Following a second-place finish at the NCAA Regional Championship, senior Mark Goetz of the West Virginia University golf team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week. It is the third such honor over a three-month span for Goetz.
The Greensburg, Pennsylvania, native finished 8-under-par at the tournament after shooting a 2-over-par and ranking 33rd on day one. Goetz charged on moving day to a tie for fourth place with a 6-under-par 66 on Tuesday. In the final round, Goetz shot a 4-under-par 68 and finished second out of 72 golfers in the Noblesville Regional with rounds of 74-66-68=208.
Goetz was only two strokes behind Cole Bradley of Purdue, who secured his win on the 17th hole. For the week, Goetz recorded 14 birdies and two eagles.
This Week in Golf: The 2020-21 season is complete until next year’s season begins in September.
Last Week in Golf: Senior Mark Goetz fell one spot short of winning the NCAA Regional and advancing to the NCAA Golf Championship during the final round at The Sagamore Golf Cub in Noblesville, Indiana … Goetz and Cole Bradley of Purdue were tied at 8-under-par entering the 17th hole … Bradley secured a birdie on No. 17 to take a one-shot lead and went on to win the regional by two strokes over Goetz … Bradley finished round three with a tournament-low score of 65, including five birdies on the final seven holes … after shooting a 2-over-par 74 and ranking 33rd on day one, Goetz charged on moving day to a tie for fourth place with a 6-under-par 66 … in the final round, the Greensburg, Pennsylvania, native shot a 4-under-par 68 … Goetz finished second out of 72 golfers in the Noblesville Regional with rounds of 74-66-68=208 … for the week, Goetz recorded 14 birdies and two eagles.
Quote: “I’m so proud of Mark. He played great. He’s always been talented, but he has matured these past two seasons and has developed into one of the best players in the country. The reason he has success is because of his preparation and his process. It’s funny that a kid from Western Pennsylvania, who only had one scholarship offer and that was from a restarted golf program at WVU, just nearly won an NCAA Regional against some of the best amateurs in the world. I think that speaks to Mark’s talent, work ethic and matured mindset. I’m so excited about next year’s team with Mark coming back for a fifth season. I know we didn’t have the team here this week, but Mark felt like he was playing for us all, sending a message of what to expect out of the Mountaineers next season.” – Coach Sean Covich
This Week in Track and Field: Four members of the West Virginia University track and field team have qualified for the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminary Round, from May 27-29, in Jacksonville, Florida … the events will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as 1 p.m. on Friday and Saturday … redshirt junior Hayley Jackson (1,500 meters), junior Kathernie Dowie and redshirt freshman Ceili McCabe (3,000 meter steeplechase); as well as junior Peter-Gay McKenzie (long jump) all ranked in the top 48 of the NCAA East Region in their respective events and will compete.
Last Week in Track and Field: West Virginia was off last week.
Notes: Jackson, who last ran in the 2019 East Prelims, is set to make her second career appearance at the NCAA Championships, while Dowie, McCabe and McKenzie will make their regional debut … McCabe enters the event ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 30 nationally in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, with a top time of 9:58.62 at the Mountaineer Twilight, on May 1, in Morgantown, West Virginia … the time was good for an outdoor school record … the Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, native is coming off of a first-place, gold-medal performance at the 2021 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship, on May 15, in Manhattan, Kansas … McCabe’s winning time of 10:08.69 ranks fifth-place in outdoor program history … Dowie ranks No. 3 in the Big 12 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and No. 68 in the nation … the Carisbrook, Victoria, Australia, native qualified for this year’s regional meet after recording a season-best time of 10:15.75 at the Mountaineer Twilight, on May 1, in Morgantown, West Virginia … at the Big 12 Championship, Dowie had an All-Big 12 performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a fifth-place finish in 10:32.23 … Jackson ran a season-best time of 4:21.92 in the 1,500 meters at the EKU Twilight, on April 16, in Richmond, Kentucky, good for No. 7 in the Big 12 … the Lusby, Maryland, native had an All-Big 12 performance and a seventh-place, podium finish in the 1,500-meter race (4:32.33) at the Big 12 Championship … McKenzie is set to compete in the long jump competition in Jacksonville … the Clarendon, Jamaica, native tallied a career-best mark of 6.14 meters in the event at the Virginia Challenge on April 16, earning a sixth-place finish … the distance ranks No. 16 in the Big 12 and No. 42 in the region entering the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
This Week in Baseball: The eighth-seeded Mountaineers begin postseason play at the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship against No. 9-seed Kansas on Tuesday, May 25, at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma … the single-elimination matchup is slated to begin at 7 p.m. ET, with the winner advancing to the double-elimination tournament.
Last Week in Baseball: West Virginia (23-25, 8-16 Big 12) closed regular-season play by dropping two-of-three games at No. 2 Texas, from May 20-22, in Austin, Texas … the Mountaineers won the series opener, 5-4, good for the highest-ranked win in program history … the win helped West Virginia extend its season-long win streak to six games … from there, WVU fell, 14-3 and 12-2 in eight innings, in the final two games of the series … senior left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf earned the win over the Longhorns in Game 1 of the series, his fifth of the year, while sophomore right-hander Jacob Watters nailed down his fourth save … the Mountaineers hit three homers to begin the series, one each from freshman infielder/designated hitter Nathan Blasick, senior catcher/outfielder Paul McIntosh and fifth-year senior infielder Kevin Brophy … the big fly was one of two for Brophy on the weekend … the Randolph, New Jersey, native led the way by finishing 3-for-8 (.375) with two homers, two runs scored and four RBI in the three-game set.
Notes: WVU is 13-12 all-time at the Big 12 Championship since joining the conference in 2013 … West Virginia is one of two schools to reach the semifinals in each of the last four years the event has been played, including two Championship Game appearances (2016, 2019) … the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic … the Mountaineers have won multiple games at four straight conference tournaments and five times in the last seven seasons … West Virginia leads Kansas, 15-11, in the all-time series, including 2-1 in 2021 … WVU won two-of-three games over the Jayhawks, from March 26-27, in Morgantown … the winner of Tuesday’s matchup advances to take on No. 1-seed Texas on Wednesday … the Mountaineers won eight of their final 12 games of the regular season … junior outfielder Austin Davis continues to lead WVU at the plate with a .317 average … WVU has homered in 10 of its last 12 games … fifth-year senior infielder Kevin Brophy and senior catcher/outfielder Paul McIntosh co-lead the club with eight big flies this spring … WVU’s 498 strikeouts as a pitching staff are good for No. 4 in single-season program history … Wolf’s 98 strikeouts are five away from matching Nick Snyder (2019) from No. 10 in single-season WVU history … he’s also seven punchouts away from Jerry Meadows (1967) for No. 9 and 10 off Frank Barron’s (1915) total for No. 8.
