WVU Gymnastics took the floor at the Big 12 Championships for the final competition of the season. A freshman on the team did something that no first-year student has done since 2008. WVU Golf also carries its momentum into this week as it competes in South Carolina. A sophomore for WVU Swimming & Diving is set to compete at the NCAA Championships, while WVU Tennis team had a couple of rough outings. Read more: WVU weekend roundup: Gymnastics competes in Big 12 Championship.
Swimming & Diving
The Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships are scheduled for March 25-28. They are at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Sophomore Levi Hellmann qualified for the event after placing fourth on platform at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships on March 11.
Tennis
WVU Tennis (6-9, 0-8 Big 12) welcomed Arizona State and Arizona to Morgantown this past week. WVU lost to No. 13 Arizona State on Thursday, March 19, 0-4. They also lost on Saturday, March 21, to No. 35 Arizona by a score of 1-4.
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The Sun Devils took two of three matches to claim the doubles point. Laura Villanueva Morillo and Lucia Tognoni were the lone WVU victors in doubles. They beat Vivian Ovrootsky and Karsyn Evans, 6-4, on court two. Arizona State won three consecutive matches in singles, while the other three matches were left unfinished after Arizona State clinched the match.
Arizona won two doubles matches to clinch the point before the match on court one was completed. Audrey Moutama secured West Virginia’s point in singles with a victory over Martyna Ostrzygalo, 6-2, 6-1. Arizona won two matches in two sets, and the clinching match went to the third set. Ciara Moore defeated WVU’s Julie Bousseau, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. WVU’s next match is on Saturday, March 28, in Morgantown against Cincinnati.
Gymnastics
WVU Gymnastics took sixth place at the Big 12 Championship at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah, on Saturday, March 21. They competed in the first session with Arizona State and finished with a score of 194.25. The Mountaineers started in their opening rotation on uneven bars with a score of 47.625. It was a tough showing for WVU, as they had to count an 8.95 after a couple of falls.
They bounced back on vault, with a 48.625. Carlee Nelson and Emerson Smith posted a pair of 9.75’s. Kayla Smith finished with a 9.725, and Taylor Tuohy and Karleigh DiCello had a pair of 9.7’s. They went to the floor exercise next and posted a 49.2, the highest score in all rotations. Tuohy and Jurnee Lane led the team with scores of 9.875. That score matched a season-high for Lane. Emerson Smith finished with a 9.85, and Kayla Smith and Auden Pederson finished with scores of 9.8.
The final rotation for the Mountaineers was on the balance beam, where they posted a 48.8. Amber Lowe led the team with a 9.875 to start a strong rotation. Eden Webster posted a season-best with a 9.85. Kayla Smith posted a 9.725, and Lane and Haley Mendoza finished with scores of 9.675.
Freshman Kayla Smith finished an excellent opening season at WVU. She scored a 38.95 on all four events, which put her over the 500 season points mark. She became the third freshman to surpass that threshold in a single season in program history. Smith finished with 506.175 points, which was also the most for a WVU freshman since 2008.
Golf
WVU Golf is still in action at the time of writing. They are competing at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate at Bulls Bay Golf Club in Awendaw, South Carolina. After the first of three days, WVU was tied for eighth place with a score of -7. Jack Michael shot a 5-under to lead WVU on the first day. He finished with a bogey-free round, with five birdies, as he shot a 67. He entered day two tied for fifth place, only three shots off the lead.
The rest of the team shot close to par in the first round. Westy McCabe and Kaleb Wilson finished with a 71, while Nick Turowski finished at even-par with a 72. Aidan Dortch shot one over in the first round with a 15-team field. The second round is underway on Monday, and the third and final round is on Tuesday, March 24.
