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COLUMBUS – The fourth-ranked Mountaineer rifle team finished fourth overall at the 2021 NCAA Rifle Championships with a two-day total of 4704, shot at Converse Hall, in Columbus.
After a 2332 showing in smallbore on Friday, WVU (7-1, 5-1) shot 2372 in air rifle today, the fourth-best total earned and good enough for fourth place overall. TCU earned the air rifle national title after shooting a winning 2380.
“I am pleased with the effort and determination that the team gave this weekend, and really the whole season,” said coach Jon Hammond. “This was a challenging and difficult year for everyone. We came in ranked fourth and finished fourth in the championship. That may not be where we would have wished to finish, but that’s the nature of sports. The team has worked hard all year and persevered under very strange circumstances. We’ll have to reflect on all the good things that happened.”
No. 2 Kentucky won the National Championship with a two-day score of 4731. No. 1 TCU finished second with a 4722 total, and No. 3 Ole Miss placed third with a 4710 mark.
Fifth-ranked Alaska Fairbanks followed WVU in fifth place with a 4682 score and was followed by No. 6 Nebraska, who finished with a two-day score of 4676. No. 8 Memphis (4661) and No. 7 Air Force (4656) rounded out the field in seventh and eighth place, respectively.
“We lost to some excellent teams this weekend,” said Hammond. “Congratulations to Kentucky on a very impressive performance. They are deserving champions.”
Sophomore Akihito Shimizu represented WVU in the eight-person air rifle final and finished seventh overall with a score 141.5.
“I’m really pleased with Akihito and making it to the final,” Hammond said. “He had a really solid match. All six of our athletes that came to the 2021 NCAA Championships come back next year. So, we’ll take a break and work on how to make next year better.”
Kentucky’s Mary Tucker won the air rifle title with a 249.4 score.
Shimizu qualified for the final in a tie for fourth place, shooting a team-best 595 (99-99-100-99-99-99) in the day’s second relay.
Sophomore Calista Smoyer also shot in the second relay and finished in a tie for fifth with a 591 (100-99-99-99-98-99) total.
Freshman Molly McGhin (98-98-99-98-100-99) shot 592 in the day’s second relay to tie for sixth place. Freshman Tal Engler (96-100-99-98-99-99) and junior Jared Eddy (96-100-98-99-99-98) also shot in the second relay, and both finished in ties for seventh (591) and eighth 590), respectively.
National Rifle Association (NRA) and College Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) All-America honors will be awarded later this weekend.
Men’s soccer heads to Kalamazoo for meeting with Western Michigan
The Mountaineers men’s soccer team returns to the road Sunday for an afternoon match at Western Michigan, with kickoff slated for 1 p.m.
“I think it’s going to be a very different game compared to what we faced at home against Northern Illinois last weekend,” first-year head coach Dan Stratford said. “Western Michigan has a very clear identity of how they approach the game, and they’re a very physical and big team. We’ll have to prepare for that, but we go into the game with a lot of confidence after getting the win at home and going into this game 2-0.”
The Mountaineers (2-0-0, 1-0-0 MAC) enter its first conference road match after opening Mid-American Conference play on March 6, with a 1-0 victory over Northern Illinois in Morgantown. Redshirt freshman defender Bjarne Thiesen tallied the lone score of the home-opening match, scoring his first career game winner with a 12th-minute penalty goal after the Huskies were whistled for a foul inside the box. Thiesen’s goal against NIU marked his second of the season, with both scores coming on penalty kick opportunities.
Senior goalkeeper Steven Tekesky recorded four saves in the win, including a 77th-minute diving punch to deny a would-be NIU equalizer.
Tekesky and the Mountaineer back line have produced two straight shutouts to open the 2021 season. The last time the Mountaineers opened the year with two consecutive clean sheets was in 2017. West Virginia is currently tied for No. 1 in the NCAA in shutout percentage (1.00) and sits No. 1 in the MAC in shutouts (2).
Thiesen and junior forward Tony Pineda are tied for first in the MAC in points per game (2.00) and goals per game (1.00) Tekesky also is No. 1 in the league in shutouts (2), shutouts per game (1.00), save percentage (1.000) and goals against average (0.00).
Western Michigan (2-1-0, 0-1-0 MAC) is led by head coach Chad Wiseman, who has put together a 131-68-25 overall record in eight seasons with the Broncos. A two-time MAC Coach of the Year, he led WMU to its first-ever MAC regular season championship in 2017.
Mike Malaragni leads the squad with two goals on the season, while he also leads the team in shots (7), points (4) and shots on goal (6). In goal, Isaac Walker has recorded eight saves, as well as one shutout, this season.
Gymnastics looks to end season on high note with Pitt
The WVU gymnastics team closes out the Backyard Brawl series with a meet in Morgantown on Sunday as the Mountaineers play host to Pitt at 2 p.m. in their regular-season finale.
Due to ongoing COVID-19 protocols, and for the overall safety of spectators at indoor events, attendance will be capped at 2,800 spectators. Priority will be given to families and guests of the gymnasts and gymnastics coaching staffs, along with a limited number of WVU students and fans.
A season-high total helped WVU (1-7, 0-6 Big 12) capture a win over Pitt (6-9-1, 5-7-1 EAGL) in the first meeting on March 5, before the Panthers evened the three-meet series with a 195.100-194.675 victory on Friday. Both meets took place at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh.
Despite Friday night’s loss, the Mountaineers took home the team titles on three events, defeating the Panthers on vault (48.8-48.65), uneven bars (49.075-48.725) and floor exercise (49.15-48.95). Pitt claimed the team victory on balance beam (48.775-47.65).
WVU scored a season high on bars and matched its season best on vault. The squad also has posted a 49.0 or better on floor in six of its last seven meets. Individually, six Mountaineer gymnasts earned 10 podium finishes, with freshman Kiana Lewis winning the vault title outright for her first career event win.
Additionally, junior Rachel Hornung competed in the all-around for the third time in her career and the second time this season, posting a personal-best mark of 39.1 and placing third.
WVU is 66-17-2 all-time against Pitt. The Mountaineers also hold a 26-11-1 record in Pittsburgh, as well as a 20-4-1 mark inside the WVU Coliseum. The two squads last met in Morgantown on March 1, 2020, when Pitt claimed its first win over the Mountaineers inside the WVU Coliseum since 1984.
Fourteen Mountaineers have competed in at least one meet this season, with 11 gymnasts reaching the podium. In all, WVU boasts 44 podium finishes on the year. Sophomore Abbie Pierson leads the team with seven, followed by junior Kendra Combs with six and sophomore Kianna Yancey with five.
Yancey paces the team with 242.9 season points, followed by classmate Emily Holmes-Hackerd with 240.8. Pierson and Yancey also look to eclipse the 500 career-point mark on Sunday.
On Friday, Pitt’s Olivia Miller won a pair of individual titles outright. She scored a winning, 9.9 mark on bars and topped the all-around competition with a score of 39.25.
Looking ahead, the Mountaineers’ postseason slate starts with the 2021 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship, set for March 20, at the WVU Coliseum.
WVU was set to host last year’s event, but its season was cut short just before the conference championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. West Virginia previously hosted the event in 2014, with Hope Sloanhoffer becoming the first Mountaineer gymnast to win a Big 12 title in the all-around event.
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