goal performance, including her first in 2020-21 … it also marked WVU's third two-goal performance of the season … with Sunday's win, WVU improved to 1-0 all-time against Saint Joseph's, as well as 21-1-3 against Atlantic 10 foes … the squad is now 50-1 in its last 51 matches when scoring twice or more … freshman midfielder Maya Ladhani made her WVU debut in Sunday's win … WVU's 22 total shots and 15 shots on goal against the Hawks were season highs … as a team, West Virginia ranks No. 16 nationally in total assists (17), No. 23 in total points (55) and No. 26 in total goals (19) … in the polls, WVU sat at No. 7 in last week's United Soccer Coaches Women's National Poll, as well as No. 10 in TopDrawerSoccer.com's Top 25.