Southern West Virginia News

Reardon Named Student-Athlete of the Week

 After securing first place in all her events on Saturday, junior Abby Reardon of the West Virginia University women's swimming and diving team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.
 
The Chesapeake, Virginia, native's first victory came in the 200 free finishing with a time of 1:52.14. The next first place finish came in the 500 free with Reardon touching the pads in 5:00.28.
 
The final win of the day was from the 400-yard freestyle relay team consisting of senior Jacqueline McCutchan, Gabriela De La Torre, Reardon and freshman Ada Szwabinska who finished in 3:26.47.
 
This Week in Women's Basketball: WVU heads to Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, Jan. 28, for a rematch with TCU … tipoff from Schollmaier Arena is set for 2 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, as well as the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 FM in Morgantown.
 
Last Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia went 1-1 against a pair of Big 12 foes last week … the Mountaineers began the week with a 77-58 loss at Kansas on Jan. 18, before returning home and securing a 67-57 victory over Texas Tech on Jan. 21 … opening the week inside Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, WVU held a double-digit lead at the half, but allowed the Jayhawks to score 34 points in the fourth quarter to suffer the defeat … as a team, West Virginia finished the game shooting just 21-of-66 (31.8%) from the field, including 6-of-29 (20.7%) from 3-point range … closing the week at home against the Lady Raiders, senior guard Jayla Hemingway and sophomore guard JJ Quinerly led the squad with a pair of double-double performances … Hemingway recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Quinerly added 16 points and 10 boards.
 
Notes: Against Texas Tech, Hemingway posted her third double-double of the season, while Quinerly earned the first double-double of her career … West Virginia's defense is second the Big 12 Conference and ranks No. 43 nationally in scoring defense, as it is holding opponents to an average of 57.5 points per game … the squad also sits No. 1 in the league and No. 5 nationally in turnover margin (8.06), as well as No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 26 in the NCAA in steals per game (10.6) … individually, Quinerly is third in the conference in steals (40) and steals per game (2.22).
 
This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia is off this week.
 
Last Week in Wrestling: West Virginia went 0-2 over the weekend against Oklahoma and No. 12 Oklahoma State … junior Peyton Hall led the way for the Mountaineers with a pair of victories over ranked opponents in No. 17 Gerrit Nijenhuis (OU) and No. 21 Wyatt Sheets (OSU) … fifth-year senior Killian Cardinale added a 2-0 record over the weekend as well, with wins over No. 22 Joey Prata (OU) and Zach Blankenship (OSU) … redshirt junior Michael Wolfgram went 1-1, including a huge 3-2 decision over No. 18 Josh Heindselman in the opening match … Wolfgram scored a late takedown in the third period to earn a 3-1 decision and put West Virginia in front by three … the duo's rivalry is evened up at two wins apiece.
 
Notes: The Mountaineers sit at 7-3 overall and 1-3 against the Big 12 … they currently have the same overall record as the 2021 squad did to finish out the abbreviated season … seven members of the West Virginia University wrestling team rank among the top 33 of their respective weight classes in the first coaches' ranking leading up to this year's NCAA Championships … returning All-American Peyton Hall leads the way in the top 10 at 165 pounds … the junior checks in at No. 8 to put him as the third-highest wrestler out of the Big 12 Conference in the division (No. 1 Keegan O`Toole - Missouri and No. 2 David Carr – Iowa State) … joining Hall as a returner to the list is redshirt junior Michael Wolfgram … Wolfgram earned his first trip to nationals last year after recording a 20-9 record, including five wins over ranked opponents … he currently sits at No. 23 in the heavyweight division with a 15-7 record … making their debuts in the coaches' ranking are redshirt freshman Jordan Titus (No. 28) at 141 pounds, junior Sam Hillegas (No. 25) at 149 pounds, redshirt senior Alex Hornfeck (No. 25) at 157 pounds, redshirt junior Anthony Carman (No. 25) at 184 pounds and redshirt sophomore Austin Cooley (No. 28) at 197 pounds … the second ranking will be released on Feb. 9 … additionally, fifth year senior Killian Cardinale is currently 8-0 as a starter and will likely solidify a spot in the rankings at 125 pounds after competing in West Virginia's duals with Oklahoma and No. 12 Oklahoma State … according to the TakeDown Report and a variety of media guides, head coach Tim Flynn is currently sixth among winningest active coaches in Division I wrestling with 251 wins … the mark also ranks him 38th on the all-time list of Division I wrestling coaches … two more wins moves Flynn into a tie for 37th alongside Ron Gray, who coached at Kent State and Franklin & Marshall from 1968-1996 and is a distinguished member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
 
This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers return to Morgantown to welcome Towson, Iowa State and Eastern Michigan to the WVU Coliseum on Sunday, January 29 … the quad meet is slated for 2 p.m. ET.
 
Last Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia earned a third-place finish in a quad meet at Towson with New Hampshire and West Chester inside SECU Arena in Towson, Maryland, on Jan. 20 … New Hampshire earned the meet victory, posting a 195.275, while host Towson took second place with a 195.075 … the Mountaineers (4-4) landed in third with a 194.8, and West Chester took fourth place with a 192.475 … senior Emily Holmes-Hackerd highlighted the meet with a career-best 9.925 on floor exercise to lead the lineup to a season-high tying 49.2 event total … WVU added totals of 48.7 on vault, 48.050 on uneven bars and a season-high 48.85 on balance beam … in the final individual event standings, Holmes-Hackerd earned a win on floor, while senior Abbie Pierson earned the victory on vault with a season-best 9.85 … sophomore Brooke Alban, fifth-year senior Kendra Combs and senior Kianna Yancey tied for first on bars, and Yancey added another tie for first on beam.
 
Notes: Holmes-Hackerd's 9.925 on floor was West Virginia's first score of 9.9+ this season … the total also was the first 9.925 on floor since March 31, 2022, when Combs earned the total at NCAA Regionals … the Mountaineers sit at No. 23 on floor exercise in this week's Road to Nationals rankings … West Virginia has now been ranked in the Road to Nationals floor rankings for 22 consecutive weeks, dating back to Jan. 25, 2021.
 
This Week in Swimming & Diving: The West Virginia University men's and women's swimming and diving teams return to Morgantown for their first home meet of the 2023 season against Villanova … action from the Aquatic Center at Mylan is set to begin at 12 p.m. ET.
 
Last Week in Swimming & Diving: The West Virginia University women's swimming and diving team defeated Iowa State (157-142) and Northern Iowa (209-90) on Saturday afternoon at Beyer Pool in Ames, Iowa … senior diver Marian Tiemeier earned first place in the 1-meter with a score of 271.25 … senior Jacqueline McCutchan, freshman Mia Cheatwood, senior Harna Minezawa and freshman Ada Szwabinka finished first in the 200-yard medley relay (1:43.79) … the 400-yard free relay team consisting of McCutchan, freshman Gabriela De La Torre, junior Abby Reardon and Szwabinka also secured first place, finishing in 3:26.47 … Cheatwood added two solo victories in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.13) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:18.30) … McCutchan finished first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.90 … Reardon earned first place in the 200 free (1:52.14) and 500 free (5:00.28) … Sophomore Mia Walters added a victory in the 200-yard butterfly event with a time of 2:04.82 … De La Torre finished first in the 200 free, touching the pads in 1:53.92 … junior Lilly Culp secured first place in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 57.10.
 
Notes: The Mountaineers won 11 of 16 events on Saturday.
This Week in Tennis: The West Virginia University women's tennis team travels to Bloomington, Indiana, to take on Indiana on Saturday, Jan. 28 … competition is set to begin at 11 a.m. ET
 
Last Week in Tennis: The West Virginia University tennis team split the day, as it fell to Penn 5-2 and defeated Temple 4-0 on Jan. 21 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania … sophomore/senior pair Camilla Bossi and Ting-Pei Chang defeated Penn's Eileen Wang and Gavriella Smith, 6-2 … during singles play, Dodik secured her first win as a Mountaineer against Penn's Saige Roshkoff in two-straight sets, 7-5, 6-4 … Kovick earned a singles win against Juliana Munhoz, 6-4, 6-1 … WVU was able to quickly bounce back when it faced Temple … two of the three pairs were victorious, stopping Chang and Bossi at 3-3 when the doubles point was clinched … during singles play, Bossi (7-6(2), 6-2), Nagato (6-3, 6-2) and Dodik (6-2, 7-6(2)) clinched wins … Chang, Kucharova and Kovick were unfinished.
 
Notes: The match-up against Indiana marks the first time the two teams have competed since 2017 when Indiana defeated the Mountaineers 3-4.
 
This Week in Track and Field: The West Virginia University track and field team returns to University Park, Pennsylvania, to compete in the Penn State National.
 
Last Week in Track and Field: The West Virginia University track and field team competed at the Youngstown Invitational hosted by Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio … redshirt senior Hayley Jackson claimed first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:10.21 … she was followed by sophomore Megan Weaver, who secured fifth with a time of 2:19.71 … sophomore Abigale Mullings earned second place in high jump with a height of 1.65 meters … senior Tessa Constantine earned first in her 200-meter heat with a time of 25.97, while her classmate Sada Wright competed in weight throw for West Virginia and notched a throw of 16.48 meters.
 
Notes: Mullings also reached a height 1.65 meters in high jump her last time out at the Nittany Lion Challenge on Jan. 14 … Wright's effort was good enough for sixth place in the competition.
 
This Week in Rifle: The No. 3 West Virginia University rifle team returns to Morgantown for Senior Day … the Mountaineers face off against No. 9 Navy at the WVU Rifle Range … shooting is set to begin at 8 a.m.
 
Last Week in Rifle: The rifle squad traveled to The Buckeye State for a pair of matches on Jan. 21 and 22 … WVU squared off against No. 11 Ohio State on Jan. 21, defeating the Buckeyes 4740-4713 in Columbus, Ohio … West Virginia claimed victory in both disciplines, notching a 2357 in smallbore and a 2383 in air rifle … the Mountaineers claimed seven of the top ten sports on the individual match leaderboard, including the top two spots … senior Mary Tucker led the match with a 1189 aggregate score, while her classmate Akihito Shimizu secured second with a 1187 … WVU continued the weekend against No. 10 University of Akron in Akron, Ohio … West Virginia completed the weekend sweep, tallying 4743 points … the Mountaineers shot a 2362 in smallbore and a 2381 in air rifle, outshooting Akron, who notched 4695 points … senior Mary Tucker led the match with a 1195 aggregate score … the Sarasota, Florida, native shot a 596 in smallbore and a 599 in air rifle.
 
Notes: West Virginia improved to 51-0 against Ohio State and 21-0 versus Akron all time … Shimizu's 598 in air rifle against Ohio State is a season best … sophomore Natalie Perrin shot a 585 in smallbore and a 595 in air rifle while facing off against the Buckeyes … she tied her season best in both disciplines … Tucker's 599s in air rifle also tied her season best … WVU's 4743 against Akron is good enough for the program's third highest aggregate score in its history … junior Molly McGhin earned an aggregate score of 1187 against the Zips, claiming a 591 in smallbore and a 596 in air rifle … the Griffin, Georgia, native set her career best in smallbore, while setting her season high in aggregate. 

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