Keane Named Student-Athlete of the Week

January 31, 2022 01:50 PM | General, Golf, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Wrestling

Varsity Sports Report

By: WVU Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After setting an indoor program record, in the 800-meter run, sophomore Jo-Lauren Keane of the West Virginia University track and field team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

The Corofin, Co. Clare, Ireland, native recorded an indoor program record in the 800-meter run at the PSU Sykes and Sabock Challenge in University Park, Pennsylvania, at the Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track, on Saturday, Jan. 29.

Keane finished the race in a time of 2:05.80, good for third place.

The 800-meter record was previously set by Kate Vermeulen, who recorded a time of 2:06.42 in 1999.

This Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia embarks on a two-game road trip this week … WVU opens the road swing on Wednesday, Feb. 2, at TCU … tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, inside Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas … the contest against the Horned Frogs will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ … the Mountaineers close out this week's road tip on Saturday, Feb. 5, at Oklahoma … Saturday's contest is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET, at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma … the game against the Sooners will be shown on Bally Sports Oklahoma.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia (10-8, 3-5 Big 12) split a pair of Big 12 Conference contests at home last week … the Mountaineers began the week with a 66-54 win over TCU on Jan. 25, at the WVU Coliseum … the win marked WVU's second consecutive victory in league play … junior forward Esmery Martinez netted her third consecutive double-double in the victory and led the team in scoring, with 16 points … Martinez was joined in double figures by freshman guard JJ Quinerly, who tallied 11 points … fifth-year senior center Blessing Ejiofor finished with a game-high 11 rebounds to pace West Virginia on the glass … the Mountaineers closed out the week with an 87-54 loss to No. 11/14 Baylor on Jan. 29, in Morgantown … Martinez once again led WVU in scoring, with a team-high 13 points … she and junior guard Jayla Hemingway tied for the team lead in rebounding, with six apiece.

Notes: With 22 double-doubles in her Mountaineer career, Martinez now ranks No. 7 in all-time program history in the category, tying Lisa Szymczak (1993-96) … Martinez has the most double doubles in a career by a Mountaineer since Teana Muldrow (24, 2014-18) … with 11 points vs. TCU, Quinerly now has four double-figure scoring games in her career … with 11 points across two games last week, senior forward Kari Niblack now has 994 points in her Mountaineer career and needs six tallies to reach 1,000 points … the Leesburg, Florida, native would become the 38th 1,000-point scorer in program history … West Virginia is 17-5 all-time against TCU, including 1-0 this season … the Mountaineers are 6-3 against the Horned Frogs when playing in Fort Worth … WVU is 10-13 all-time against Oklahoma … earlier this season, OU took the first meeting between the two teams, defeating WVU, 88-76, on Jan. 19, in Morgantown … the Mountaineers are 4-6 against the Sooners when playing in Norman.

This Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers travel to Iowa for another pair of Big 12 duals from Feb. 4-5 … WVU battles No. 7 Iowa State on Friday and Northern Iowa on Saturday … both duals are set to begin at 8 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Wrestling: West Virginia fell to both No. 23 South Dakota State and North Dakota State over the weekend … WVU held a 16-7 lead with four matches to go but nationally-ranked SDSU (10-2, 3-0 Big 12) swept the final four matches of the dual … redshirt senior Killian Cardinale led off with a 10-2 major decision over SDSU's Tanner Jordan behind a team-high four takedowns … Cardinale followed up by knocking off No. 22 Lucas Rodriguez (NDSU) in a 6-3 decision on Saturday … sophomore Peyton Hall pinned No. 27 Tanner Cook in 4:24 … Hall, No. 9 in the first NCAA coaches' ranking at 165, was pinned by Luke Weber (NDSU) on Saturday for his second loss of the season … freshman Garett Lautzenheiser (133) and redshirt junior Alex Hornfeck (157) each scored decisions in the loss to SDSU … along with Cardinale, redshirt sophomore Michael Wolfgram, ranked No. 21 in the NCAA coaches' ranking, found No.18 Brandon Metz (NDSU) on his back and covered him for the fall in 1:28 of the first period … the pin marked Wolfgram's third of the season as well as the York, Pennsylvania, native's third win over a ranked opponent.

Notes: West Virginia stands at 5-5 overall and 0-3 against the Big 12 … redshirt senior Killian Cardinale extended his undefeated streak to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in dual meets, while improving to 4-0 versus ranked opponents … sophomore Peyton Hall stands at 18-2 overall, 9-1 in duals and 4-1 against ranked opponents … West Virginia placed seventh in its third appearance at the Southern Scuffle (Jan. 1-2), where Cardinale and Hall reached the finals … it was the first time program history that more than one Mountaineer registered an appearance in the finals of the in-season tournament … WVU placed second at the Clarion Open on Sunday, Nov. 7 … the 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are currently scheduled for March 17-19, in Detroit, Michigan for the first time in NCAA history … it's also the fourth time that the Championships will be held in the state of Michigan, with the last time being in 2007 (Auburn Hills) … additionally, the Big 12 Championship will return to the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the sixth consecutive year on March 5-6.

This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers complete their three-meet road swing with a pair of competitions this week … first up, WVU travels to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to take on No. 13 Arkansas on Friday, Feb. 4 … the meet is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. ET, inside Barnhill Arena … West Virginia then travels to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a quad meet at Pitt on Sunday, Feb. 6 … WVU will be joined by NC State and Alaska Anchorage at Pitt, as the meet is set for 2 p.m., inside Fitzgerald Field House.

Last Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia tallied a season-best road score, but fell, 196.225-195.425, to Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, on Jan. 28 … Iowa State outscored West Virginia (2-3, 0-2 Big 12) on vault, balance beam and uneven bars, but WVU secured a narrow 49.25-49.225 victory on floor exercise … West Virginia was led by junior Abbie Pierson, who logged stellar performances on each event in which she competed, including event wins on vault and balance beam … Pierson's night was highlighted by a career-high 9.95 on vault to lead the Mountaineer lineup to a season-high 49.125 on the event … Pierson led WVU with solo event wins on vault and beam, while senior Kendra Combs ascended the podium three times … Combs finished tied for second on beam with a 9.85, before going on to match her career high on floor and finish tied for first place with a 9.9 … the lone competitor in the all-around, Combs totaled a 39.025 across all four events.

Notes: With her career-best mark on vault, Pierson became the first Mountaineer to earn a 9.95 on the event since Kirah Koshinski on Feb. 22, 2019 … Combs matched her career-high mark on floor, scoring a 9.9 on the event for the second straight meet … freshman Brooke Alban earned a career-best mark on vault, tallying a 9.775 and topping her previous best of 9.725 … freshman Brynn Freehling made her Mountaineer debut at Iowa State, appearing in the No. 6 spot on floor exercise and earning a 9.65 in her first career performance … in this week's Road to Nationals Rankings, WVU's floor lineup continues to rank inside the top 10, checking in at No. 8 with a 49.308 average … the Mountaineers are just outside the top 30 in two other events, as they rank No. 32 on vault (48.883 avg.) and No. 35 on beam (48.7 avg.) … West Virginia sits No. 4 overall in the Big 12 Conference, while it holds on to the No. 2 spot in the league on floor … individually, Pierson ranks No. 4 in the conference on vault, No. 9 on beam and is tied for No. 7 on floor … Combs is No. 5 in the Big 12 on floor, and sophomore Kiana Lewis sits tied with Pierson for No. 7 on the event.

This Week in Swimming & Diving: West Virginia is off this week ... the Mountaineers return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at the 2022 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park, in Morgantown ... this year's championship will conclude on Saturday, Feb. 26.

Last Week in Swimming & Diving: WVU was off last week.

Notes: The Mountaineers men's squad defeated Villanova, 195-96, and tallied the eighth consecutive win over the Wilcats ... West Virginia wrapped up the fall campaign with the WVU Invitational on November 18-20 … fifth-year senior Ana Zortea broke the program record in the woman's 100-yard backstroke at the invite, touching the wall in 53.41 … the Mountaineers also had seven divers earn an NCAA Zones-qualifying score during the winter invite … freshman Sarah Krusinski (281.95), junior Marian Tiemeier (271.00) and senior Camille Burt (269.45) swept the women's 1-meter and earned their Zones-qualifying scores … Krusinski's recorded a 269.85 on 1-meter … senior Nick Cover notched a 349.90, just shy of a personal best to qualify for Zones … on men's platform, senior PJ Lenz (332.95), Cover (306.75) and freshman Glenn Eloriaga (305.40) all recorded Zones-qualifying scores at the mid-season meet.

This Week in Track and Field: West Virginia travels to the Akron Invitational in Akron, Ohio, on Feb. 4-5 … events will be held at the Stile Athletics Field House … the meet will begin on Friday at 4 p.m. ET, and resume Saturday at 10 a.m.

Last Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers traveled to the PSU Sykes and Sabock Challenge in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Jan. 29, at the Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track ... sophomore Jo-Lauren Keane recorded an indoor school program record in the 800-meter run … Keane finished the race in a time of 2:05.80, good for third place … following behind was junior Hayley Jackson, who finished the 800-meter in a time of 2:10.37, good for first place in her heat and eighth overall … junior Katherine Dowie made her season debut, recording a personal best time of 9:36.46 in the 3,000-meter run, good for second place … senior Peter-Gay McKenzie placed fifth in the long jump competition with a distance of 5.71 meters.

Notes: The 800-meter record was previously set by Kate Vermeulen, who recorded a time of 2:06.42 in 1999 … WVU last saw action in Akron at the 2020 Akron Invitational on Feb. 7-8, 2020 ... the distance medley relay team led the way with a second-place finish ... the team of Sarah Wills, Marianne Abdalah, Tessa Constantine and Amber Dombrowski crossed the finish line in 12:06.45 to take second place ... Myesha Nott paced the Mountaineers, finishing in second place in the women's triple jump and Constantine also registered fifth-place finish in the 400-meter dash.

This Week in Rifle: West Virginia is off this week.

Last Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers picked up a pair of top-15 victories on Jan. 29, as WVU shot a combined team score of 4726 to defeat No. 9 Akron (4670) and No. 12 Morehead State (4642) at the Bill McKenzie Mobile Rifle Range in Morgantown … West Virginia swept both disciplines, capturing the smallbore crown with a 2347 and the air rifle relay with a 2379 … eight WVU shooters finished inside the top 10 of the overall match leaderboard, including the top seven spots … sophomore Tal Engler placed first with an aggregate score of 1182, while junior Calista Smoyer also shot an 1182 to claim second place … Engler tallied a 587 in smallbore and a 595 in air rifle, while Smoyer finished with a 584 in smallbore and a match-high 598 in air rifle … of note, Smoyer's 598 in air rifle tied her career high in the discipline.

Notes: West Virginia is now 12-0 on the year, including 7-0 in the Great American Rifle Conference, its best start to a season since 2018-19, when WVU finished the regular season 13-0 … during his 16 seasons at West Virginia, coach Jon Hammond has won at least 10 regular-season matches 11 times … after shooting a combined team score of 4726 against Akron and Morehead State, WVU has now tallied a 4725 or better as a team five times this season, including in each of the last two matches … West Virginia's season-high team score came on Jan. 22, at Navy (4739) … the Mountaineers rank No. 2 nationally in average aggregate score (4725.555), average smallbore score (2347.333) and are No. 3 in average air rifle score (2378.222) … sophomore Molly McGhin continues to lead WVU in average aggregate score with a 1181.143, good for No. 10 nationally, and average air rifle score with a 595.143, ranking No. 9 nationally … senior Verena Zaisberger is shooting a team-best 587.667 average in smallbore this season, which ranks No. 9 in the country.

This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers hit the road for a pair of dual matches this week … on Saturday, Feb. 5, WVU travels to Williamsburg, Virginia, to take on William & Mary at 11 a.m. ET, inside Millie West Tennis Facility … the squad then travels to Richmond on Sunday, Feb. 6, to face VCU … action inside Thalhimer Tennis Courts is set to begin at 11 a.m.

Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, on Sunday, Jan. 30, for its second dual match of the season against Cleveland State … the Mountaineers swept the Vikings, 7-0, and moved the all-time record to 4-0 over CSU … Sunday's competition began with doubles play, where sophomore Momoko Nagato and junior Ting-Pei Chang claimed the first victory of the dual-match, 7-6, over Sima Heren and Klara Mrcela … the freshmen pair Camilla Bossi and Kendall Kovick dominated Oihane Vicario and Filippa Frogner, 6-1 … freshmen Michaela Kucharova and Tatiana Lipatova suffered the Mountaineers' only loss of the day, as they fell to Selma Tounsi and Bethany Yauch, 6-3 … WVU swept singles play by winning all six match ups … Chang went toe-to-toe with Vicario in three sets, ultimately claiming the match, 6-2, 2-4, 10-6 … Nagato, Kovick, Kucharova, Bossi and Lipatova all secured victories for the Mountaineers in two-straight sets.

Notes: WVU's 7-0 victory over Cleveland State was the second sweep over the Vikings since 2016 … Nagato and Hsieh's appeared in the fall 2021 ITA Atlantic Super Regional quarterfinal round, which marks WVU's first time since Kat Lyman and Anne-Sophie Courteau in 2019 … Kucharova led the team with the best individual record (14-4) during the fall campaign, including a 9-1 singles record and a 5-3 doubles record … following competition in Virginia, the Mountaineers play host to Duquesne and Youngstown State on Sunday, Feb. 13.

This Week in Golf: The West Virginia University golf team will begin its spring season on Sunday at the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate in Statesboro, Georgia … the 54-hole event will take place at the Georgia Southern Golf Course with 36 holes on Sunday and 18 holes on Monday.

Last Fall in Golf: The Mountaineers last competed in their fall season on Oct. 19, at the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational.

Notes: After the fall season, Mark Goetz, Logan Perkins and Kurtis Grant all moved to fourth, fifth and sixth places, respectively, on the all-time list for tournament rounds of Even par or lower (Goetz 38, Perkins, 31, Grant 22).