Sports@DominionPost.com
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University and its Department of Intercollegiate Athletics plan to welcome fans back to the WVU Coliseum for the first time this basketball season, when the Mountaineers play host to the Florida Gators on Jan. 30.
Due to ongoing COVID-19 protocols, and for the overall safety of spectators at indoor events, attendance will be capped at 1,000 spectators. Priority will be given to families and guests of the players and coaching staffs, along with a limited number of WVU students and fans. WVU officials will continue monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and make changes to the attendance policy, if needed, based on current health conditions.
With the overall capacity being limited to 1,000, there will not be a public sale of tickets for men’s basketball games. Eligible Mountaineer Athletic Club members at the Mountaineer Scholar level and higher will be contacted about ticket and parking availability in the coming days. Information for students to obtain men’s basketball tickets will be released next week and ticket information for WVU women’s basketball, gymnastics and wrestling will be released separately prior to those home events.
Face coverings will be required of all spectators entering the WVU Coliseum. Face coverings should always be worn while fans are in the WVU Coliseum with the exception of when eating and drinking.
“We are pleased to be able to welcome a limited number of fans back into the Coliseum for our home events,” Director of Athletics Shane Lyons said. “Safety will continue to be our priority as we still must manage the COVID-19 pandemic, but this is a start to getting Mountaineer fans back to where they want to be. We have put a lot of work into the Coliseum as we celebrate its 50th anniversary, and Jan. 30 will be a great moment when we can open the doors to a limited capacity.”
As previously announced, basketball season ticket holders from last season will maintain ticket priority for next year, regardless of their purchase status in 2020-21.
All men’s and women’s home basketball games as well as home wrestling and gymnastics events will either be televised on the ESPN family of networks or streamed through Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The lone exception will be the Feb. 6 men’s game against Kansas, which will be televised on CBS.
Rifle wins 2021 opener
The WVU rifle team opened its 2021 home season with a 4712-4661 win over Ohio State on Saturday, at the WVU Rifle Range.
The Mountaineers (2-0, 1-0 GARC) swept the Buckeyes (1-5, 0-1 PRC) in both disciplines, winning smallbore, 2334-2308, and air rifle, 2378-2353.
“I am happy to compete again at home,” coach Jon Hammond said. “It was great to see so many of our athletes shoot on our Bill McKenzie Rifle Range for the first time. It’s challenging shooting somewhere that you are not used to. As a coach, it’s good to test the athletes that way.”
Junior Jared Eddy and freshman Becca Lamb tied for first place overall, with each shooter earning a personal-best aggregate score of 1179. The duo was followed by senior Sarah Osborn, who placed third with a 1176 combined score.
Eight Mountaineers finished inside the top 10 in both the smallbore and air rifle standings.
Eddy claimed the smallbore title with a 586 mark (195 kneeling, 199 prone, 192 standing), while a trio of freshmen (Molly McGhin, Matt Sanchez and Lamb) placed first in air rifle with matching 595s.
“We had some really consistent performances,” Hammond said. “There are a lot of areas to improve, but the scores show our depth as a team, with eight or nine athletes shooting 580+ in smallbore and 590+ in air rifle.”
Osborn finished third in smallbore with a 583 score (194 kneeling, 197 prone, 192 standing), while freshman Tal Engler (188 kneeling, 200 prone, 194 standing) and sophomore Malori Brown (197 kneeling, 196 prone, 189 standing) earned a top-five finish with matching 582 totals in a tie for fourth.
Junior Verena Zaisberger tied for sixth with a 581 smallbore mark (193 kneeling, 200 prone, 188 standing).
Sophomore Calista Smoyer and McGhin finished in a tie for eighth, shooting 580 smallbore, to round out the Mountaineers in the top 10.
Additional Mountaineer smallbore marks included a 566 for Sanchez, who placed 15th.
WVU’s Smoyer finished fourth in air rifle with a total of 594 (99-98-99-99-100-99), and Eddy (100-98-100-97-99-99) and Osborn (98-99-99-99-99-99) tied for fifth with matching 593s.
Engler and Zaisberger tied for eighth with a 591 total to round out the top 10.
Additional Mountaineer air rifle marks included a 587 for Brown, who finished 12th.
With the win, WVU improves to 48-0 all-time against the Buckeyes.
“We have a day off tomorrow,” Hammond said. “Then it is off to Ohio State Tuesday, and while it’s a busy week, the matches will be good for us to continue to learn and progress.”
The Mountaineers will travel to Columbus, Ohio, for a rematch against Ohio State on Tuesday, Jan. 26, at 1 p.m. ET. The match will be held at the Lt. Hugh W. Wylie Range, the location of the 2021 NCAA Championships.
Gymnastics team falls to No. 2 Sooners
The West Virginia gymnastics team opened its 2021 season with a 196.100-194.900 loss to No. 2-ranked Oklahoma on Friday evening, inside the WVU Coliseum.
Despite the loss, the Mountaineers hit 24-for-24 routines to split the event titles with the Sooners, finishing first on balance beam (48.825-48.625) and floor exercise (48.900-48.775). The Sooners earned the vault (49.325-48.575) and uneven bars (49.375-48.600) team victories.
Additionally, a trio of Mountaineers made their collegiate debuts, as Kiana Lewis was inserted into the vault lineup, Nicole Norris competed on bars and Chloe Asper made her debut on floor.
“I’m very happy with our first meet,” 10th-year coach Jason Butts said. “We were planning on coming out of the gates a little conservative with what we were putting up after such a long break, but I was really proud of our team. They stepped up. We had some mistakes here and there, but it is the first meet of the year. It’s been a very strange competition and training year for us, but overall, I’m very happy.”
Competing for the first time since March, West Virginia excelled on floor in the fourth rotation, with four gymnasts scoring 9.8 or better. Senior McKenna Linnen and junior Kendra Combs tied for third overall with matching 9.85s. Sophomore Emily Holmes-Hackerd competed on floor for just the third time in her career, tying for sixth place with a mark of 9.825. Sophomore Kianna Yancey scored a 9.8 in the No. 5 slot to place eighth, while sophomore Abbie Pierson and Asper added marks of 9.575 and 9.100, respectively.
Oklahoma’s Anastasia Webb earned the floor win with a 9.925 score.
WVU also was consistent on beam, tallying its second-highest total of the night in the third rotation, as five marks of 9.7 or better put the squad’s score at 48.825. Linnen lead the Mountaineers with a 9.825 total to finish fourth overall. The mark was just short of her career high of 9.875. Junior Esperanza Abarca and Combs tied for fifth with matching 9.775s, while Pierson placed eighth with a 9.75. Junior Rachel Hornung followed suit with a score of 9.7 to place ninth, and Holmes-Hackerd finished in 10th with a mark of 9.675.
Webb also finished first on beam with a 9.925.
Lewis and Pierson paced the Mountaineers to start the meet, scoring 9.8s on vault to tie for fifth overall. Senior Michelle Waldron finished ninth with a 9.7 total, followed by Yancey in 10th with a 9.65. Linnen and Holmes-Hackerd added scores of 9.625 and 9.525, respectively.
Oklahoma’s Evy Schoepfer scored 9.925 and finished first overall.
The Mountaineers tallied 48.600 on bars in the second rotation. Combs and Yancey tied for sixth place with 9.775s. Abarca tied for eighth with a 9.75 total, while Norris and Hornung added matching 9.65 marks and tied for 10th. Holmes-Hackerd anchored the Mountaineers’ lineup and finished 12th with a 9.625.
OU’s Audrey Davis finished first on bars with a 9.9 score.
In the all-around, Webb finished first overall with a 39.575 mark, while Holmes-Hackerd finished second with a 38.650. Tonight marked Holmes-Hackerd’s career debut in the all-around, as she competed on vault and bars for the first time.
Looking ahead, the Mountaineers will travel to Norman, Oklahoma, for another dual meet with the Sooners on Sunday, Jan. 31, inside the Lloyd Noble Center. Competition is set to begin at 8 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
“We have four practices before we leave for Norman,” Butts said. “For us, that’s great. Usually, we wouldn’t get a stretch like that. We just have to get back in the gym. We have to work on some handstands. We have to work on some landings. We have some more difficulty that we can put in, and the freshmen have some routines that we can get going. This is a good start, but I would love to see this score jump by at least a half point, if not more, when we are out in Norman.”
