McCabe Named Student-Athlete of the Week

March 14, 2022 04:41 PM | Baseball, General, Golf, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling

Varsity Sports Report

By: WVU Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After earning All-America honors at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, redshirt freshman Ceili McCabe of the West Virginia University track and field team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

McCabe represented the Mountaineers at the NCAA Championships on Saturday, March 12, in Birmingham, Alabama. In her NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship debut, McCabe placed eighth in the 3,000-meter run.

The Vancouver, British Columbia, native finished the race in a time of 9:05.09.

McCabe entered the national meet ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 Conference and No. 3 nationally in the 3,000 meters with a season-best mark of 8:52.52. The time, which was set at the Boston University Sharon Colyera-Danville Season Opener in Boston, Massachusetts, on Dec. 4th, was good for a WVU indoor school record.

The Mountaineers open the 2022 outdoor track and field season when they play host to the annual Stan Romanoski Open on March 18-19, at the Track and Field Complex at Mylan Park, in Morgantown.

This Week in Baseball: West Virginia embarks on a five-game, spring break road trip … WVU takes on Duke on Tuesday, March 15, in Durham, North Carolina, before traveling to High Point on Wednesday, March 16, in High Point, North Carolina … both games are set to begin at 4 p.m. ET … from there, the Mountaineers visit Campbell for a three-game series from March 18-20, in Buies Creek, North Carolina … Friday's series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday's games will start at 3 p.m., and 1 p.m., respectively.

Last Week in Baseball: The Mountaineers (9-5) went 2-1 in a weather-impacted week in Morgantown … first, the squad scored a 5-4, walk-off victory in 10 innings over Rider on March 8, at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark … freshman infielder Grant Hussey hit a game-winning double to help in the triumph … Hussey finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI in the win, while sophomore infielder Mikey Kluska also drove in a pair … additionally, senior outfielder Austin Davis tallied a 3-for-5 day at the plate against the Broncs … freshman right-handed pitcher Michael Kilker earned the win on the mound out of the bullpen, his second of the season … then, WVU split a doubleheader with Ohio State on March 11, at the Mon … the Buckeyes won Game 1, 10-4, before the Mountaineers answered with a 7-6, walk-off win in Game 2 … Davis finished off a three-run ninth inning by hitting an RBI single to win the nightcap … before that, sophomore infielder Nathan Blasick hit a pinch-hit, two-run single to tie the game in the ninth … senior left-hander Beau Lowery got the win in Game 2, boosting his record to 3-0 on the year, while sophomore righty Carlson Reed took the loss in Game 1 … redshirt junior catcher Dayne Leonard and freshman infielder JJ Wetherholt each homered during the doubleheader.

Notes: Following the Rider win, WVU has now won 21 consecutive midweek, home games, dating back to April 3, 2017 … West Virginia has won four games in the ninth inning or later this season … Sunday's series finale against Ohio State was canceled due to inclement weather conditions … WVU is 3-8 all-time against Duke … the two teams last met in the 2019 NCAA Tournament in Morgantown, a 4-0 Blue Devils win … the Mountaineers also are 3-7 against High Point … Wednesday's meeting with the Panthers marks WVU's first since 1973 … additionally, West Virginia has never played Campbell … sophomore catcher McGwire Holbrook continues to lead WVU at the plate with a .447 average … junior outfielder Victor Scott II and Hussey co-lead the club with three home runs, while Scott II's 17 RBI are No. 1 on the team … West Virginia has stolen 49 bases as a team, good for No. 1 in the Big 12 and top 10 nationally … on the mound, the Mountaineer pitching staff has struck out 10 or more hitters in nine of 14 games this season … sophomore left-hander Ben Hampton leads the way with 31 punchouts in 22.2 innings of work.

This Week in Wrestling: WVU wrestling is sending four wrestlers, including redshirt senior Killian Cardinale (125), sophomores Peyton Hall (165) and Dennis Robin (174), and redshirt sophomore Michael Wolfgram (HWT), to compete at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 17-19, in Detroit, Michigan … the three-day event begins on Thursday, March 17, at 12 p.m. ET on ESPNU, before switching to the evening portion at 7 p.m. ET … all afternoon sessions will be carried on ESPNU, with evening sessions to follow on ESPN throughout the tournament.

Last Week in Wrestling: WVU was off last week.

Notes: This marks the second-straight year WVU sends four grapplers to the national tournament … the Mountaineers have had four or more wrestlers go to the NCAA Championships in every season during coach Tim Flynn's tenure … Cardinale (125), Hall (165), and Robin (174) all clinched a spot at the NCAA Championships of their respective weight brackets … Wolfgram was awarded his first trip to nationals after collecting one of the five final at-large bids at heavyweight … Cardinale, as the No. 5 seed, takes on Korbin Meink of Campbell University, No. 9 seed Hall faces Riley Smucker of Cleveland State, No. 31 seed Robin squares off with No. 2 Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech, while No. 27 seed Wolfgram battles No. 6 Jordan Wood of Lehigh … it's the first time that the NCAA championships will be held in Detroit and return to Michigan for the first time since 2007 (Auburn Hills) … of note, Mountaineer standout Brandon Rader completed back-to-back sixth-place finishes on his way to earning a second consecutive All-America honor at 141 pounds to end the 2006-07 season, when the NCAAs were held in Auburn Hills ... WVU is coming off a seventh-place showing in its 10th appearance at the Big 12 Championship … the Mountaineers scored 62.0 team points for the most since 2016, when the squad registered 65.5 points for sixth place … also marked the best finish since the team took seventh in 2017 … of note, they matched a program-best with seven wrestlers placing (to 8) at the conference championship since 2016 … Cardinale won the third Big 12 Championship in program history and looks for his second consecutive All-America honor after taking seventh in last year's tournament at 125 pounds … he earned his first Student-Athlete of the Week recognition last week for his performance at Big 12s.

This Week in Swimming & Diving: Senior diver PJ Lenz will represent WVU at the 2022 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 23-26.

Last Week in Swimming & Diving: The Mountaineers had a split week as seven divers traveled to the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships and 24 swimmers traveled to the College Swiming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) National Invitational Championships ... Zones took place on March 7-9, at the United States Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Maryland, while CSCAA NICs took place on March 10-12, at the Beacon Health Aquatic Center, in Elkhart, Indiana ... Lenz led the way for the Mountaineers at Zones, earning his second career bid to NCAAs ... the senior earned a combined score of 670.65 on men's 1-meter springboard, good for second place overall ... additionally, seniors Nick Cover (3-meter, platform) and Camille Burt (1-meter), juniors Marian Tiemeier (1-meter) and Owen Johns (1-meter, 3-meter, platform) and freshmen Glenn Eloriaga (platform) and Sarah Krusinski (1-meter, 3-meter, platform) represented West Virginia at Zones ... at CSCAA NICs, WVU had 12 top-ten finishes over the weekend, including six on the final day of competition ... sophomore Justin Heimes led the way for the men's squad, having three top-ten finishes at the national meet, including the 50 back (5th - 22.29), 100 back (6th - 48.02) and the 200 back (1:46.87) ... for the women, junior Jacqueline McCutchan tallied two, including the 100 IM (7th - 56.16) and the 50 back (10th - 25.61) ... fifth-year Ana Zortea (5th - 100 back), freshmen Miranda Kirtley (7th - 1650) and Mia Walters (7th - 200 back), sophomore William Mullen (8th - 1650) and the men's (8th) and women's (9th) 200 free relay rounded out WVU's top-ten finishes ... the CSCAA NIC's had a total of 43 women's programs and 30 men's teams competing ... the Mountaineer women were able to finish in the top-10, tallying a score of 249, good for 10th place, while the men's squad took 14th with 221.5 points.

Notes: The Mountaineers atteneded the 2022 CSCAA NICs for the first time in program history ... Lenz will represent West Virginia at NCAAs for the second time in his career ... Georgia Tech will host the national meet and competition will take place at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta.

This Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia opens postseason competition at the 2022 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship on Saturday, March 19, in Denver, Colorado … this year's championship, hosted by defending Big 12 champion Denver, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, inside Magness Arena … the championship will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU earned its second-highest team score of the season, as well as a season-high on the uneven bars, to finish in third place in a tri-meet at No. 3 Michigan with No. 5 Auburn inside the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on March 12 … the Mountaineers (13-5, 0-2 Big 12) used a season-best 49.20 on the uneven bars to earn a 196.4 final score, good for the 19th-best team score in program history … West Virginia also recorded a 49.3 on floor exercise to take second overall on the event … in the final team standings, the host Wolverines placed first with a 197.95, while Auburn finished in second place with a 197.175 … the Mountaineers opened the meet on balance beam, where junior Abbie Pierson led the way with a 9.875, as WVU notched a 48.975 total on the first rotation … in the second rotation on floor, senior Kendra Combs paced the lineup with a 9.9 … West Virginia then moved to vault, where senior Rachel Hornung and sophomore Kiana Lewis finished with a pair of 9.825s to lead the lineup to a 48.925 total … the final rotation on the uneven bars saw a trio of Mountaineers either match or set their career highs, led by senior Esperanza Abarca's season-best and career-high matching 9.9 … junior Kianna Yancey matched her career high with a 9.875, and Pierson added a career-best 9.8 to help WVU notch a season-high 49.2 on bars.

Notes: Hornung and Pierson competed in the all-around, as Pierson tallied her first career all-around score of 39.0 or higher with a career-best 39.200 … Hornung notched a 38.450 total on all four events … Abarca's 9.9 on the uneven bars was her first bars score of 9.9 or better since setting the career-high total on Jan. 31, 2020, while it also marked WVU's first score of 9.9 or higher on bars this season … WVU's team score of 196.4 at Michigan was the squad's second-highest road score this season, behind its season-high 196.575 total at Towson on Feb. 19 … West Virginia ranks No. 18 on floor exercise in this week's Road to Nationals rankings, with a 49.345 National Qualifying Score (NQS) on the event … the squad ranks No. 39 on vault (49.005 NQS), No. 38 on uneven bars (48.990 NQS) and No. 40 on beam (48.990 NQS) … individually, Combs ranks No. 35 nationally on floor with a season NQS of 9.910.

This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers begin Big 12 Conference play on Friday, March 18, as they play host to No. 8 Texas … following competition against the Longhorns, WVU closes out its homestand as No. 33 Baylor travels to Morgantown on Sunday, March 20 … Friday's match against UT is slated to take place outside at the Mountaineer Tennis Courts, at 2 p.m. ET ... Sunday's matchup with the Bears is set for 11 a.m., at the Summit Tennis Academy.

Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia (7-7, 0-0 Big 12) welcomed No. 62 Michigan State to Morgantown, on March 9, to then later play host to Towson on March 12, at the Summit Tennis Academy … the Mountaineers split the week 1-1, falling short to MSU, 4-3, and sweeping Towson, 7-0 … WVU claimed the doubles point against the Spartans to start the contest on a high note … senior Anastasiia Bovolskaia and freshman Tatiana Lipatova claimed the first victory of the day, 6-1, over Charlotte Gisclon and Dagma Zdrubecka ... freshmen pair Kendall Kovick and Michaela Kucharova fell, 6-4, leaving the double point to WVU's No. 1 pair-freshman Camilla Bossi and junior Ting-Pei Chang ... the pair went toe-to-toe with Nicole Stephens and Ayshe Can, going to tie-break, but ultimately claiming the point for the Mountaineers, 7-6(3) ... during singles play, WVU and MSU went back-and-forth, with the Spartans coming out on top ... Lipatova (6-4, 6-4) and Bossi (7-6(3), 6-4) were West Virginia's solo wins ... during the match against Towson, the Mountaineers swept the Tigers, 7-0 … all three doubles pairs topped TU, 6-1, before going to sweep singles play ... Kovick, in the No. 1 spot, dominated Amelia Lawson in two-straight sets, 6-0, 6-1, to tally the first singles point for WVU ... Bovolskaia extended the win streak after claiming the matchup against Jessica Assenmacher, 6-4, 6-2, while Kucharova notched a 6-2, 6-3 win over Sarah Pospischill ... Bossi took the Mountaineers lead 5-0 with a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Sissi Axelson ... senior Penny Hsieh concluded WVU's sweep over Towson, after claiming the match against Elessa Jacobs, 6-0, 6-1.

Notes: The Mountaineers move the all-time record to 5-0 over Towson, including a back-to-back 7-0 sweep … WVU's weekend marks the 10th time the Mountaineers willl play Texas and Baylor since joining the Big 12 in 2012-13 ... West Virginia is seeking its first win against the both Big 12 opponents ... Bossi currently leads the team with an 18-5 overall record … following competition this week, the Mountaineers are on a two-match road swing in Texas ... WVU will travel to Fort Worth to go head-to-head with TCU, on Friday, March 25 ... following competition against the Horned Frogs, West Virginia makes their way to Lubbock for a matchup against Texas Tech on Sunday, March 27.

This Week in Track and Field: West Virginia opens the 2022 outdoor regular season by hosting the annual Stan Romanoski Open on March 18-19, at the Track and Field Complex at Mylan Park, in Morgantown ... the meet is set to begin with the hammer throw on Friday, which is tabbed for 2 p.m. ET ... Saturday's action will begin with field events at 12 p.m., while running events are scheduled to commence at 1:15 p.m. ... live results for the meet are available at ncwvtf.com.

Last Week in Track and Field: Redshirt freshman Ceili McCabe placed eighth in the 3,000-meter run at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, at Birmingham CrossPlex, in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 12 … in her NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship debut, McCabe finished in a time of 9:05.09 to earn her third career All-American honor.

Notes: The Stan Romanoski Open marks the first of five outdoor home meets for the Mountaineers this spring … WVU concluded the Big 12 Indoor Championship with seven conference honors … West Virginia last saw action at the NCAA Indoor Championship in 2019, when Madeline Gardner earned a ninth-place finish in the women's pole vault in Birmingham, Alabama ... Gardner recorded a mark of 4.26 meters (13 feet, 11.75 inches) at the Birmingham CrossPlex, garnering All-America Second Team honors … McCabe entered the national meet ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 Conference and No. 3 nationally in the 3,000-meter with a season-best mark of 8:52.52 … the time, which was set at the Boston University Sharon Colyera-Danville Season Opener in Boston, Massachusetts, on Dec. 4, was good for a WVU indoor school record.

This Week in Golf: The golf team is currently in Florida for spring break prepping for this weekend's tournament ... the Mountaineers return to action on Friday, March 18, at the Schenkel Invitational ... competition takes places in Statesboro, Georgia and concludes on Sunday, March 20

Last Week in Golf: The team was idle.

Notes: After winning the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate, the Mountaineers went from No. 75 to No. 53 in the latest national rankings.