MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Feb. 7, 2022) – After scoring the 1,000th point of her Mountaineer career last week, senior forward Kari Niblack of the women's basketball team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.
 
Niblack began her week by tallying eight points on Feb. 2, in West Virginia's 70-62 win over TCU at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. With the perfomance, the Leesburg, Florida, native became the 38th 1,000-point scorer in program history and is the second Mountaineer in as many seasons to accomplish the feat.
 
Along with her eight points, the senior forward finished the game against the Horned Frogs with four blocks and six rebounds. Later in the week at No. 18 Oklahoma, she tallied season highs in points (22) and rebounds (12) to record her first double-double of the season and the 11th of her Mountaineer career. Niblack led WVU in rebounding in both contests last week.
 
With 30 points across West Virginia's two contests a week ago, Niblack now has 1,024 points in her four seasons as a Mountaineer.
 
This Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia continues its Big 12 Conference slate this week, both at home and on the road … WVU begins the week with a Wednesday, Feb. 9, contest against Kansas at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown … tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ … Wednesday is National Pizza Day at the Coliseum, presented by Papa John's, as the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a coupon redeemable for a free Papa John's pizza … the Mountaineers close out the week with a trip to Waco, Texas, on Saturday, Feb. 12, to face Baylor … tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET, from the Ferrell Center in Waco … Saturday's contest against the Bears will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
 
Last Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia (11-9, 4-6 Big 12) split two Big 12 road contests last week … WVU began the week with a 70-62 win over TCU on Feb. 2, at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas … senior forward Kari Niblack finished the game with eight points to eclipse 1,000 points in her Mountaineer career … additionally, WVU was led by senior guard Madisen Smith, who tallied a season-high 18 points, and was one of three players to tally 10 points or more in the game … Smith was joined in double figures by freshman guard JJ Quinerly (16) and junior forward Esmery Martinez (11) … Martinez, Niblack and Quinerly all tied for the team lead in rebounding, with six board apiece … the Mountaineers closed out the week with a 101-99 loss in double overtime to No. 18/18 Oklahoma on Feb. 5, at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma … fifth-year senior forward Ari Gray tallied a WVU-high 25 points in the win to go along with eight rebounds … Niblack hauled in a team-best 12 rebounds and scored 22 points for her first double-double of the season … Smith, who played all 50 minutes of the game, scored 18 points for the second consecutive game, while junior guard Jayla Hemingway chipped in a career-best 16 points.
 
Notes: With 30 points in two games last week, Niblack now has 1,024 points in four years at WVU … she joins Gray who has 1,285 career points, 1,155 of which came during her time at Xavier (2017-21) … Niblack is the 38th 1,000-point scorer in program history … West Virginia has now seen a player eclipse 1,000 points in back-to-back seasons, as guard Kysre Gondrezick tallied 546 points a season ago to become the 37th player in program history to accomplish the feat … with her double-double at Oklahoma, Niblack now has 11 double-doubles in her Mountaineer career, tied for No. 18 in all-time program history … Smith has tallied 18 points in each of the last two games … the Greenville, South Carolina, native now has tallied 18 or more points four times during her Mountaineer career … West Virginia is 16-4 all-time against Kansas, including 8-2 in Morgantown … WVU has won the last 13 meetings against KU, dating back to Feb. 9, 2013, a 72-56 victory at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas … additionally, the Mountaineers have defeated the Jayhawks in 16 of the last 17 matchups … West Virginia is seeking its fourth win in the series against Baylor … in the first meeting between the two teams this season, then-No. 11 BU defeated WVU, 87-54, on Jan. 29, inside the WVU Coliseum.
 
 
This Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers return to Morgantown and play host to Utah Valley on Saturday, Feb. 12, at 2 p.m. ... the dual will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and live stats will be available on Trackwrestling.
 
Last Week in Wrestling: WVU fell to No. 5 Iowa State and No. 22 Northern Iowa over the weekend … the Mountaineers jumped out to a 9-0 lead after rattling off two-straight victories at 165 and 174 pounds to open the dual, but ISU responded with eight-straight victories to extend its win streak to ten … the highlight of the night for the Mountaineers came at 174 pounds, where sophomore Dennis Robin pinned No. 17 Joel Devine in 1:09 for the fastest fall of the event … this marked Robin's first pin and second ranked win of the 2022 campaign … against UNI, WVU witnessed No. 5 Killian Cardinale (125), No. 16 Peyton Hall (165), and No. 23 Michael Wolfgram (HWT) all earn wins at their respective weight classes with two of them finishing in overtime … UNI captured seven wins, including six bonus point victories, to extend its win streak to six … Hall improved to 20-2 overall after taking down two ranked wrestlers in No. 29 Isaac Judge of Iowa State and No. 9 Austin Yant of Northern Iowa over the weekend.
 
Notes: West Virginia stands at 5-7 overall and 0-4 against the Big 12 … Hall (165), Cardinale (125), and Wolfgram (HWT) all earned spot in the top 33 of their respective weight classes in the first NCAA coaches' rankings … Cardinale (6) and Hall (9) ranked in the top 10, while Wolfgram rounded out the trio at No. 21 at heavyweight … it's the first time that WVU had two members of the squad in the top 10 of the NCAA coaches' ranking since the 2016-17 season … West Virginia placed seventh in its third appearance at the Southern Scuffle (Jan. 1-2), where Cardinale and Hall reached the finals … this is 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: West Virginia returns home for the first time since Jan. 21, to host Pitt and Texas Woman's, at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, on Friday, Feb. 11 … the competition is the team's Women's Empowerment Meet and will begin at 7 p.m. ET, and be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
 
Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU recorded a season-best overall score to take first place in a quad meet at Pitt with NC State and Alaska Anchorage inside Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 6 … the Mountaineers (5-3, 0-2 Big 12) tallied a season-best 195.925 to secure first place, as the host Panthers finished in second place with a 195.8 ... NC State followed in third place with a 194.550, and Alaska Anchorage tallied a 191.25 total to finish in fourth place … junior Abbie Pierson and sophomore Kiana Lewis paced the team with one first-place finish each … Pierson topped the podium on floor exercise with a 9.9, and Lewis recorded a 9.825 on vault to finish in a four-way tie for first place … three Mountaineers competed on the all-around at Pitt … seniors Kendra Combs and Rachel Hornung each tallied career-high totals, while Pierson made her career debut on the all-around … Combs secured a 39.225 to finish second overall, Hornung earned a 39.125 for third place and Pierson tallied a 38.575.
 
Notes: West Virginia's 195.925 total score at Pitt was just outside the program's top-50 team scores all-time and is its highest since recording a 196.1 in the 2021 regular-season finale on March 14 … in addition to recording a season-high overall score, WVU also secured season bests on balance beam (48.925) and the uneven bars (48.85) … freshman Brooke Alban earned a new career-high total on vault, as her score of 9.8 marked the first 9.8+ performance of her Mountaineer career … Pierson made her career uneven bars debut on Sunday, earning an impressive 9.75 in her first-ever bars performance in collegiate competition … WVU and Alaska Anchorage met for the first time in program history … West Virginia checks in at No. 13 on floor exercise in this week's Road to Nationals rankings, with a 49.269 average on the event  … the squad ranks No. 31 on vault (48.913 avg.) and No. 34 on beam (48.756 avg.) … individually, Combs and Pierson are tied for No. 7 in the Big 12 Conference on floor, boasting season averages of 9.875.
 
 
This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers play host for the first time this spring … Duquesne and Youngstown State make their way to Morgantown on Sunday, Feb. 13 … first serve at the Summit Tennis Academy against the Dukes is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET, while competition against YSU will begin at 3 p.m.
 
Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia traveled to Virginia for a pair of dual matches over the weekend … on Feb. 5, the Mountaineers defeated William & Mary, 4-3, at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center in Williamsburg … Saturday morning competition began with the Tribe earning the doubles point, after WVU went 0-2 … the Mountaineers then rallied during singles play to fight their way back … freshmen Kendall Kovick, Michaela Kucharova and Tatiana Lipatova all earned WVU three straight points, taking the match to 3-1 … sophomore Momoko Nagato fell in the next match, before freshman Camilla Bossi defeated the Tribe's Ine Stange, 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 … finishing fifth, Bossi's win secured the match for WVU … wrapping up competition in Williamsburg, junior Ting-Pei Chang fell to Mila Saric, 7-6, 4-6, 8-10 … on Feb. 6, the Mountaineers fell, 3-4, to VCU at the Thalhimer Tennis Courts in Richmond … WVU started Sunday's competition by claiming the doubles point over the Rams … during singles play, Bossi and Lipatova were the Mountaineers only wins … Chang fell to VCU's No. 61 Paola Diaz Delgado, 1-6, 4-6, Kovick and Nagato additionally suffered losses … battling through three sets, Kucharova's loss to Nina Sorkin (3-6,6-3, 1-6) secured the match for the Rams.
 
Notes: WVU's 4-3 victory over William & Mary marked the Mountaineers first dual-match win over the Tribe …  Bossi's three-set battle against William & Mary's Ine Stange secured the match for the Mountaineers … West Virginia and and Duquesne meet for the 32nd time on Feb. 13 … the last meeting between the two squads was in 2019, when WVU topped the Dukes, 6-1 … West Virginia and Youngstown State are set to meet for the fifth time since 2007 … the Mountaineers lead the all-time series 4-0 … in the previous four meetings, WVU has outscored YSU, 22-5 …  following competition in Morgantown, the Mountaineers travel to Huntington, West Virginia to face in-state foe Marshall on Friday, Feb. 18.
 
 
This Week in Track and Field: WVU will split and attend three different meets on Feb. 11-12 … part of the team will attend the David Hemery Valentine Invite in Boston, Massachusetts, at the Track and Tennis Center, on Friday, Feb. 11, at 10:30 a.m. ET … another small group will attend the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa, at the Lied-Recreation Athletic Facility, on Feb. 11-12, with both days beginning a 1 p.m. ET … a majority of the team will attend the Marshall Classic, in Huntington, West Virginia, at the Jeff Small Track at the Chris Cline Athletic Complex, on Feb. 11-12 ... Friday's events will begin at 6:30 p.m., and Saturday's start at 11 a.m.
 
Last Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers traveled to Akron, Ohio, for the Akron Invitational, at the Stile Athletics Field House on Feb. 4-5 … sophomore Cassandra Williamson took first place in the 800-meter gold division race, finishing in a time of 2:11.10 … sophomore Petal Palmer finished first in the mile blue division race, finishing in a time of 5:02.11.
 
Notes: The Mountaineers last competed in Boston at the Sharon Colyera-Danville Season Opener, when sophomore Ceili McCabe broke the WVU program record in the women's 3,000-meter run, finishing in a time of 8:52.52 for first place ... WVU competed at Marshall in two of its three indoor meets last season, attending the Thundering Herd Invitational and the Marshall Classic … Ellie Gardner (pole vault; 3.70m), Jo-Lauren Keane (600m; 1:35.01), Hayley Jackson (800m; 2:09.3) and Marianne Abdalah (3,000m; 10:08.53) all captured first in their respective events at the Thundering Herd Invitational … additionally, Abigale Mullings captured first in the Marshall Classic's high jump competition … West Virginia last saw action against Iowa State at the 2021 Big 12 Indoor Championships.
 
 
This Week in Rifle: West Virginia returns to action this week, as the Mountaineers play host to No. 2 Kentucky in the regular-season finale on Saturday, Feb. 12, at the Bill McKenzie Mobile Rifle Range in Morgantown … the match against the Wildcats, the defending national champion, is set for 10 a.m. ET, inside the WVU Shell Building.
 
Last Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers were off last week.
 
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 is 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. 11 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 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 Mountaineer men's squad defeated Villanova, 195-96, and tallied its eighth consecutive win over the Wilcats … 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 WVU 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 Golf: Four WVU golfers wrap up play at the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate in Statesboro, Georgia, on Monday … the Mountaineers also begin team competition on Saturday and Sunday at the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Florida.
 
Last Week in Golf: Four WVU golfers opened the 2022 spring season at the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate on Sunday in Statesboro, Georgia … playing in adverse weather conditions throughout the day, all 45 golfers in the individual tournament finished over par … sophomore Olivier Ménard led WVU, shooting 78-77=155 and is in 19th place at 11-over-par … fellow sophomore Will Stakel is tied for 24th place with rounds of 81-77=158 (+14) … freshman Max Green is 15-over-par with rounds of 77-82=159 and is in 30th place … freshman Todd Duncan is tied for 32nd place with rounds of 86-75=161 (+17).
 
Notes: Entering the spring season, WVU is ranked 69th nationally … individually, Mark Goetz is ranked 29th, Kurtis Grant is 141st and Logan Perkins is 158th.