MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Sept. 30, 2024) – After helping the Mountaineers improve to 4-0-1 in Big 12 Conference play, junior forward Ajanae Respass has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.
Respass scored the game-winning goal to lift WVU to a 2-1 win at Arizona State on Sept. 26. The score marked her third game winner of the season, which leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 11th in the country. The Highlands Ranch, Colorado, native continues to lead the team with six goals and 16 points on the year.
Furthermore, Respass’ goal at ASU helped West Virginia move to 4-0 in Big 12 play for the first time 2016 and the fourth time since joining the league in 2012.
The Mountaineers now look ahead to a one-game week as they welcome UCF to Morgantown on Friday, Oct. 4. Kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
This Week in Men’s Soccer: No. 6 West Virginia plays two matches this week, beginning with a road non-conference match at Bucknell, Tuesday, Oct. 1 … kickoff from Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania is set for 6 p.m. ET … the Mountaineers will be back home on Saturday, Oct. 5, against UCF for a Sun Belt contest … kickoff from Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Last Week in Men’s Soccer: The Mountaineers played to a 0-0 draw against Kentucky on Friday in Morgantown … redshirt-senior Marc Bonnaire made two saves in goal to secure his fifth clean sheet of the season … graduate student Simon Carlson led WVU with four shots while junior Marcus Caldeira registered three shots.
Notes: A sellout crowd of 2,968 came to see West Virginia take on Kentucky, the fourth-largest attendance in program history … the Mountaineers are unbeaten through eight games for the second season in a row and third time in four years … West Virginia is one of 11 remaining unbeaten teams in the country.
This Week in Women’s Soccer: West Virginia looks ahead to a one-game week, as it returns to Morgantown to welcome UCF on Friday, Oct. 4 … kickoff at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET … it’s the Mountaineers’ annual Pack it Pink match, with all fans encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness.
Last Week in Women’s Soccer: WVU earned four conference points as it went 1-0-1 in a pair of matches in the state of Arizona last week … West Virginia began the weekend road swing with a 2-1 win at Arizona State on Sept. 26 … WVU used corner-kick opportunities to their advantage to tally the win, as senior defender Annika Leslie took both corners and found teammates Gianna Koss and Ajanae Respass in the box for the set-piece scores … Respass scored the second goal, which was credited as the eventual game winner, her third of the season … the Mountaineers wrapped up the week at Arizona on Sept. 29, settling for a 1-1 draw with the Wildcats … fifth-year senior midfielder Lilly McCarthy put West Virginia ahead in the 24th minute, but the Wildcats got on the board early in the second half to force the draw.
Notes: Last week’s trip to Arizona marked the Mountaineers’ first ever to the state … following the win over ASU, WVU moved to 4-0 in Big 12 play for the first time since 2016 … it also marked the fourth time since West Virginia joined the league in 2012 … Leslie became the third Mountaineer to tally two assists in a match this season, as she is now tied for second on the team with three on the year … in the first-ever meeting between the two teams, WVU moves to 1-0 against the Sun Devils … West Virginia remained unbeaten all-time against Arizona, moving to 1-0-1.
This Week in Volleyball: West Virginia will have a two-game road swing against UCF on Oct. 2 in Orlando, Florida and Houston on Oct. 4 in Houston, Texas … on Wednesday, first serve is slated for 7 p.m. ET, inside the Venue at UCF with the Knights … on Friday, WVU will face the Cougars at 8 p.m., at the Fertitta Center.
Last Week in Volleyball: The Mountaineers opened Big 12 and home play on Sept. 25 at the WVU Coliseum, falling 3-0 to Cincinnati … WVU concluded the week on Sept. 28, dropping a five-set match to Iowa State, 3-2.
Notes: Redshirt junior outside hitter Cassidy Tanton leads West Virginia with 187 kills, and 25 service aces … Tanton ranks fourth in the Big 12 conference in service aces, and ninth in kills and points. The Mountaineers rank fifth in the conference with 93 service aces in 54 sets.
This Week in Golf: WVU will return to action on Monday and Tuesday by hosting the first annual Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational in Farmington, Pennsylvania … the 54-hole event will take place at the par-72, 7,526-yard Mystic Rock Golf Course at Nemacolin Resort … golfers will play 36 holes on Monday, beginning at 8:30 a.m., followed by 18 holes on Tuesday, at 8:30 a.m. … fourteen teams will be in the field … joining host West Virginia will be Penn State, Campbell, Richmond, Seton Hall, George Washington, George Mason, Delaware, William & Mary, Central Michigan, Mount St. Mary’s, Bucknell, Towson and Robert Morris … West Virginia’s lineup will consist of seniors Todd Duncan, Max Green and Pierce Grieve, junior Kaleb Wilson and freshman Nick Turowski … juniors Carson Kammann and Westy McCabe and freshman Ryan Leach will compete as individuals for the Mountaineers.
Last Week in Golf: West Virginia did not compete.
This Week in Cross Country: The Mountaineers will travel to the Live in Lou Classic on Oct. 5, in Louisville, Kentucky … Saturday’s 6k race is slated to begin at 10:15 a.m. ET, at the E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park.
Last Week in Cross Country: West Virginia did not compete.
This Week in Tennis: West Virginia hosts the Martha Thorn Invitational at the Mountaineer Tennis Courts in Morgantown from Oct. 4-6 … Duquesne, Louisville, Maryland, Penn State and Western Michigan will compete with West Virginia in the invitational.
Last Week in Tennis: Four Mountaineers competed at Thunder in the Mountains in Charleston, West Virginia … seniors Michaela Kucharova and Mille Haagensen, redshirt junior Maja Dodik and freshman Laura Villanueva Morillo represented WVU … Kucharova, Haagensen and Villanueva Morillo each advanced to the semifinals before Villanueva Morillo defeated Kucharova to be the lone Mountaineer in the final … Villanueva Morillo lost to Marshall’s Emma Vanderheyden in the final.
This Week in Swimming and Diving: The 2024-25 season officially begins with the West Virginia State Games at The Aquatic Center at Mylan Park in Morgantown from Oct. 4-5.
Last Season in Swimming and Diving: The Mountaineers unofficially began the season with the Gold-Blue Meet.
Notes: The men’s swimming and diving team won the state games in 2023 while the women’s team placed second behind Marshall … the WV State Games marks the beginning of the Brent MacDonald era after he was named the head coach in May … former Big East champion and WVU team captain, Michael Walker, was named associate head coach, Mark Butcher was named head diving coach, three-time Olympian, Sydney Pickrem was named assistant coach, former Florida Tech head coach, David Dent, was named assistant coach and James Washbish was retained from the previous staff as assistant coach.
This Week in Rifle: The No. 2-ranked West Virginia rifle team opens the 2024-25 season this weekend with two matches … WVU takes on No. 20 Citadel on Saturday, Oct. 5, in Charleston, South Carolina to open the season and then close out the weekend in Statesboro, Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 6, against No. 5 Georgia Southern.
Last Week in Rifle: West Virginia did not compete.
Notes: West Virginia finished in second place at last year’s NCAA National Championship while collecting the program’s 16th Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Tournament Title and 15th GARC Regular Season crown … WVU returns five from last year’s squad including Individual Air Rifle NCAA National Champion Gavin Barnick … the Mountaineers also added three newcomers in Ashlyn Blake, Camryn Camp and Jacob Wiseman.
Photo and Press Release Courtesy of WVU Athletics
