Weekend roundup: WVU Wrestling achieves milestone amidst strong gymnastics performance and tennis struggles

WVU Athletics showcased a mix of historic highs and competitive battles across multiple sports over the weekend to open March. Wrestling and gymnastics shined, while tennis struggled. Read more: Weekend roundup: WVU Wrestling achieves milestone amidst strong gymnastics performance and tennis struggles.

The wrestling team delivered the program’s most impressive Big 12 Championships performance since the conference expanded in 2016. They secured fifth place out of 14 teams, with 77.5 points in Tulsa and earning two bronze medals from Ty Watters and Ian Bush, along with automatic NCAA bids for five Mountaineers. 

Meanwhile, the women’s tennis squad faced tough Big 12 roadblocks, dropping a 4-0 decision to No. 21 TCU at home on March 6 and a 5-2 result to No. 47 Baylor on March 8. They slip to 0-4 in conference play despite gritty three-set wins from Julie Bousseau and Lucia Tognoni against the Bears.

In gymnastics, the Mountaineers posted their highest-ever score at Utah’s Jon M. Huntsman Center—a strong 195.3—on March 7, finishing third in a tri-meet behind No. 12 Utah (197.65) and No. 24 BYU (196.55). The outing was highlighted by standout routines from Sophia Rice, Amber Lowe, and others in their final Big 12 regular-season appearance.

Wrestling

WVU Wrestling achieved its best-ever finish at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships in 2026, placing fifth out of 14 teams with 77.5 points at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

This marked a historic high for the program since the conference’s 2016 expansion. Leading the Mountaineers were redshirt sophomore Ty Watters and redshirt junior Ian Bush, both No. 4 seeds who secured third-place (bronze) finishes in their weight classes. Six WVU wrestlers overall earned podium spots.

 Watters, in his second career Big 12 appearance, won his bronze with a pin in the consolation semifinals followed by a 6-2 decision over South Dakota State’s Cael Swensen, where his early takedown proved decisive.

Related: WVU Baseball preview: Maryland

In the 184-pound bracket, Ian Bush delivered two strong consolation wins for his career-best Big 12 finish: a 17-1 technical fall over Northern Colorado’s Mahonri Rushton and a gritty 6-4 decision against North Dakota State’s Aidan Brenot, overcoming an early deficit with escapes and a key takedown. 

Other notable performances included Jordan Titus placing fifth at 141 pounds (his career high), Gunner Andrick and Jett Strickenberger taking fourth in their classes, Willie McDougald eighth at 149, and Rune Lawrence ninth at 197.

 Strickenberger and Watters earned automatic NCAA Championship bids, bringing WVU’s total automatic qualifiers to five, with at-large selections to be announced on March 10.

Tennis

WVU Tennis suffered a 4-0 defeat to No. 21-ranked TCU on March 6 at the Mountaineer Tennis Courts in Morgantown. 

The Mountaineers struggled to gain traction against a hot TCU squad riding a nine-match win streak, as the visitors quickly claimed the doubles point and dominated singles play. In doubles, WVU’s pairs fell short on the top courts: Julie Bousseau and Audrey Moutama lost 6-2 to Victoria Gomez O’Hayon and Yu-Chin Tsai, while Zuzana Kudlackova and Lyla Byers dropped a 6-3 decision to Raquel Caballero Chica and Jennifer Jackson. The third court (Lucia Tognoni and Laura Villanueva Morillo vs. Cayetana Gay and Tomi Main) was unfinished at 5-4 in TCU’s favor when the point was clinched.

In singles, TCU controlled the match with straight-set wins on the deciding courts. Yu-Chin Tsai defeated Kudlackova 6-2, 6-1; Letizia Corsini topped Lucia Tognoni 6-0, 6-4; and Victoria Gomez O’Hayon beat Laura Villanueva Morillo 6-4, 6-3 to seal the sweep. 

Other Mountaineers, including No. 80 Raquel Caballero Chica’s opponent and others on unfinished courts, were leading or competitive but saw the match halted once TCU reached four points. 

The loss dropped WVU to 6-4 overall (per box scores), highlighting challenges against a strong Big 12 opponent, though the team showed fight on several fronts before the outcome was decided.

The struggles continued against Baylor with the Mountaineers  fell 5-2, dropping to 6-5 overall and 0-4 in Big 12 play. 

Tennis, continued

WVU struggled early as Baylor claimed the doubles point decisively, with wins on courts one and two (Gabrielle Villegas/Zuzanna Kubacha 6-3 on court one, Kennedy Gibbs/Neda Rahimkhani 6-3 on court two), while the third court remained unfinished. This put WVU behind 1-0 heading into singles against a strong road Bears squad.

In singles, Baylor took control with straight-set victories on several courts: Na Dong defeated Audrey Moutama 6-3, 6-0.

At No. 1; Mu-Jie Tzeng topped an opponent 6-2, 6-1 at No. 4.

Alian Zack clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-4 win (likely at No. 5); and Zuzanna Kubacha added a 7-5, 6-4 decision.

 At No. 2. The Mountaineers showed resilience in the later matches, earning their two points through hard-fought three-set battles.

 Julie Bousseau rallied for a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(11) win over Kennedy Gibbs at No. 3 (noted in box scores with tiebreaker details), and Lucia Tognoni secured a comeback on court six, prevailing in a tight 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) third-set tiebreaker over Luna Ivkovic (per article framing). Despite the competitive fight in the bottom half of the lineup, WVU could not overcome Baylor’s early dominance in the Big 12 matchup.

Gymnastics

WVU Gymnastics fell to Utah (195.3-197.65) and BYU ( 195.3-196.55) Saturday. Despite the defeats, the Mountaineers delivered a strong performance in a tri-meet at the  Jon M. Huntsman Center, scoring a season-highlight 195.3 to place third behind the host Utes (197.65) and No. 24 BYU (196.55). 

This marked WVU’s highest team score ever recorded in the Huntsman Center. The Mountaineers posted event totals of 48.95 on vault (closing rotation), 48.7 on uneven bars (opening), 48.775 on balance beam, and 48.875 on floor exercise, showing consistency against tough ranked competition in their final Big 12 regular-season outing.

Standout individual efforts included sophomore Sophia Rice’s season-best 9.875 on vault (tying the meet high), junior Amber Lowe’s 9.875 on beam (just shy of her career best and earning a tie for first on the event), freshman Haley Mendoza’s near-career-best 9.8 on beam, and junior Jurnee Lane’s 9.8 on floor. In the all-around, Kayla Smith led WVU with a 38.975 for fourth place. Despite the third-place finish.

Rifle

WVU Rifle had the week off, but heads to the 2026 NCAA Rifle National Championships in Columbus, Ohio, on March 13-14. 

The Mountaineers join top-seeded Kentucky, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 TCU, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 6 Alaska Fairbanks, No. 7 Navy, and No. 8 Georgia Southern in pursuit of a national title.

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