DMR Team Named Student-Athletes of the Week

DMR Team Named Student-Athletes of the Week | https://wvusports.com/

By Press release submission

Feb 8, 2023

DMR Team Named Student-Athletes of the Week

After setting a program record for the distance medley relay, sophomore Cassandra Williamson, senior Tessa Constantine, redshirt senior Mikaela Lucki and sophomore Ceili McCabe of the West Virginia University track and field team have been named the WVU Student-Athletes of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

The team competed at the Scarlet and White Invite at Boston University on Feb. 3 and crossed the finish line at 10:59.09. Their performance shaved over six seconds off the previous record.

The all-time program mark was last set in 2009 by April Rotilio, Kaylyn Christopher, Karly Hamric and Keri Bland. The former record holders finished in 11:05.12.

This is the 10th best DMR time across the NCAA this season and the 25th best all-time. The DMR is the fourth school record that has been set during this indoor season. It joins the 600-meter, the mile and the 3000-meter.

This Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia begins the week when it completes a two-game road swing at Oklahoma State on Tuesday, Feb. 7 … tipoff at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma, is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET … WVU then concludes the week at home, playing host to Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 11 … tipoff at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown is set for 6 p.m. ET, and it will be the Mountaineers' annual Pink Game for breast cancer awareness.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: WVU dropped a pair of Big 12 contests last week, first falling to No. 24/25 Texas, 56-69, in Morgantown on F eb. 1 … the Mountaineers then traveled to Norman, Oklahoma, and fell, 68-93, to No. 20/17 Oklahoma on Feb. 4 … against the Longhorns, West Virginia was led in scoring by fifth-year senior guard Sarah Bates, who netted a career-high 12 points … sophomore guard JJ Quinerly then paced WVU's scoring efforts against OU with 24 points.

Notes: Quinerly tallied her 11th consecutive double-digit scoring effort of the season against the Sooners, while it also was her fourth 20-point scoring performance this year … West Virginia's defense is third in the Big 12 Conference and ranks No. 65 nationally in scoring defense, as it is holding opponents to an average of 59.6 points per game … the squad also sits No. 1 in the league and No. 7 nationally in turnover margin (6.81), as well as No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 39 in the NCAA in steals per game (10.0) … individually, Quinerly is third in the conference in steals (44) and steals per game (2.10).

This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia plays host to Air Force on Friday, Feb. 10, for Military Appreciation Night, beginning at 7 p.m. ET … military service members in attendance will gain free admission with a valid ID, as well as be honored prior to the dual … the first 500 fans in attendance will receive a blue shaker.

Last Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers dropped a few nail-biters to No. 3 Iowa State and No. 14 Northern Iowa over the weekend … fifth-year senior Killian Cardinale, ranked No. 9 in the country, was the lone WVU grappler to go undefeated in his two bouts (2-0) … redshirt freshmen Davin Rhoads (133) and Jordan Titus (141) both earned wins over nationally ranked opponents to propel the Mountaineers to a 10-0 lead through the first three matches against ISU … senior Scott Joll gained an early takedown and added four points off a near fall at 174 pounds to give WVU back the lead at 13-10 before the Cyclones rounded out the dual with three more victories to escape with a seven-point win … After Cardinale scored a decision at 125 pounds to lead off Sunday's dual against UNI, junior Caleb Dowling secured the match-winning takedown in sudden victory over No. 19 Derek Holschlag … junior Peyton Hall followed up with a 5-2 decision over No. 23 Austin Yant at 165 pounds to pull the Mountaineers within one (10-9) … UNI responded by going on a 10-0 run with victories at 174, 184, and 197 pounds to lock up the team win … redshirt junior Michael Wolfgram ended the day with a 7-4 decision over No. 12 Tyrell Gordon at heavyweight after three possible takedowns were waved off throughout the match.

Notes: The Mountaineers sit at 7-5 overall and 1-5 against the Big 12 … 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 … the list of Mountaineers included Hall (No. 8 – 165), Wolfgram (No. 23 – HWT), Titus (No. 28 – 141), junior Sam Hillegas (No. 25 – 149), redshirt senior Alex Hornfeck (No. 25 – 157 ), redshirt junior Anthony Carman (No. 25 – 184 ) and redshirt sophomore Austin Cooley (No. 28 – 197) … the second NCAA Coaches' Ranking and first RPI ranking are set to be released this week on Thursday, Feb. 9 … additionally, fifth year senior Killian Cardinale is currently 10-0 as a starter and will likely solidify a spot in the rankings at 125 pounds after competing in West Virginia's last four duals with Oklahoma, No. 12 Oklahoma State, No. 3 ISU and No. 14 UNI … 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 Swimming & Diving: The West Virginia University men's and women's swimming and diving teams are off this week … the Mountaineers return at the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas on Feb. 22.

Last Week in Swimming & Diving: The West Virginia University men's and women's diving teams wrapped up the regular season on Feb. 4, against Penn State in Morgantown … sophomore Sarah Krusinski earned first place on the 3-meter (322.65) and 1-meter (278.70 … freshman Abigail Sullivan finished second on the 1-meter with a score of 265.58 and first on the platform (238.13) … freshman Elysa Grossman added a PR on the 1-meter (233.25) … senior Marian Tiemeier scored 262.28 on the 3-meter to finish second … on the men's side, sophomore Hayden Apel finished second on the 3-meter (274.65), while freshman Christian Torre finished third (243.30) … sophomore Glenn Eloriaga finished second on the platform (321.08), Owen Johns finished third (310.35) and Torres finished fourth (200.85).

Notes: The Mountaineer women earned four NCAA Zone-qualifying scores … Krusinski on the 1-meter and 3-meter … Sullivan on the 1-meter and platform … Krusinski also added two PRs.

This Week in Tennis: The West Virginia University women's tennis team (3-2, 0-0 Big 12) plays host to Marshall on Friday, Feb. 10, and Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, Feb. 11 in Morgantown… competition is set to begin on Friday at 12 p.m. and on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Last Week in Tennis: The West Virginia University tennis team defeated Northern Kentucky, 6-1, on Feb. 3, in Morgantown … junior/sophomore pair Momoko Nagato and Michaela Kucharova defeated NKU's Mariajose Hernandez and Laura Sola Grau 6-0 … sophomore Camilla Bossi and redshirt freshman Maja Dodik came up short in the tiebreaker 6-7 (4-7) … Fifth-year senior Pei-Ju Hsieh and sophomore Catherine Wassick fell 2-6 … the Mountaineers swept singles play winning all six matchups to claim the home-opening victory … against Penn State on Feb. 5, WVU fell 1-6, in Morgantown … during doubles play, Nagato and Kucharova fell 2-6, while Hsieh and Dodik fell 4-6 for PSU to claim the doubles point leaving Bossi and Chang ahead, 5-4, unfinished … moving on to singles, Chang defeated Yvonne Zuffova, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 … Kucharova, Nagato, Hsieh, Bossi and Dodik all suffered losses in two sets to the Nittany Lions.

Notes: Last week's contest against Northern Kentucky marks the first in the program history… During the 2021-22 season, WVU defeated Marshall 5-2 … the Mountaineers hold a 3-1 series record against Mount St. Mary's.

This Week in Track and Field: The West Virginia University track and field team continues in split squad action, as the Mountaineers compete at the Boston University Valentine hosted by Boston University and the Marshall Invite hosted by Marshall University on Friday, Feb. 10 and Saturday, Feb. 11.

Last Week in Track and Field: The WVU track and field team split to compete at the Scarlet and White Invite hosted by Boston University on Feb. 3 and 4 and the Sykes and Sabock Challenge hosted by Penn State University on Feb. 4 … West Virginia opened the weekend with the Distance Medley Relay in Boston on Feb. 3 … the team consisting of redshirt senior Mikaela Lucki, senior Tessa Constantine, sophomore Cassandra Williamson and sophomore Ceili McCabe set the program record with a time of 10:59.09 … redshirt senior Hayley Jackson and Williamson also competed in the 800-meter … Jackson crossed the finish line at 2:07.17, while Williamson followed her at 2:08.28.

Notes: The Distance Medley Relay program record was previously set in 2009 by April Rotilio, Kaylyn Christopher, Karly Hamric and Keri Bland … the former record holders finished in 11:05.12 … the new DMR program record is good enough for 10th best in the NCAA this season, while it's good for 25th all-time … Jackson's 800-meter time is good enough for fourth-best in program history, while Williamson earned fifth with her performance.

This Week in Rifle: The No. 3 West Virginia University rifle team travels to Lexington, Kentucky, to face off against the No. 4-ranked Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday, on Feb. 11.

Last Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers were off last week.

Notes: West Virginia takes on Kentucky for the third time this season after claiming victory in the first two meetings … the Mountaineers are 22-11 all-time against the Wildcats … WVU is third in aggregate average this season with 4732.083 points per match … West Virginia also is third in smallbore and air rifle … senior Mary Tucker leads nation in aggregate score, averaging 1191.222 points per match … Tucker also leads the nation in smallbore average with 593.222.

This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers continue their road swing when they travel to Denver, Colorado, to take on Big 12-foe No. 8 Denver on Sunday, Feb. 12 … action inside Magness Arena is slated for 4 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU fell to Pitt by a score of 195.200-196.550 inside Fitzgerald Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 3 … the Panthers (6-6) topped the Mountaineers (7-5) on every event, including 48.725-48.5 on vault, 49.4-48.85 on uneven bars, 49.15-48.675 on balance beam and 49.275-49.175 on floor exercise … sophomore Brooke Alban led WVU on bars with a 9.825, while freshmen Brooke Irwin and Emma Wehry earned the top scores on vault with a pair of 9.775s … senior Emily Holmes-Hackerd once again led the way of floor with a 9.875, and classmate Kianna Yancey paced the beam rotation with a 9.85 … in the final individual event standings, Irwin and Wehry finished in a tie for third on vault, while Yancey finished solo third on beam … on floor, Holmes-Hackerd finished in a tie for first place.

Notes: West Virginia's 48.85 on bars was a season high on the event … Holmes-Hackerd's first-place finish on floor marked her fourth consecutive meet atop the final floor standings … junior Ellen Collins made her career debut on floor, as well as her 2023 season debut, against the Panthers … she earned a 9.825, her highest score on any event in her career … junior Agatha Handono also made her season debut at Pitt … the Mountaineers sit at No. 22 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 24 consecutive weeks, dating back to Jan. 25, 2021.

This Week in Golf: WVU finishes up competition on Monday with four individuals (Kurtis Grant, Oli Menard, Todd Duncan and Kaleb Wilson competing in the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate in Statesboro, Georgia … as a team, the Mountaineers will return to competition at the Gators Invitational on Feb. 11 in Gainesville, Florida.

Last Week in Golf: The Mountaineers shot 8-under-par in the final round of the Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson, Arizona, to wrap up its first spring tournament ... West Virginia tied for the second-lowest round in the final 18 holes to finish 11th in the tournament with rounds of 298-291-280=869 (+5) … the 8-under-par third round is the 14th lowest round in school history vs. par … playing at the par-72 Tucson Country Club, junior Jackson Davenport shot 4-under-par in the final round and finished tied for 14th at 5-under-par with rounds of 74-69-68=211 … junior Will Stakel shot 2-under-par in the final round and finished at 3-over-par with rounds of 73-76-70=219 … sophomore Max Green shot 1-under-par in the final round and finished at 3-over-par with rounds of 78-70-71=219 … senior Trent Tipton was also under par in the final 18 holes, shooting 1-under and finished 4-over-par with rounds of 73-76-71=220 … freshman Westy McCabe recorded rounds of 84-78-80=242.