Wetherholt Named Student-Athlete of the Week

February 21, 2022 04:07 PM | Baseball, General, Golf, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling

Varsity Sports Report

By: WVU Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After slashing three-extra base hits and tallying six RBI in three games, freshman infielder JJ Wetherholt of the West Virginia University baseball team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Wetherholt began his collegiate career with a 7-for-13 weekend at the Baseball at the Beach event in Conway, South Carolina, helping the Mountaineers go 3-0. The Mars, Pennsylvania, native homered in his first career at-bat on Friday and added a double and triple later in the weekend.

In all, he tallied six RBI, scored four runs and stole two bases. Additionally, he finished with multiple hits in all three games. WVU is 3-0 for the first time since 2012.

This Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia continues its Big 12 Conference slate this week, both at home and on the road … WVU opens this week's action on Wednesday, Feb. 23, when the Mountaineers make the trek to Lubbock, Texas, to square off against Texas Tech … tipoff for Wednesday's game is set for 8 p.m. ET, inside United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock … West Virginia then returns to Morgantown on Sunday, Feb. 27, to play host to Oklahoma State inside the WVU Coliseum … tipoff is set for 1 p.m. ET, and the contest will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU … Sunday's contest against the Cowgirls is 'Be Like Mike' Day and will feature a limited-edition Mike Carey bobblehead giveaway for the first 500 fans in attendance.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia (11-13, 4-10 Big 12) suffered a pair of Big 12 losses last week … WVU opened the week on the road, with a 74-63 loss to Kansas on Feb. 15, inside Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence … West Virginia was led by freshman guard JJ Quinerly, who tallied a team-high 16 points in the game … she was joined in double figures by junior forward Esmery Martinez (12 points) and senior guard Madisen Smith (11 points) … Martinez hauled in a team-high eight rebounds to lead WVU on the glass … the Mountaineers concluded last week's action on Feb. 20, when they fell to No. 14/14 Texas, 67-58, inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown … Martinez, who tallied a team-high 13 points, led WVU in scoring against UT … she was joined by Smith, who finished the contest with 10 points … Martinez and fifth-year senior center Blessing Ejiofor each hauled in six rebounds to tie for the team lead on the glass.

Notes: West Virginia held Texas without a make from 3-point range in the game, marking the first time WVU has held its opponent without a 3 since Kansas State on Jan. 26, 2019 … UT finished the game 0-for-1 from deep, marking the first time the Mountaineers have allowed one 3-point attempt or less since Duquesne on Feb. 21, 1995 … over the last six games, three Mountaineers are averaging double figures in scoring, including Smith, who is showing a team-best 13.5 points per game … she is joined by Quinerly and senior forward Kari Niblack, who are averaging 12.8 and 10.7 points per game, respectively … Martinez has served as the team's leading rebounder during that stretch and is averaging 6.7 boards per game … West Virginia is a combined 28-15 against Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, including 2-0 against the pair this season … additionally, WVU is 6-3 against TTU when playing in Lubbock and 6-4 against OSU in Morgantown.

This Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers are off this week … the team heads to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to compete at the 2022 Big 12 Championship on March 5-6 … the event will take placed at the BOK center for the sixth consecutive year.

Last Week in Wrestling: West Virginia wrapped up its 2022 regular season with a 25-11 loss to the Wyoming Cowboys inside the WVU Coliseum, on Feb. 18 … redshirt senior Killian Cardinale, ranked No. 7 in the latest NCAA coaches' poll, gave the Mountaineers a four-point lead after recording a 13-4 major decision over Wyoming's Jacob Svihel in the opening match at 125 pounds … Cardinale registered a team-high four takedowns, while completing the season at 11-1 overall … five matches later, No. 9 Peyton Hall matched Cardinale in takedowns on his way to a 12-2 major decision that had 974 fans on their feet throughout the 165-pound bout … at heavyweight, redshirt sophomore Michael Wolfgram rounded out the victories for West Virginia, as the No. 25-ranked Wolfgram secured a 9-4 decision over the Cowboys' Terren Swartz to end the night ... he concluded the season at 18-7, which is an eight-win boost from his abbreviated 2021 season performance as a redshirt freshman (10-5) … of note, seniors Anthony Cicciarelli, Jackson Moomau, Tucker Nadeau, and Lucas Seibert were celebrated prior to the dual for all of their contributions to the WVU wrestling program during the last four years.

Notes: Cardinale (125), Hall (165), and Wolfgram (HWT) remain among the top 33 of their respective weight classes in the second NCAA Coaches' ranking … Cardinale and Hall both rank in the top 10 at No. 7 and No. 9 respectively , while Wolfgram checks in at No. 25 … Cardinale (11-1), Hall (22-2), and Wolfgram (18-7) combined for 51 wins and 25 bonus-point victories to conclude the regular season … 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).

This Week in Rifle: West Virginia is off this week … WVU's seeding for the 2021-22 NCAA Championships will be announced on Tuesday, Feb. 22, on NCAA.com … the Mountaineers currently rank No. 6 nationally, with a qualifying score of 9441 … following Tuesday's selection show, West Virginia prepares to travel to the 2021-22 Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships on Monday, Feb. 28 … this year's GARC Championships are hosted by Army and will take place at the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center in West Point, New York … the start time for the event will be announced later this week.

Last Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers shot a 4707 in the qualifying match for the 2021-22 NCAA Rifle Championships on Feb. 19, at the Bill McKenzie Mobile Rifle Range in Morgantown … West Virginia finished the match with scores of 2334 in smallbore and 2373 in air rifle to compile its team score of 4707 … combined with the average of the Mountaineers' top-three scores of the 2021-22 regular season, which includes a 4739 at Navy, 4733 at Ole Miss and 4730 at NC State, WVU's qualifying score evens out to 9441 … the Mountaineers shot alongside North Georgia and VMI in Saturday's qualifier, who shot a 4605 and 4529, respectively … VMI's women's team also competed in the event and shot a 4389.

Notes: Last weekend's qualifying scores will determine the top eight teams who will make up the field at this year's NCAA Championships, which will be announced on Tuesday, Feb. 22, on NCAA.com … this year's NCAA Championships, hosted by Air Force, are scheduled for March 11-12, and will take place at the Falcon Rifle Range in Colorado Springs, Colorado … West Virginia has qualified for the NCAA Championships in the last 13 postseasons, all of which have come under coach Jon Hammond's leadership … the 2019-20 postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic … WVU ranks No. 3 nationally in average aggregate score (4721.546) … the Mountaineers also rank No. 2 in average smallbore score (2344.455) and are No. 4 in average air rifle score (2377.091).

This Week in Swimming & Diving: The Mountaineers will return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 23, when they play host to the 2022 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park in Morgantown ... the Championship continues through Saturday, Feb. 26.

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

Notes: This marks the second time in program history that WVU will host the Big 12 Championship … the first time was in 2020, during the first season at the Mountaineers' new home at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park … at the 2021 onference championship, the men's team earned a second-place finish, while the women's team finished in fourth place … in total, the Mountaineers combined to earn 11 medals at the conference meet, including four silver and seven bronze … nine members of the squad earned a spot on the 2021 All-Big 12 First team, while 19 were recognized on the All-Big 12 Second Team … of note, WVU tallied a pair of program records at the 2021 Big 12 Championship … then-junior PJ Lenz earned a record-setting score of 377.00 on men's platform, while the women's 200 freestyle-relay tallied the school record in the event … five Mountaineers qualified for the 2021 Men's NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, including swimmer David Dixon and divers Jacob Cardinal Tremblay, Owen Johns, PJ Lenz and Jake Lowe … Dixon earned a bid to the national meet for the fourth consecutive season, becoming the first Mountaineer from the men's team to do so … WVU's four divers at the NCAA Championships marked the first time in program history that multiple divers competed at a single championship, while the five Mountaineer competitors were the most for West Virginia since 2007.

This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers (5-3, 0-0 Big 12) are back in Morgantown with the second doubleheader of the season … WVU welcomes George Washington and Toledo to the Summit Tennis Academy on Saturday, Feb. 26 … first serve against GWU is set for 10 a.m. ET, while competition against the Rockets will begin at 3 p.m.

Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia spent the weekend on the road for the fourth time this spring … on Feb. 18, the squad defeated in-state foe Marshall, 5-2, in Huntington, West Virginia … the Mountaineers claimed the doubles point after going 2-1 in matchups … WVU went on a three-match win streak, starting with sophomore Momoko Nagato topping Liz Stafancic in two straight sets, 6-3, 6-3 … freshman Kendall Kovick secured the match for the Mountaineers after battling Madi Ballow through three sets, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (4) … completing the win streak, freshman Tatiana Lipatova took the match in two sets, 6-1, 6-3 … freshman Camilla Bossi and junior Ting-Pei Chang were the lone two single losses of the matchup … on Feb. 20, the squad made their way to Lexington, Kentucky, to face the Wildcats … after going 0-3 in doubles play, the Mountaineers rallied back to win three matches against UK ... WVU's three victories of the match came from freshmen Michaela Kucharova, Lipatova and Bossi.

Notes: With a 5-2 victory over Marshall, West Virginia is not 25-17 all-time against the Thundering Herd … the Mountaineers have won the last four meetings … in the series against George Washington, the Colonials lead the Mountaineers, 13-12, with the first meeting coming in 1982 … the two schools last met in 2020, when WVU defeated GWU, 5-2 … in the series against the Rockets, the Mountaineers lead UT 9-1, with West Virginia's most recent win coming off a 7-0 sweep in 2020 … Lipatova leads the Mountaineers with most singles wins and remains undefeated (7-0) through eight contests … following the doubleheader on Saturday, the Mountaineers continue their homestand, as they welcome Penn and Delaware to Morgantown from March 4-5.

This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers start the week by welcoming George Washington and William & Mary to Morgantown on Monday, Feb. 21 … action inside the WVU Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. ET, and the meet will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ … WVU then returns to the road, as it travels to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on Thursday, Feb. 24, to compete against No. 22 North Carolina … action inside Carmichael Arena is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU is coming off a season-best showing with a team score of 196.575 in a tri-meet at Towson with Ursinus on Feb. 19, in Towson, Maryland … West Virginia took home the vault and floor exercise event titles after scoring 49.0 or better on every rotation for the first time this season … overall, the host Tigers took second place with a 196.525, while Ursinus place third with a 185.175 … junior Kianna Yancey paced the team with a pair of podium finishes at Towson, including a tie for first on vault and third on floor exercise … senior Kendra Combs and sophomore Chloe Asper also tallied first-place finishes, as Combs took the top spot on floor and Asper tied for first on beam … Combs was the lone competitor in the all-around, as she notched a 39.200 total on all four events.

Notes: West Virginia's score at Towson also was its first team score of 196.0+ of the season and highest since March 18, 2018, when the team scored a 196.775 in a quad meet at Towson … the last time West Virginia posted a score of 196.0 or higher was on March 14, 2021, against Pitt (196.1) … Combs' career-best, event-winning floor routine earned a 9.925 at Towson on Saturday, as she earned the first 9.925 on the event since junior Abbie Pierson on March 8, 2020 … three other Mountaineers also set now career highs at Towson, including Yancey on vault, sophomore Agatha Handono on beam and freshman Anna Leigh on bars … West Virginia checks in at No. 11 on floor exercise in this week's Road to Nationals rankings, with a 49.283 average on the event … the squad ranks No. 28 on vault (48.963 avg.) and No. 31 on beam (48.763 avg.) … individually, Combs ranks No. 37 nationally on floor with a 9.875 average, followed by sophomore Kiana Lewis at No. 49 (9.854 avg.).

This Week in Track and Field: West Virginia begins postseason competition when the team travels to the 2022 Big 12 Indoor Championship, hosted by Iowa State, on Feb. 25-26, at the Lied-Recreation Athletic Facility, in Ames, Iowa … Friday's action begins at 4 p.m. ET, while Saturday's action is tabbed for 1 p.m.

Last Week in Track and Field: WVU capped the 2021-22 indoor track and field regular season with a 1-1 split on Friday, Feb . 18 … part of the team traveled to the JDL DMR Invitational, at the JDL Fast Track, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, while some of the team attended the Penn State Tune Up at the Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track in University Park, Pennsylvania … the distance medley relay team earned a 12th place ranking in the NCAA after competition at the JDL Invitational … the DMR team of redshirt senior Hayley Jackson, sophomore Cassandra Williamson, sophomore Jo-Lauren Keane and redshirt sophomore Ceili McCabe participated in the JDL DMR race, finishing seventh in a time of 11:06.9 … at Penn State, redshirt junior Malina Mitchell placed second in the unseeded mile run, in a time of 5:20.89 … she was followed by sophomore Maria Kaylor, who placed fourth in the second mile run of the day, with a time of 4:59.13 … additionally, junior Katelyn Caccamo placed fourth in the pole vault competition, with a height of 3.46 meters.

Notes: The Mountaineers finished in eighth place at the 2021 Big 12 Indoor Championship and earned eight Big 12 honors … WVU earned a first-place finish in the women's distance medley relay, as the team of Jackson, Tessa Constantine, McCabe and Keane crossed the finish line in a time of 11:21.35 … Jackson led the way in the women's mile, placing second with a finishing time of 4:57.10 … Mikenna Vanderheyden placed third in the 1,000-meter in a time of 2:48.16 … McCabe took second in the 3,000-meter in a time of 9:25.32.

This Week in Golf: The Mountaineers are idle this week and will return to action in Henderson, Nevada, from Feb. 28-March 2 at the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate at Reflection Bay Golf Club.

Last Week in Golf: West Virginia was off last week.

Note: As a team, WVU was one stroke behind Penn State and Jacksonville and finished ahead of No. 37 Missouri, No. 55 UCF, UNC Wilmington and No. 23 Liberty.

This Week in Baseball: West Virginia concludes its season-opening trip at the Baseball at the Beach event with a matchup against host Coastal Carolina on Monday, Feb. 21, in Conway, South Carolina … first pitch is set for 12 p.m. ET … from there, WVU travels to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a three-game series against Charlotte from Feb. 25-27 … Friday's first pitch is set for 4 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday's games set for 3 p.m., and 12 p.m., respectively.

Last Week in Baseball: WVU (3-0) began the season with wins over No. 16 Central Michigan and Kent State at the Baseball at the Beach event … on Friday, the Mountaineers topped the Chippewas, 13-8 … WVU also took down the Golden Flashes, 8-3, on Saturday and shut out CMU, 10-0, on Sunday … senior left-handed pitcher Beau Lowery earned the win out of the bullpen on Opening Day, while sophomore left-hander Ben Hampton and freshman righty Chris Sleeper were credited with wins on Saturday and Sunday, respectively … Hampton struck out a career-best 10 batters in 5.0 innings against Kent State … in his collegiate debut, Sleeper didn't allow a run in 5.0 innings of work, fanning five … WVU was led offensively by freshman infielder JJ Wetherholt, who went 7-for-13 (.538) with a double, a triple, a home run, four runs scored, six RBI and two stolen bases on the weekend … what's more, Wetherholt tallied multiple hits in all three games and homered in his first career at-bat … additionally, freshman infielder Grant Hussey had a pair of home runs with six RBI in the three games, including a grand slam in his Mountaineer debut on Friday … in all, WVU scored 31 runs on 42 hits for the weekend and hit .372 as a team … sophomore infielder Mikey Kluska went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three RBI on Sunday against CMU … junior outfielder Victor Scott II and senior outfielder Austin Davis also have combined for 11 RBI at the event.

Notes: The Mountaineers are 3-0 for the first time since 2012 … the squad's 13 runs on Opening Day were its most to begin a season since 2009 … WVU is now 5-5 in season openers under coach Randy Mazey … West Virginia has won on Opening Day in four of the last five seasons … WVU is 5-12 all-time against Coastal Carolina … the two schools have played in six of the last eight seasons … the Mountaineers also are 2-4 all-time against Charlotte heading into this weekend's series … a trio of pitchers were named to NCBWA's Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List last week … fifth-year senior right-hander Trey Braithwaite, redshirt junior righty Noah Short and junior right-hander Jacob Watters all were featured on the national list … WVU was one of seven program with multiple players on the Stopper of the Year Watch List and the only team in the country to have three selected … a total of 16 newcomers made their WVU debut at the Baseball at the Beach event … West Virginia has scored eight or more runs in all three of its games this season after accomplishing the feat just 11 times all of last season … Hussey's grand slam was WVU's first since Kevin Brophy on Feb. 24, 2018, against Illinois in Conway, South Carolina.