Berlitz Named Student-Athlete of the Week

Danny Berlitz at 2024 Big 12 SD Championships Feb. 29, 2024

March 04, 2024 01:57 PM | Baseball, General, Golf, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling

VSR March 4, 2024

By: WVU Athletics Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Senior Danny Berlitz of the West Virginia University men's swimming and diving team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

At the 2024 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships in Morgantown from Feb. 27 - March 2, Berlitz became the first Mountaineer to win the 400 individual medley event at the conference meet. He placed first after touching the wall at 3:43.02. He was the only Mountaineer to win gold at this year's championship.

Berlitz broke two individual program records in the 200 freestyle (1:35.55) and the 200 individual medley (1:43.94). He also was part of two relay teams (800 freestyle (6:26.02) and 400 freestyle (2:53.95)) that broke program records during the meet.

Berlitz also earned two bronze medals for his role on the 800 freestyle relay and the 200 freestyle relay teams.

This Week in Women's Basketball: The Mountaineers begin competition at the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 8 … the Mountaineers are seeded sixth in the tournament and will face No. 11 Cincinnati or No. 14 UCF with tipoff set for 9 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia split a pair of games, falling on the road to Oklahoma State on Feb. 27, before defeating TCU at home on March 2 … the Mountaineers lost 68-61 to the Cowgirls … WVU got back in the win column with a 57-49 win over the Horned Frogs on Senior Day … Jayla Hemingway, Tavy Diggs and Lauren Fields were all honored before tipoff.

Notes: The Mountaineers enter the Big 12 Championship as the No. 6 seed, marking the fourth time WVU has earned the seed … WVU is 4-2 all-time as the No. 6 seed and 11-9 all-time in tournament play.

This Week in Baseball: West Virginia will return home for a three-game series against BYU from March 7-9 … Thursday and Friday's game will begin at 3 p.m. ET, while Saturday will start at 1 p.m. … Tuesday's previously scheduled game has been canceled.

Last Week in Baseball: The Mountaineers went 3-2 on the week … the week started with a 10-3 win over Canisius in the home opener … sophomore Ellis Garcia and senior Reed Chumley each had two RBI in the victory … on March 1, the Mountaineers defeated Western Kentucky, 4-0, in Bowling Green, Ky. ... junior Aidan Major struck out five in 7.0 scoreless innings to earn the win … sophomore Sam White hit two home runs in the win … the Mountaineers followed that with an 8-3 win in the first game of a doubleheader on March 2 … sophomore Benjamin Lumsden, junior Grant Hussey and sophomore Nick Barone each had two RBI … graduate student Hambleton Oliver tossed 4.2 hitless innings out of the bullpen to earn the win … WVU dropped the second game of the doubleheader, 7-6, and the final game of the series, 4-3, on March 3.

Notes: The Mountaineers have won three straight home openers, all coming against Canisius … Major had the longest outing of his career (7.0 IP) in the win over WKU … the 4-0 win over Western Kentucky was the first shutout of the season for the Mountaineers … three different players have had two home-run games this year – Lumsden against Stetson, sophomore Logan Sauve against Charlotte and White against Western Kentucky … freshmen Aaron Jamison and Armani Guzman each had their first career hits against WKU on Sunday … junior Kyle West hit his first home run with WVU in Sunday's game against the Hilltoppers … the bullpen combined to throw 7.2 scoreless innings on Sunday.

This Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers return to action this weekend when they host the 2024 NCAA Rifle National Championship inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown from March 8-9 … smallbore is set to take place on Friday with air rifle on Saturday … WVU looks to close out its perfect season at the event and is in search of winning a nation-best 20th NCAA National Championship.

Last Week in Rifle: West Virginia did not compete.

Notes: WVU defeated 12 teams ranked inside the top 16 of the CRCA Poll and is a perfect 13-0 overall and 6-0 in the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) … the Mountaineers hold the highest aggregate and smallbore average in the nation and sit second in air rifle … WVU claimed the GARC regular-season title with its perfect record … it marked the 15th title in program history … WVU also won its 16th GARC Tournament Championship in program history this season.

This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia begins postseason action at the 2024 Big 12 Championship from March 9-10 … the two-day event returns to the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., for the eighth straight year … fans can tune in to watch the first three sessions on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, before switching over to ESPN2 for all 10 championship bouts … live stats will also be available on Trackwrestling throughout the weekend.

Last Week in Wrestling: WVU was off last week.

Notes: WVU ended the regular season 10-5 for the second year in a row and marks the first time Mountaineer wrestling has claimed double-digit wins in back-to-back seasons since 1990 and 1991 … eight members of the team remain ranked in the top 33 of their respective weight classes in the third coaches ranking and/or second RPI rating leading up to this year's NCAA Championships, including junior Jett Strickenberger (No. 30 – 20 RPI) at 125 pounds, redshirt sophomore Jordan Titus (No. 11 – 18 RPI) at 141 pounds, true freshman Ty Watters (No. 7 - 19 RPI) at 149 pounds, senior Peyton Hall (No. 8 – 21 RPI) at 165 pounds, redshirt freshman Brody Conley (No. 25 – 24 RPI) at 174 pounds, redshirt junior Dennis Robin (No. 30 – 21 RPI) at 184 pounds, redshirt junior Austin Cooley (29 RPI) at 197 pounds and redshirt senior Michael Wolfgram (20 RPI) at heavyweight … the Big 12 Conference claimed 57 qualifying spots heading into this year's postseason tournament for the second-most bids out of the seven wrestling conferences, as the Big Ten Conference collected a conference-high 85 spots … following the completion of all seven conference tournaments, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 47 at-large qualifiers and release them on Tuesday, March 12 … final brackets and seeding are set to be announced on March 13, via NCAA.com at 8 p.m. ET.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia is off.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia competed in the 2024 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park in Morgantown ... the men's team placed fifth and the women's team placed sixth.

Notes: Overall, West Virginia claimed six medals with one gold, two silver and three bronze ... senior Danny Berlitz earned the gold medal and senior Ivan Puskovitch earned the silver in the 400 individual medley ... the men's 800 freestyle relay team comprised of Berlitz, senior Roanoke Shirk, redshirt sophomore Christian Simpson and sophomore Max Nielsen won bronze on Feb. 27 ... the Mountaineers also broke eight program records during the meet ... the highlight of the week came when Berlitz placed first and Puskovitch placed second in the 400 IM ... Berlitz was the first Mountaineer to win the event at the conference championship and the pair became the first Mountaineers to claim the top spots in the same event since 2018.

This Week in Tennis: West Virginia will hit the road for the first time in Big 12 play to face Texas on Friday, March 8, in Austin, Texas, and Oklahoma on Sunday, March 10, in Norman, Okla.

Last Week in Tennis: WVU lost both of its conference matches to TCU, 4-0, and Baylor, 4-0, in Morgantown.

Notes: West Virginia's 11-1 record through 12 matches was its best record to start the season since 1986 when the team began 12-0 ... West Virginia is 49-25 in singles and 21-13 in doubles play this season.
This week in Indoor Track & Field: Redshirt junior Ceili McCabe is set to compete in the 2024 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship on March 8-9 ... this year's championship will be held at the TRACK at New Balance in Boston, Mass. ... McCabe is slated to compete in the semifinals of the women's mile on Friday evening at 7 p.m. ET ... the top eight finishers in each event will advance to the finals … the women's mile final will be held on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Last Week in Indoor Track & Field: West Virginia was off.

Notes: McCabe is currently ranked seventh in the NCAA in the women's mile after posting a program record and personal-best time of 4:30.24 at the Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge in New York, N.Y., on Jan. 27 … last time out, McCabe finished third in the event at the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship on Feb. 24, running for 4:38.57.

This Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia remains in Morgantown to wrap up its home slate, welcoming Rutgers to the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, March 10 … competition is set for 2 p.m. ET, and the Mountaineers will celebrate seniors Ellen Collins, Kiana Lewis and Abbie Pierson following the conclusion of the meet.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU completed its only double weekend of the season, opening the two-meet stretch in a quad at Penn State with Ball State and Towson on March 1, and capping the weekend at home against Towson, Pitt and Western Michigan on March 3 … on Friday, WVU posted a season-high team score for the third straight meet, earning a 195.8 ... led by a 49.15 on floor exercise, the Mountaineers reached the season-best total with scores of 48.975 on vault, 48.75 on the uneven bars and 48.925 on balance beam ... on Sunday, West Virginia used a 195.0 final team score to finish in third place … WVU used scores of 48.9 on vault, 48.3 on the uneven bars, 48.675 on balance beam and 49.125 on floor exercise to reach its fifth 195.0+ score of the season.

Notes: In the final event standings at the Penn State quad, senior Kiana Lewis finished in a tie for third on vault with a career-high matching 9.9, and Pierson tied for third on floor after tying her season best with a 9.875 … at home on Sunday, Lewis added another podium finish on vault tying for second with a 9.875 … sophomore Miranda Smith earned her second podium finish of the season on bars after reaching a career-high 9.875 … sophomore Emma Wehry recorded a 9.825 on beam to finish in a tie for second place, while Lewis added another second-place finish on floor with her second 9.875 score of the afternoon … the 2024 campaign marks the 50-year anniversary of the Mountaineer gymnastics program, as West Virginia will celebrate 50 years of varsity status, dating back to 1974 … Pierson returns for her fifth season of competition at West Virginia, as she leads the team with 57 meets competed in her career … sits at No. 51 nationally in this week's Road to Nationals rankings with a National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 195.13.

This Week in Golf: The golf team is off this week and will return to competition from March 15-17, at the Schenkel Invitational in Statesboro, Ga.

Last Week in Golf: Heavy rainfall washed out the final round of the Dorado Beach Collegiate at TPC Dorado Beach in Dorado, Puerto Rico, on Feb. 27 … the Mountaineers finished tied for fourth place at 24-under-par (271-281=562) in the 17-team field in the shortened 36-hole event … WVU tied a school record with a 17-under-par round on Feb. 25, and then shot 7-under-par in round two … Max Green finished third in the event after shooting career lows of 66 in each round to finish 12-under-par … two other Mountaineers also finished in the top 20. Todd Duncan shot 67-70 (-7) and finished tied for 14th place … Will Stakel shot 66-72 (-6) and finished tied for 19th place … Kaleb Wilson shot 69-71 (-4) and tied for 28th place … Trent Tipton recorded rounds of 69-74 (-1), Jackson Davenport posted rounds of 70-74 (Even), Harrison Thompson shot 71-75 (+2) and Oli Ménard recorded rounds of 69-77 (+2) … Stakel, Ménard and Thompson competed as individuals.