Holmes-Hackerd takes WVU honors in busy athletics week

Additionally, Holmes-Hackerd also posted a season-best score on balance beam with a 9.8.

West Virginia finished in first place with a season-best 196.375 team score, besting Towson (196.025), Iowa State (195.825) and Eastern Michigan (194.050) in its home quad meet on Jan. 29. WVU earned season high scores on every event, including a 49.0 or higher on three of four events.

This Week in Women’s Basketball: West Virginia begins the week at home, as it welcomes Texas to the WVU Coliseum on Feb. 1 … tipoff against the Longhorns is slated for 7 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ … the Mountaineers then conclude the week on the road when they travel to Norman, Oklahoma, on Saturday, Feb. 4, for a rematch with Oklahoma … tipoff inside the Lloyd Noble Center is tabbed for 3 p.m.

Last Week in Women’s Basketball: WVU recorded a 62-55 victory over TCU inside Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, on Jan. 28 … sophomore guard JJ Quinerly led all scorers with 23 points, while redshirt sophomore guard Kyah Watson joined Quinerly in double figures and added 10 points … three players combined for 21 of WVU’s 37 rebounds, with Watson, junior forward Kylee Blacksten and senior guard Jayla Hemingway hauling in seven boards apiece … as a team, West Virginia finished the game shooting 24-of-57 (42.1%) from the field, including 6-of-23 (26.1%) from 3-point range … the Mountaineers led the Horned Frogs in points in the paint (36-24) and points from turnovers (17-14).

Notes: Quinerly’s 23 points against the Horned Frogs marked her 15th double-digit scoring game of the season, including her third 20-point performance this year … with the win, West Virginia moves to 21-5 all-time against the Horned Frogs, including 9-3 in games played in Fort Worth … the Mountaineers swept the season series with TCU for the second straight season, as well as the fifth time in program history … West Virginia’s defense is first in the Big 12 Conference and ranks No. 37 nationally in scoring defense, as it is holding opponents to an average of 57.4 points per game … the squad also sits No. 1 in the league and No. 6 nationally in turnover margin (7.63), as well as No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 33 in the NCAA in steals per game (10.3) … individually, Quinerly is third in the conference in steals (41) and steals per game (2.16).

This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia welcomes No. 4 Iowa State (Feb. 3) and No. 15 Northern Iowa (Feb. 5) to the WVU Coliseum this weekend … Friday’s dual against ISU has been declared a Gold Rush, as all fans in attendance are encouraged to wear gold … the first 500 fans will be given a gold rally towel … it will also be a Family Day, as fans can purchase four tickets and a $15 concession voucher for $25 … what’s more, join us as we honor Mountaineers of the past for the squad’s annual alumni reunion match … two days later against UNI, fans are encouraged to wear PINK in support of the fight against breast cancer in wrestling’s annual Pink Match, presented by the WVU Cancer Institute … additionally, the match will be the annual Mountaineer Kids Club Day … 2022-23 MKC members will be able to pick up their member t-shirts and the Kids Club mascot, Musket, will make a special appearance at the match.

Last Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers were off.

Notes: The Mountaineers sit at 7-3 overall and 1-3 against the Big 12 … currently, they 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 … 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 WVU diving teams host Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 4 … action from the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park is set to begin at 12 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Swimming & Diving: West Virginia defeated Villanova on Jan. 28, at its first home meet of the 2023 season in Morgantown …senior Jacqueline McCutchan, freshman Mia Cheatwood, senior Harna Minezawa and freshman Ada Szwabinka finished first in the 200-yard medley relay (1:33.75) and the 400-yard medley relay (3:48.36)… McCutchan earned first in the 100-yard backstroke (56.40) and 100 free (51.32)… Cheatwood’s victories came in the 100-yard breastroke (1:02.36 ) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:16.64) … freshman Olivia Busch finished first in the 1000 free (10.26.08) and 500 free, touching the pads in 5:05.68 … Minezawa, Szwabinska, junior Abby Reardon, sophomore Emily Knorr, senior Ginger Hansen, junior Paige Dressel, and sophomore Morgan Burton also added solo victories for West Virginia… the 400-yard medley relay teams consisting of junior Justin Heimes, junior Danny Berlitz, senior David Snider, and sophomore Conner McBeth earned first, finishing with a time of 3:17.11... the 200-yard free relay consisting of Mcbeth, freshman Jamin Harlan, senior Roberts Zemturis and freshman Maverick Bray finished with a time of 1:24.19 … Berlitz's two solo victories came in the 100-yard backstroke (48.86) and the 200-yard IM (1:47.92) … junior William Mullen added a pair of solo wins in the 1000 free (9:26.52) and the 500 free (4:35.43) … McBeth, Heimes, Harlan, freshman Max Nielson, sophomore Reilly Kennedy, freshman, Alvaro Santiago, junior Roanoke Shirk, freshman Adam McDonald, and senior David Snider added solo victories for the men… senior Owen Johns finished first in the 1-meter (328.95) and 3-meter with a score of 378.90... sophomore Sarah Krusinski added a first-place finish in the 1-meter for the women (261.30).

Notes: The Mountaineers won 28 of 32 events on Saturday… John's 3-meter score marked his third PR on 3-meter this season.

This Week in Tennis: West Virginia (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) plays host to Northern Kentucky on Friday, Feb. 3, and Penn State on Sunday, Feb. 5 in Morgantown … competition is set to begin on Friday at 1 p.m. ET, and on Sunday at 12 p.m., at Summit Tennis Academy

Last Week in Tennis: WVU defeated Indiana 4-3 on Jan. 28, in Bloomington, Indiana … sophomore/senior pair Camilla Bossi and Ting-Pei Chang defeated Indiana’s Lara Schneider and Saby Nihalani, 7-6(8) … junior Momoko Nagato and sophomore Michaela Kucharova defeated Indiana’s Mila Mejic and Lauren Lemonds, 6-3 … fifth-year senior Pei-Ju Hsieh and redshirt freshman Maja Dodik fell short to Indiana’s Alexandra Staiculescu and Rose Hu, 3-6 … the Mountaineers split singles play with Kucharova (6-2, 3-6, 6-0), Nagato (6-2, 6-1) and Hsieh (6-4, 7-5) securing match wins … Bossi (4-6, 1-6), Chang (1-6, 6-7(1)) and Dodik (2-6, 2-6) came up short.

Notes: The match-up against Indiana marked the first win against the Hoosiers in program history … this week’s contest against Northern Kentucky marks the first meeting between the teams in the program history … during the 2021-22 season, WVU was defeated by Penn State 2-5.

This Week in Track and Field: The West Virginia University track and field team returns to University Park, Pennsylvania, to compete in the Sykes & Sabock Challenge hosted by Penn State University.

Last Week in Track and Field: The West Virginia University track and field team competed at the Penn State National hosted by Penn State University in University Park, Pennsylvania … redshirt senior Mikela Lucki set a personal best mile time of 4:39.10 to secure third … senior Katherine Dowie set a personal best 3,000-meter time and took fifth … her 9:25.24 time beat her previous best by over seven seconds … senior Sada Wright earned a season best weight throw distance of 17.01 meters and took 11th out of 31 competitors.

Notes: Sophomore Ceili McCabe competed in the one mile race at the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge … McCabe crossed the line at 4:31.57 to set a personal best mile time, and she earned seventh in the race … the Vancouver, British Colombia, native’s time will be ranked second in the NCAA behind the collegiate record set by Katelyn Tuoy in the same race.

This Week in Rifle: The No. 3 West Virginia University rifle team is off this week … the Mountaineers return against No. 4 Kentucky on Feb. 11.

Last Week in Rifle: The rifle squad squared off against No. 9 Navy on Jan. 28, defeating the Midshipmen 4742-4709 on Senior Day in Morgantown … West Virginia claimed victory in both disciplines, notching a 2354 in smallbore and a 2388 in air rifle … the Mountaineers claimed eight of the top ten spots on the individual match leaderboard, including the top two spots … senior Mary Tucker led the match with a 1195 aggregate score, while junior Molly McGhin secured second with a 1188 … Tucker shot a 597 in smallbore and a 598 in air rifle … McGhin also shot a 598 in air rifle and earned 590 points in smallbore.

Notes: West Virginia improved to 32-8 versus Navy all time … Tucker’s smallbore was good enough to tie her career best, and it’s the second time she has reached that mark this season … McGhin set her season bests in air rifle and aggregate score … sophomore Natalie Perrin claimed fifth on the aggregate score leaderboard … Perrin notched a 584 in smallbore and a 597 in air rifle for an aggregate score of 1181 … her air rifle score is a career best, and her aggregate score is her season best.

This Week in Gymnastics: WVU competes in its first dual meet of the campaign when it travels to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Friday, Feb. 3, to take on rival Pitt … the meet is set for 7 p.m. ET, inside Fitzgerald Field House.

Last Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia posted a season-best 196.375 team score to finish in first place in its quad meet against Iowa State, Towson and Eastern Michigan in Morgantown on Jan. 29 … Towson took second place with a 196.025, while Iowa State followed in third (195.825) and Eastern Michigan took fourth (194.05) … the Mountaineers tallied season high scores on all four events, including a 49.025 on vault, a 48.775 on bars, a 49.2 on beam and 49.375 on floor … senior Emily Holmes-Hackerd led WVU on floor, posting a career-high 9.925 for the second straight meet … Holmes-Hackerd also topped the floor podium for the second time in as many weeks … senior Kianna Yancey competed in the all-around for the second time this season, posting a career-best 39.375 total on all four events to take first place in the final event standings.

Notes: The Mountaineers recorded season-high totals on all four events on Sunday … the team score was their highest since March 18, 2022, as well as their first total of 196.0+ this season … the score ranks No. 21 on West Virginia’s all-time top 50 team scores … with the win over Iowa State, WVU earned its first regular-season, Big 12 win since 2017 when it topped the Cyclones, 195.95-195.725, on Feb. 26 … the Mountaineers hit 24-of-24 routines for the first time this season on Jan. 29 … freshmen Brooke Irwin, Carlee Nelson and Emma Wehry all earned their first career podium finishes during the quad meet … the Mountaineers sit at No. 21 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 23 consecutive weeks, dating back to Jan. 25, 2021.

This Week in Golf: The golf team is set to begin its 2023 spring season on Monday, Jan. 30 and Tuesday, Jan. 31 at the Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson, Arizona … 15 teams are scheduled to compete, including nine teams ranked in the Top 80. Teams competing are No. 22 Arizona, No. 57 BYU, No. 72 California, Cal Poly, Central Michigan, No. 78 Iowa State, No. 65 Long Beach State, No. 59 New Mexico, No. 62 New Mexico State, Seattle, Saint Mary’s, No. 49 SMU, Santa Clara, No. 11 Texas A&M and WVU … the Mountaineers will tee off Monday at 11 a.m. ET on the par-72, 7,072-yard Tucson Country Club. Golfers will play 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday … senior Trent Tipton, juniors Jackson Davenport and Will Stakel, sophomore Max Green and freshman Westy McCabe will represent the Mountaineers at the event … the top four scores will count towards West Virginia’s overall team score.

Last Week in Golf: The golf team was off last week.