2009 Fall Front Row Magazine

Exclusively for Members of the Mountaineer Athletic Club

Fall 2009

Fall, 2009

Volume 23, Number 1

DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS

Ed Pastilong

DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS

Mike Parsons EDITOR

Joe Swan CONTRIBUTORS

Lisa Ammons, John Antonik, Phil Caskey, Michael Fragale, Ira Green, Allison Hoehn, Cheryl Maust, Shannon McNamara, Bryan Messerly, Deborah Miller, Mike Montoro, Amy Prunty, Jay Redmond, Steve Stone, Kelly Tuckwiller, Adam Zundell PHOTOGRAPHY

All-Pro Photography by Dale Sparks, Bill Amatucci, Tad Davis, M.G. Ellis, Pete Emerson, Dan Friend, George Gojkovich, Brent Kepner, David Miller, C.W. Pack Sports, Brian Persinger, Allison Toffle, WVU Athletic Archives, WVU Sports Communications and WVU Photographic Services

MOUNTAINEERS YOU NEED TO KNOW – Here are some

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RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW – Right now, he might be the best college

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Mountaineers to keep an eye on for the 2009-10 season.

DESIGN

Provations Group, Nicholasville, Ky. PRINTING

Morgantown Printing and Binding MOUNTAINEER ATHLETIC CLUB

Niles Eggleston Executive Director

Gary McPherson Senior Director of Development for Athletics

quarterback nobody knows. Come December, he hopes to be the one everybody’s talking about. Jarrett Brown has something to prove — to the fans, to the media, to the college football world, but mostly, to himself. And he’s ready to start — right now.

By Jay Redmond

J Locklier Senior Director of Development for Athletics Matt Borman Director of Major Gifts John Matsko Director of Development for Athletics Frank Oliverio Director of Development for Athletics

THE THRILL OF THE CHASE – The great athletes are always chasing.

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When one goal gets accomplished, another one is created. The words “comfortable,” “status quo” and “satisfaction” are not in their vocabulary. West Virginia senior midfielder Carolyn Blank is chasing.

By Adam Zundell

Jan Runner Development Assistant Casey Cunningham Development Associate Lisa Thomas Administrative Assistant Kim Glass Program Assistant

THE RIGHT TIME – Time. In some cases, it can be your best friend. In

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other cases, it can be your biggest enemy. For West Virginia University men’s soccer goalkeeper Zach Johnson, time relates to a plethora of subjects.

By Ira Green

Alyssa DeSantis Graduate Assistant SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS

Michael Fragale Assistant Athletic Director, Communications John Antonik Director, New Media Bryan Messerly Sports Information Director Mike Montoro Director, Football Communications Joe Swan Sports Publications Director Phil Caskey Associate Sports Information Director Tim Goodenow Assistant Sports Publications Director

THE CUSP OF GREATNESS – Marathons are often likened to journeys

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– both long in time and distance; neither lacks of obstacles and both require stamina and persistence. In a way, West Virginia University redshirt senior Clara Grandt and the Mountaineer cross country squad she leads have together crossed the peaks and been through the valleys of a shared journey toward the upper-echelon of the sport over the last four years. Now, both are prepared to cross the line of greatness never before breached by the program.

By Shannon McNamara

DOING A GOOD THING – A lot of things in Lee Good’s life tie back to

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WVU Intercollegiate Athletics and his support through the years has helped provide for the future of the program.

Ira Green Graduate Assistant Allison Hoehn Graduate Assistant Shannon McNamara Graduate Assistant Steve Stone Graduate Assistant Kelly Tuckwiller Graduate Assistant Tiffany Doolittle Student Assistant Grant Dovey Student Assistant

COMPLIANCE UPDATE – Hairston Hired As Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance DIGEST SCHEDULES

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AMY BIESKI Gymnastics

With her graceful presence and tenacious tumbles, West Virginia University junior Amy Bieski is prepped and ready to take over the reigns as the leader of the Mountaineer gymnastics team and bring a seventh East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) title to the WVU Coliseum.

Possessing an uncanny ability to produce points even under the most pressing of circumstances, Bieski was an unstoppable force for the Mountaineers during her first two seasons. Competing as an all-arounder in all but four career meets (22-26), the Nanticoke, Pa., native has finished second in point production the past two years behind NCAA Championship competitor Mehgan Morris.

After having one of the most successful rookie campaigns in Mountaineer history (513.4 points in 14 meets), Bieski refused to sputter as a sophomore, garnering 456.15 points in 12 meets.

Bieski was consistent throughout 2009, shining brightest on vault and floor, her two strongest events. The speech pathology and audiology major vaulted below 9.8 only three times throughout the year, and nabbed a career best 9.9 vault against EAGL foe Pitt on Jan. 23. She concluded the year matching two additional career bests – bars (9.825) and floor (9.9).

The eight time all-EAGL gymnast’s overall consistent performances put WVU’s southeast region opponents on notice last year, as she finished eighth at the NCAA regional championship with 38.9 points. Her final RQS of 38.96 ranked 13th in the region and puts her in great position to compete for a national championship qualifying spot during her final two seasons.

VERONICA CARDENAS Tennis

ference as one of 140 WVU student-athletes who were named as 2009 BIG EAST Academic All-Stars.

Cardenas also excelled on the court as a freshman as the only player to earn a 30-win season with a team-best 13-10 record in singles play. In doubles play, Cardenas and teammate Olga Elkin led with a 17-7 record at the No. 3 spot. The duo started the season with a perfect 10-0 record and went on to defeat top competitors from Pitt and Connecticut.

Cardenas also helped the Mountaineers to a 9-17, 4-5 record and their fifth-straight trip to the BIG EAST Championship, held on the USF campus in Tampa, Fla. In 2009-10, expect big things from Cardenas as she continues to excel in both places – first as a student-athlete, then as an outstanding tennis player.

SARA CONNER Swimming

After taking a medical redshirt last season, the West Virginia women’s swimming and diving team will be looking for redshirt freshman Sara Conner to provide a spark in the distance events this season.

The Sarasota, Fla., native will look to take over where graduating senior Lindsey Largo left off with a BIG EAST Championship in the 1650 free.

The business major will also provide leadership to a top 25 recruiting class, in which a majority of the incoming freshmen are distance swimmers.

At Sarasota Christian High, Conner was an all-area swimmer from 2005-08 and was a two-time All-American.

The women’s team will opener their season Oct. 17, against Marshall at noon in the WVU Natatorium.

DEVIN EBANKS

Academics then athletics – it is an essential motto that is taught to student-athletes at West Virginia University. It is also a motto that Mountaineer athletes have lived up to, and sophomore tennis player Veronica Cardenas is just one of the many.

For her efforts in the classroom, the athletic coaching major was honored as a 2009 scholar-athlete by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). To earn the honor, student-athletes must be a varsity letterwinner and own a grade- point average of 3.5 or above on a 4.0 scale. Cardenas was also honored by the con-

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Men’s Basketball

At the 2009 WVU men’s basketball postseason banquet, freshman forward Devin Ebanks received the Most Improved Player award, as voted on by his teammates.

Mountaineer fans may be wondering how a freshman could be named Most Improved Player when he’s only been in Morgantown for one season. Well, if you look at the numbers, it’s not hard to figure out why he received the nod from his peers.

Starting 34 of 35 games in his first year, Ebanks averaged 5.8 points in his first six games, and had two games

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where he didn’t score a point in his first 10 games as a Mountaineer. In the final 16 games of the season, mostly against BIG EAST competition, the Long Island City, N.Y., native recorded 14 games in double figures, averaging 13 points with five double-doubles in that span. Ebanks also registered his best games with 20 points against Pitt and followed that performance with a career-high 22 points against Syracuse in BIG EAST Tournament games. Also in the BIG EAST Tournament, he had a career-high 18 rebounds in the opening game against Notre Dame.

Ebanks was named to the BIG EAST all-rookie team at the end of the regular season, becoming WVU’s fourth men’s basketball player to be named to the team. For his performances in the BIG EAST tournament, where he averaged nearly 19 points and more than eight rebounds, he was named to the BIG EAST all-tournament team.

For the season, Ebanks averaged 10.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He grabbed 273 total rebounds and was just six rebounds shy of the WVU freshman rebounding record, set by Warren Baker in 1974.

Heading into his sophomore season, watch for Ebanks to improve in each game of the season, and he could possibly be voted Most Improved Player again by his teammates at next year’s banquet.

GEORGE FARQUHAR Swimming

After a year of adjustment, West Virginia men’s swimming senior George Farquhar will look to have a breakout year with the Mountaineers this season.

The Queensland, Australia, native came to Morgantown after spending two years as a standout swimmer at University of Queensland, where he took first in the 50 breast, 100 breast and 200 breast at the 2006 Australian University Games.

At the 2008 Australian Olympic Trials, Farquhar was a finalist in the 50 breast and 200 breast. He is not the only one in the water for the Farquhar family - his sister, Sally, is a member of the Australian U-20 Women’s Water Polo team.

As a first-year swimmer at WVU last season, Farquhar had impressive swims at the BIG EAST Championships, as he placed second in the 100 breast and helped the 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay teams to third-place finishes.

Not only is Farquhar a top swimmer, he also has one of the top GPA’s on the men’s team and is working toward a degree in civil engineering.

With the loss of All-America swimmers Pablo Marmolejo and Michael Walker, the team will be relying on Farquhar’s leadership abilities with a top 25 recruiting class coming in on the men’s side.

The men’s team will open its season Oct. 24, at Penn State at 1 p.m.

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RYAN GOODMAN Wrestling

The moment the lights dim and the referee blows his whistle, redshirt sophomore Ryan Goodman crouches and gets into position. The West Virginia University wrestler’s name does not carry the same prominence as that of Greg Jones, but Goodman still fights tooth and nail with the best, night in and night out.

When the Latrobe, Pa., native is off the mat and not donning his blue singlet, it’s difficult to point him out as a wrestler. A clean cut, wellspoken character, he is your typical college student who hangs out with friends and occasionally plays golf.

Goodman has become the Mountaineers’ reliable 157-pound starter. Although he entered the season in battle for the position, he eventually won out and proved to the coaching staff that it was the right decision. He won three-straight matches against Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) opponents to help WVU to its 8-4-2 overall record and go 4-0-2 in league action.

Entering the EWL Championships, Goodman had a tough task ahead of him in order to qualify for the NCAA Championships – place third. He won his first match, but was met with a challenge when he squared off against the nation’s No. 1 wrestler at 157 pounds. Despite dropping a close bout, he regained his composure to win the next two matches and take third.

Although Goodman did not finish his freshman campaign with a splash at the NCAA Championships, look for him to come back in 2009-10 ready to build on what he has started and make a name for himself.

AHNA LEWIS Cross Country

W E S T V I R G I N I A M O U N TA I N E E R S

It looks to be an exciting year for the West Virginia University cross country team as it returns two All-Americans and several of its top runners after a historic finish in 2008.

Seniors Keri Bland and MarieLouise Asselin return after earning their second consecutive All-America honors, as well as Clara Grandt, who went on to earn All-America honors in track in the 10K. Also returning this season is redshirt sophomore Ahna Lewis, a hometown talent who has a bright future in the sport.

With several of the nation’s top

runners on the same team, Lewis stood out on both the national and regional level last season as she finished 163rd with time of 21:41 at the NCAA Championship race to aid the Mountaineers in their momentous fourth-place showing.

At the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals, Lewis raced to a 15thplace finish with a time of 22:09 to be named to the Mid-Atlantic All-Region team. She also placed at the BIG EAST Championship, where she crossed the line 22nd (21:17).

Lewis has worked hard in the offseason and now is looking to be a top runner for the WVU cross country team as it contends for the national title this season. Racing is set to begin for the Mountaineers on Sept. 5, when they travel to Princess Anne, Md., for a competition at Maryland Eastern Shore.

Look for Lewis to continue the tradition of great Mountaineer runners this season, as she builds on the team’s success and her own, working to follow in the footsteps of this year’s upperclassmen.

MEGAN MISCHLER Women’s Soccer

Take a glance at women’s soccer forward Megan Mischler this season and one can’t help but notice her gleaming smile stretching from ear to ear. And after everything that the Moon Township, Pa., resident has been through recently, it’s clear why.

Her happiness comes from an appreciation of the sport that was rediscovered while being forced to watch her teammates from the sideline.

You see, it was 11 months ago when the speedy forward missed the final eight games of the 2008 season with a broken fibula.

Mischler, WVU’s leading scorer at the time, chased hard after a ball and collided with Connecticut goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe, sending both players to the ground. Mischler quickly grabbed her leg, knowing there was bone damage and her season was likely done.

Forced into a boot on her lower left leg, the journalism major could only watch as her team won a conference division title and headed into postseason play. Despite the abrupt end to her sophomore campaign, Mischler still was named to the all-BIG EAST third team.

She didn’t necessarily like that. Mischler knew the recognition was deserved but the high-level competitor wanted to be on the field sweating and grinding it out with her teammates.

Instead, the winter months came and Mischler was ready to go, only to have to wait for the spring season to begin for her craving to be satisfied.

Mischler rebounded with a productive spring season, leading the Mountaineers offensively. And her goal-scoring ability separates Mischler as one of the top forwards in the conference, something coach Nikki Izzo-Brown will rely on this fall.

As WVU continues its streak of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, it will ride the play of a healthy Mischler in pursuit of a College Cup appearance.

KARI POST Volleyball

In what could be argued as the most important position on the court in a volleyball game, the setter is the backbone of the offense. She must coordinate all offensive movements and decide who will attack the ball, and in the fast-paced game of college volleyball, this player must be an excellent leader who can take control.

That is just the kind of player the West Virginia University volleyball team has in sophomore setter Kari Post, a natural born leader with lots of talent. A Yuba City, Calif., native, Post earned the starting position as a true freshman. In just one season, she led WVU with 564 assists, and was third on the team with 204 digs. She also posted an outstanding 10 double-doubles on the season, with her first in the Mountaineers’ defeat over UNC Greensboro, where she recorded 44 assists and 17 digs.

At the WVU Classic, the team saw another breakout performance from Post, as she aided the Mountaineers to a perfect 3-0 record, with 115 assists and 48 digs to be named tournament MVP. With one successful season behind her, Post is now preparing for 2009 with high expectations for herself and her team.

This year the Mountaineers are primed for a 30-match schedule, which includes 14 home matches and two home tournaments, as they work to make the BIG EAST tournament.

Look for the talented young setter to continue to improve this season as the backbone of the WVU offense and a Mountaineer to follow.

LIZ REPELLA

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Women’s Basketball

Need a timely basket or a much-needed rebound? Liz Repella is your player. Need her to show her peers how it’s also done off the court and in the classroom. Repella has a grasp on that too.

A native of Steubenville, Ohio, Repella owns a 3.95 GPA in exercise physiology and her athletic prowess is equally as impressive. Last season, the 5-foot-11-inch guard scored a team-best 543 points, a 16.5 points per game average, and tallied a squad-high 268 rebounds. She became just the fourth Mountaineer in school history to tally 500 points and

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250 rebounds in the same season.

An all-BIG EAST second team performer last year on the court, it’s not surprising at all that Repella was an ESPN The Magazine/ CoSIDA Academic All-District II first teamer.

After all, Repella is WVU’s student-athlete poster child.

ALEX SILVA Men’s Soccer

Sophomore Alex Silva might not be a household name around the Morgantown community, but the West Virginia University men’s soccer player is slowly becoming a spectacle to whom fans need to give their undivided attention.

Off the field, Silva is a quiet and humble character. He’s another face in the crowd simply because he does not do anything to make himself stand out.

However, watch him on the field at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium and the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, native is anything but your typical player. With the ball at his feet, it’s as though the two are attached by super glue.

As he begins to dribble down the field, the moves he creates leaves the crowd in awe – often causing fans to drop their jaws.

The best part of Silva’s game, though, might be his ability to pinpoint his shots on net. He first put his ability on display in front of a national audience in Storrs, Conn., when he scored his first career goal, a game-winner, against No. 7-ranked Connecticut for the 1-0, upset victory. Less than two weeks later against No. 22-ranked Ohio State, Silva laced a free kick into the top corner of the net for the game-winning score.

As Silva laces up his cleats for the 2009 campaign, fans need to make sure they do not lose track of the soccer standout. His dazzling style of play is sure to keep fans on the edge of their seats, constantly wanting more.

JARRYD SUMMERS Baseball

With West Virginia’s highpowered lineup gaining national notoriety after shattering several offensive marks last year, it is often forgotten that the pitching staff will boast plenty of proven and potent arms in 2010.

Designated as the team’s ace will be junior pitcher Jarryd Summers, a strongarmed 6-foot-5, 220 pound right-hander with a blazing fastball that often reaches the low 90’s. The returning

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all-BIG EAST first team member went 7-3 with a 3.06 ERA in 2009, and nearly became the first Mountaineer to record triple-digit strikeouts since 2003 as he registered 99 K’s on the season.

Summers finished atop the conference in several pitching categories, leading the BIG EAST in ERA and doubles allowed (8), while finishing in the top five in opposing batting average (.239), strikeouts, wins, games started (14), runs allowed (41) and innings pitched (94.1).

Also included in his banner season were nine quality starts, two complete games and several in-season and postseason accolades for one of the east coast’s top throwers. Summers was selected as the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week on March 9, 2009, was named to the College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Year Watch List, earned a spot on the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings all-East Region first team and finished as an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference second team all-star.

With an impressive body frame that will only get stronger, look for Summers to build off his breakthrough sophomore season as he anchors a pitching staff that loses just one letterwinner from last year.

RACHEL VIGLIANCO Rowing

The West Virginia University rowing team has worked hard over the past few years to become a national contender, and in only its eighth season as a sport at WVU, the Mountaineers are continuing to improve.

Last season, the Mountaineers finished eighth in the BIG EAST and captured several top finishes throughout the year, including a Varsity 4+ boat first-place showing at the first-ever home regatta held on the Monongahela River.

The Mountaineers also proved that they excel in the classroom, as four were named National Scholar Athletes by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association. One of those student athletes was Rachel Viglianco, a secondary education and Italian major, who is a significant contributor to the Varsity 8+ boat.

The St. Albans, W.Va., native has been on the Dean’s and President’s List all four semesters at WVU and was the recipient of the Virginia Butts Sturm Undergraduate Scholarship, awarded to an outstanding sophomore English major. She was also given the WV Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership (HOBY) Sara Gwisdalla Award for most service hours, accumulating 333 hours in a span of one year.

Her efforts are tireless in the classroom and in competition, as Viglianco strives to help the WVU rowing team to become one of the top programs in the country. This season, watch for the Mountaineers to reach new heights with leaders such as Viglianco.

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BRYANT WALLIZER Rifle

Redshirt senior Bryant Wallizer returns for his second and final year with the defending national champion WVU rifle team as the squad’s true leader, armed with a summer’s worth of national experience and ready to help the Mountaineers win their nation-best 15th NCAA title.

The Little Orleans, Md., native and Murray State transfer made an immediate impact on the squad last season, emerging as the Mountaineers’ most dependable air rifle shooter and ending the year with a 588.79 gun average. For his efforts, Wallizer was named an NRA first team air rifle All-American.

Wallizer’s name is now all over the Mountaineer record book – aggregate score (1172), team air rifle (2359) and team aggregate (4677).

Most importantly, Wallizer showed that he is a proven bigmatch shooter. With a second place air rifle finish (691) at the NCAA Championship, and a third place showing (692.3) at the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) Championship, the natural resources and agriculture and economics major has shown that when a title is on the line, he is a reliable Mountaineer.

Wallizer capped off a brilliant 2008-09 season winning the air rifle title at the USA Shooting National Championships at Fort Benning’s International Shooting Complex in June. The win automatically qualifies him for the US National Development Team.

With goals still in sight, and experience and confidence on his side, expect Wallizer to keep his aim focused and to use his leadership to push the Mountaineers toward a repeat national title.

KATELYN WILLIAMS Track & Field

For members of the West Virginia University track and field team, the season extends past the regular semesters when school is in session. It is an endless cycle that continues throughout the summer with one main goal – to be the best.

Junior high jumper Katelyn Williams knows all about competing with the best and striving to be the best, after making a trip to the Canadian Championships in Toronto in June. There, the Chesterland, Ohio, native posted an excellent finish, as she cleared 1.70-meters in inclement weather to tie for fourth.

In her first season with the Mountaineers, Williams did not

waste any time in making a name for herself, tying for third (1.75 meters) at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships and placing 11th with a jump of 1.71 meters at the NCAA East Outdoor Regionals.

Her success continued into the 2008 season, with a 10th-place (1.60-meters) showing at the conference championship. She also stood out for the Mountaineers at the Penn State National Invitational, where she took first place with a jump of 1.71-meters.

With the experience that Williams has gained on all levels of competition in just two years, look for her to go even further in the 2009 season.

REED WILLIAMS Football

One thing West Virginia football has always been known for is its hard-hitting, blue-collar, bust-you-in-themouth style of defense.

Redshirt senior middle linebacker Reed Williams, a Moorefield, W.Va., native, exemplifies all of those characteristics, and with all of the other intangibles, on-and-offthe-field, he is the poster boy to represent the defense and the WVU football program.

In the classroom, Williams is a model student, earning ESPN The Magazine Academic AllAmerica first-team honors in 2007 and a degree in finance. He is currently working on a second degree in marketing and has a 3.87 GPA. He is a Dean’s List student, member of the Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll, belongs to several honor societies and is a member of the junior board of directors for Huntington Bank.

In the community, Williams has taken part in many service projects. He has spent time with the Boys and Girls Clubs, participated in reading days, visited WVU Children’s Hospital, worked with Special Olympics and he’s been the keynote speaker at banquets.

Being a leader on a football team sometimes requires a person to make tough decisions. Last year was no different as Williams was confronted with the toughest decision he has ever faced.

Williams earned a starting role in the WVU defense as a sophomore and became one of the defensive playmakers. The next season, he led the team in tackles (107), assisted tackles (59) and forced fumbles (3) and was the defensive MVP of the Fiesta Bowl.

However, Williams was playing with two bad shoulders and had to have them surgically repaired during the offseason. The surgery went well, but the recovery took longer than anticipated. He was very limited during preseason camp, and it carried over into the season.

Knowing that the team needed him, Williams hurried the recovery process and was in the lineup for game three.

He played two games before realizing his shoulders needed more time to heal and to get stronger before being able to take the field again so he decided to redshirt.

In the long run, the decision was for the best, as Williams was able to assist his teammates from the sidelines, while taking the time to let his shoulders heal properly and build up his strength.

He now is healthy and ready to lead the defense from the middle once again.

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By Jay Redmond ight now, he might be the best college quarterback nobody knows.

Come December, he hopes to be the one everybody’s talking about.

Jarrett Brown has something to prove — to the fans, to the media, to the college football world, but mostly, to himself.

And he’s ready to start — right now.

“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long, long time,” said Brown. “I’m ready to show people what I can do.”

After four years of toting water for Pat White, Brown assumes control of a West Virginia football team with an offensive system perfectly suited to his skills. What he lacks in experience he makes up for in confidence — and an imposing presence. He’s a physical freak—6-feet-4-inches, 220 pounds - and can run a 4.4 40-yard dash. While not as elusive as some, his long strides let him cover ground quickly, and because of his size, he won’t hesitate to run over opponents. He has a cannon for an arm and can make every throw in the book — and then some. He’s so gifted athletically that he could have landed a scholarship just about anywhere for football or basketball.

But at this point, other than clearly passing the eye test, Brown has little to show for his time in Morgantown. Mountaineer fans remember his spectacular performance in West Virginia’s three-overtime heart-stopping victory against Rutgers when he was just a redshirt freshman and all the marbles were on the table. They’d like to forget last year’s Syracuse game when he played poorly — and was judged unfairly — in a game in which he probably shouldn’t have played at all. Still, he managed to win that contest, subbing for a more-injured White, and owns a 2-0 record as a starter.

So it’s no wonder that few outside the Mountaineer Nation hardly know who he is.

He’s thrown only 125 passes since coming to WVU, and just 38 all of last year, 20 of them in that Syracuse game, which followed an odd experiment as a short-yardage back that left him battered — and almost fried — for the remainder of the season.

At the 2009 BIG EAST media day, he was almost a curiosity and garnered little attention apart from being asked what it was like to replace one of, if not the, greatest player in school history. Even the Mountaineer publicity machine is struggling with establishing his credibility, proudly proclaiming that he is tied

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with White for career passing completion percentage on what has to be the most preposterous —though accurate — plaque ever hung in the Puskar Center. A quick investigation of the upcoming college football season online finds Brown listed as a “sleeper” or “quarterback to watch” on some sites, and not listed at all on others.

It seems you just can’t get much respect as a senior with little experience following a legend. So what’s a guy to do?

“The past few years I’ve been working hard in practice, making plays in practice, and the world hasn’t been able to see that,” Brown said. “I guess you could call me a sleeper (laughed). I’ve had my moments but I haven’t proven I can do it for a whole season.”

But this is another year, his final year, and a last chance to make his mark with the faithful, who for the most part, have politely applauded his brief appearances since he arrived in 2005. While fans sense, certainly hope and maybe pray that Brown can perform consistently at a high level, they have little to judge him on since most of his time on the field has been spent mopping up, long after the verdict was in. Had White never been injured, there’s little doubt he would be opening his senior season with exactly zero career starts.

No amount of coachspeak is going to convince fans or college football in general that Brown is the real deal. That’s up to the man from West Palm Beach, Fla., who has the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of one of the most successful quarterbacks in NCAA history. What everyone is looking for

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— and Brown intends to deliver — is a repeat, maybe many repeats, of that cold December night in 2006.

“Actually, I knew the whole week it was a possibility I’d start against Rutgers,” recalled Brown. “But they didn’t tell me until right before kickoff. I thought I was ready. I was very confident, but the thing that made me perform so well was that I didn’t really know what was at stake. I just went out and played because I was so young. I didn’t realize until last year just how important winning that game was.” In a history-making moment, Brown won the battle of top-20 teams with an injured White watching from the sidelines.

“I can play like that again. I’m planning on it, and so should the fans. I’m going to surprise people.”

What Brown lacks in statistics and accolades over the course of the last four years he’s made up for with impressive patience, especially in this era of immediate gratification. He easily could have left the program and headed for greener pastures with playing time. He’s plenty good enough. But rather than run, he stayed — and waited his turn.

“I always told myself to keep focused on the bigger picture,” Brown explained. “Yeah, I could have left but how would a new coach treat me? Would I be able to fit in the environment? I’m good here, that’s why I came here. I’ve got my guys around me, I love the offense, I’ve got Noel (Devine) in the backfield, I’ve got great receivers. You can’t ask for a better situation.

“While I was being the back-up I was telling myself I had to do all the things to get ready so when I step on the field it will be like this (snapped his finger). It’ll be natural.”

Looking for an additional edge, Brown has spent plenty of his time off the field trying to become a true student of the game. On a recent day at the Puskar Center, he arrived with wires hanging from his ears and an electronic device in his hand, not unlike many players who walk through the building’s doors. But unlike many players, Brown wasn’t listening to his favorite hits. Instead, he was watching and listening to a video on You Tube, a video of New England Patriots All-Pro quarterback Tom Brady.

“I try to study successful quarterbacks and learn what has helped make them successful,” said Brown. “It’s not always just watching them in games either. I like to hear them talk about football. I like to hear them share

their thoughts about the game, listen to the advice they give. There’s a lot you can learn from that.”

Beyond his physical skills, hard work and keen desire to succeed, nothing will factor more into the likelihood of Brown achieving his dream of being a top college quarterback than his ability to make the right decisions in the heat of the moment. After the spring game, this year coach Bill Stewart mildly questioned a few of his decisions, pointing out the delicate balance between trying to make plays and properly protecting the football. Brown understands that balance, but also understands his own skill at execution.

“You know the thing about it, I tried a few plays in the spring game that they didn’t like too well, but those are the plays I make in practice,” Brown said. “I can’t really do anything about that. Things happen fast out there and you can’t hesitate, you have to make a decision now. So it’s a good play if I can make it.”

To help him and all the quarterbacks with the decision-making process ,

offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jeff Mullen employs a system he calls PCP, which stands for ‘protection, coverage, play.’ Brown explained, “You have to be able to signal in the play, come up to the line, set your protection, see the coverage and execute the play. The faster you do that, the quicker your decision is made, and the better chance you have for the play to succeed. The faster you can process the information, the better off you are.”

The opportunity for Brown to finally show-

FRONT ROW MAGA ZINE/FALL 2009

case his abilities on a national stage — and do it as a Mountaineer — would never have arrived if it weren’t for his close relationship with JaJuan Seider, a former Mountaineer quarterback and now graduate assistant who coached Brown for three years at Palm Beach Lake High. Acquainted with Brown and his family for many years, Seider took Brown under his wing and helped him explore schools outside his native Florida. With Seider’s help, Brown was able to attend summer football camp in Morgantown at which Seider worked. That led to numerous recruiting visits and an eventual offer from West Virginia that Brown accepted. Since that time, Seider has become a mentor to Brown and his closest confidant in Morgantown.

But only luck truly made Brown a Mountaineer. His goal was to stay in Florida, but circumstances at Miami, Florida State, and Florida (and unsubstantiated questions about his academic potential) caused all three schools to withhold a scholarship offer. NC State was in the mix, but with West Virginia there from the beginning because of Seider’s relationship with the WVU coaching staff, Brown’s choice was easier. Still, Seider’s main concern was helping Brown find a place where he was comfortable and could play.

“The main thing for Jarrett was to find out where he could go and see himself happy,” said Seider. “My biggest thing was helping him find a school with a depth chart that gave him an opportunity to play. Maybe not in his first year, but in his second and third year, that’s what we looked at. At the time, Rasheed Marshall was getting

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ready to leave, and Pat White was a redshirt freshman. Nobody knew Pat White was going to be that good.”

As fate would have it, White burst onto the scene, grabbed the quarterback job, and never let go. It’s an irony not lost on Seider, who watched Marc Bulger do the same thing to him after his arrival in Morgantown.

“It’s the same situation I went through. You have to get a jump on the quarterback job or it’s hard to get it back,” Seider said. “Who knows where he (Jarrett) would be now if he had played full-time the past three years. If he would have got the jump on Pat and got the starting job we might be talking about him like we talk about Pat. “But that’s just how it goes, and it’s made it so special in the success that we’ve had. We

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were able to run Pat a lot and do a lot of things with Pat because we knew if something were to happen we had Jarrett Brown behind him ready to get us through a game.”

Unlike Brown, Seider ended up transferring to Florida A&M for his senior season where he became an All-American and led his team to the national semi-finals before being drafted by the San Diego Chargers and playing in the NFL until knee problems cut short his career. As Brown continues to seek his advice and guidance, it’s an experience he hopes the new Mountaineer quarterback can learn from.

“It’s easy for me to be someone he can talk to; we’ve known each other a long time,” said Seider. “I coached him for three years, so he’s not just a player to me, he’s more like a brother. When things were rough, he had me to lean on because I went through the same situation.

“I can push him in a way others might not be able to. He knows what I say is coming from the heart. I’ve played at the highest level, and that’s where he wants to be, so he listens because he wants to be like me, and he carries himself like me because he wants to be like me. The connection is always going to be there. I will always have his best interests at heart.”

What frustrates Brown the most isn’t the fact that it took four years for him to finally get his opportunity. What grates at him is knowing — and believing — that he could have done everything expected of him all along.

“You know what the most frustrating thing was about having to watch on Saturdays?

Knowing that I could go out and win the game,” said Brown. “I knew what to do. I knew the game plan. It was that simple for me. It’s like ‘I can do that,’ but I have to sit and watch.

That hurt. That hurt a lot.”

Nothing better illustrates Brown’s mettle than last year’s costly experiment at power back. The fact that he would risk it all to accept the challenge of solving an offensive weakness shows you just what kind of team player he really is. And nothing better illustrates the confidence his teammates and coaches have in his ability than a visit to the Puskar Center where people are smiling and players from

Alabama are no longer discussed.

For Brown, nothing has been easy, and it’s not about change anytime soon. He’s got a chip on his shoulder from way back; a chip with a long, long list on it; a chip he intends to remove with his performance this season. It’s easy to believe him when he insists he’s ready, willing and able. But with only two starts to his credit, inheriting the leadership of one of college football’s most successful programs of recent, from the hands of one of its all-time greatest players, will be a monumental task.

As if he needed more, in the ultimate test of Brown’s prowess, his first start ever on the road will be at rabid Auburn, and takes place in the sixth-largest venue in college football.

Still, none of it fazes him in the slightest.

He’s never second guessed his decision to attend WVU, or his decision to stay when things didn’t go quite his way. Instead, he’s focused exclusively on preparing for the moment when his time would come.

That moment is here, and Jarrett Brown is ready — right now.

“I’m not scared at all. I’m ready. This is like that big exam you’re about to take. You’ve been studying for it, and studying for it. So there are no worries.”

Jay Redmond is a Morgantown businessman and frequent contributor to Front Row. He has operated the scoreboard at the WVU Coliseum and Milan Puskar Stadium for more than 30 years.

W E S T V I R G I N I A M O U N TA I N E E R S

he great athletes are always chasing. When one goal gets accomplished, another one is created. The words “comfortable,” “status quo” and “satisfaction” are not in their vocabulary.

By Adam Zundell FRONT ROW MAGA ZINE/FALL 20 09

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West Virginia senior midfielder Carolyn Blank is chasing.

She’s not after awards or accolades, although she’s certainly collected those along the way.

No, she’s in pursuit of feelings – some new, and some old. She wants that same rush of electricity that she felt when she and her teammates hoisted the 2007 BIG EAST Championship trophy after knocking off rival Notre Dame in penalty kicks. That same sense of anxiety and anticipation that panged in the pit of her stomach when well over 3,000 fans packed Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium for WVU’s first-ever Elite 8 game against USC on a frigid Morgantown night. And she’s in pursuit of what it feels like to make a national semifinal, what kind of amazing sensations would be attached to walking off the field with the ultimate prize in her sport.

All of us are encouraged to dream big, and those

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dreams are most vivid when emotion is attached. It’s the diffference between saying you want to be an astronaut and knowing what it feels like to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere.

As mentioned, Blank has big dreams that are reinforced by sensations that can only be derived from keeping score. Few are able to match their work ethic to their aspirations, but Blank is one of those few. In fact, it’s one of the things that attracted her to West Virginia’s soccer program.

“I remember during the recruiting process that Nikki (IzzoBrown) told me that if you don’t want to work harder than you ever have before, then don’t come here,” Blank recalled. “That’s what I still tell recruits when they come in today. Hard work is what this program is built on.”

Blank came to WVU after a decorated club career and stints with youth national teams. Like many kids, she grew up knowing what season it was based on what sport was being played, but she excelled in soccer. In junior high school, she moved from her local Toms River, N.J., club team to the more prestigious PDA team, which sealed her commitment to the sport. It’s a difficult lesson for a 13- or 14-year old to learn, but when you have to travel an hour and 10 minutes to and from practice, you quickly learn sacrifice.

“I knew that if I wanted to get to that next level that it was what I had to do,” Blank said of the move. “It was hard because it was soccer, soccer, soccer. I didn’t mind it because I loved the sport and didn’t mind sacrificing.”

That attitude made her a perfect match for WVU. Blank had opportunities to play all over the country, including some offers close to her New Jersey home, but something in her wanted a new environment, teammates and friends – all of which she found in Morgantown.

Her first season in Morgantown also found her playing a new position. Primarily a central midfielder, she got her opportunity as an outside back and started all 21 games for the Mountaineers.

She moved back to her natural defensive midfielder position in her sophomore season and has continued to be in the starting lineup for every game WVU has played since.

Despite the absence of gaudy stats, Blank’s impact on the game is undeniable, but you have to see it to believe it. She’s not the tallest player on the field, but excels in the air and wins balls to stop attacks before they even start. With her hair spraying out of her pony tail and her shirt untucked, you wouldn’t expect her to be in complete command in the middle of the field with the ball at her feet, directing traffic and choosing the point of attack. Even though her high-energy personality comes through in a conversation, you wouldn’t expect someone who smiles so quickly and easily to grind on the field for 90 minutes.

If numbers or appearances don’t tell the complete story, the honors do; She was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year last season and earned second team All-America honors. But Blank would be the last person to bring those honors up in a discussion as she talks only about how to push this year’s team to its potential. Her competitive edge makes its way to the surface as she crinkles her face and pounds her fist into her hand when talking about the team’s six ties last season. As a senior, she recites all of the lessons learned that she tries to impart on the newcomers.

“All of our players have competed at a high level and have won huge tournaments before they even got to WVU,” she said. “We

W E S T V I R G I N I A M O U N TA I N E E R S

ikki Izzo-Brown is always after the next victory. Because that razor-sharp focus is on what’s next, trying to get her to reflect about particular wins or moments of her standout career is like trying to catch a fly with chop sticks. She earned her first career win at West Virginia Wesleyan in 1995 and she’ll capture her 200th win this fall, but once the whistle sounds, she’ll immediately be trying to figure out how to get the 201st.

Many things have changed since Izzo-Brown arrived in Morgantown in 1996 to start the West Virginia women’s soccer program from scratch. She no longer shares a supply closet office with a tennis coach. What was once a soccer field with a few bleachers is now a soccer stadium. What has remained the same since day one, though, is Izzo-Brown and her work ethic that is the successful foundation for the women’s soccer program at WVU. “I think I have a very good relationship with the players and that I’m a ‘players’ coach,’” Izzo-Brown said. “But when there is work to be done, work is going to get done.

We can have fun on the field, but the work will get done.”

Izzo-Brown, who has never had a losing season in her 14 years as a head coach, catches no player off-guard with her intensity and what is required to be a part of a championship-caliber program.

“I always stress to recruits that there’s going to be some level of intensity and hard work that they’ll have to figure out,” she said. “Sometimes you create a wrong picture of how hard it’s going to be, but it’s the right picture because you get the right kids.”

There’s no arguing that Izzo-Brown has landed the right kids as All-Americans are annually replaced by All-Americans. She has put the program together piece by piece with the addition of scholarships, staffing and facilities, namely Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. She references the 2007 Elite 8 game against USC in front of thousands of fans as tangible evidence of just how far the program has come from its days playing in a hollow Mountaineer Field in 1996.

Nikki Izzo-Brown has piled up win after win, but she hardly enjoys any of them because she’s always worried about the next. There’s one victory, though, that will truly bring satisfaction, and it has nothing to do with a particular number or milestone.

“Until you have won out your season and have that national championship, you’re not satisfied,” she said. “All I’m looking for is not to lose and end on a win.” - AZ

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just need to ingrain in them that winning the BIG EAST and advancing in the NCAA tournament are amazing feelings that go beyond what they’ve done before, and we need to go after that.

“Every time you play, it’s important for the end of the season,” she continued.

“We tied some games that we should’ve won and that hurt us when it came to the NCAA tournament and seeding last year.”

Conveying lessons comes natural for the special education major and BIG EAST Academic All-Star. But things haven’t always come easy for Blank in the classroom, which is precisely what draws her to the teaching profession.

“I’ve struggled with school – I’ve always had to do extra,” she admitted. “I want to be a teacher to help those students who had the same struggles as I did and help them on a daily basis.”

Her teaching career may have to be put on hold, though, as professional soccer will likely be something else for Blank to pursue after her days as a Mountaineer are over.

“I know I only have a few years to play soccer,” she said. “I see Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) and see so many of my peers at that level that it gives me confidence that I can do it, too.”

Carolyn Blank makes lists every day so she knows what to do and what she’s done. She marks them off methodically as each one is taken care of. Each day brings new challenges and achievements. Each day brings something new to chase.

Adam Zundell, a frequent contributor to Front Row, is the Sports Information Director at Fairmont State University.

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The Right Time

By Ira Green

Time. In some cases, it can be your best friend. When a dreaded speech or deadline is approaching, all the time in the world can make a difference. In other cases, it can be your biggest enemy. If a team is trailing, players constantly look at the scoreboard to see how much time is remaining to try to mount a miraculous comeback. In soccer, where offense comes at a premium, the counting clock becomes a huge part of the game.

For West Virginia University men’s soccer goalkeeper Zach Johnson, time relates to a plethora of subjects. On the field, it’s how long he has to react to a shot or how much longer he has to defend the net

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before collecting a win. Off the pitch, the word means how much longer until he can put on his red goalkeeper shirt, lace up his Nike shoes and prove that the Mountaineers’ 2008 campaign was nothing but a hoax.

“I’m definitely ready to get back out there,” Johnson said. “It was kind of an embarrassing season and not one that I want to remember. It left a bad taste in my mouth. I’m ready to get out there and show everybody that it was just a fluke. It was a rebuilding season and West Virginia is back. We’re going to come out flying, surprise people and put together a solid season.”

Although the Mountaineers finished with a 5-9-5 overall record – an usual mark given the team’s success in the past years – the team still experienced high points throughout and at the end of the season. WVU upset No. 7-ranked Connecticut, 1-0, on the road in a na-

tionally televised match. The Mountaineers also toppled 22nd-ranked Ohio State, 1-0, giving WVU wins over Top 25 ranked opponents in less than a two-week span. At the end of the year, Johnson was named the 2008 BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year; he also was selected to the all-BIG EAST first team.

Despite his individual achievements, Johnson is quick to deflect the majority of his success to the line in front of him.

“I felt like I had a pretty good season last year,” Johnson commented. “Defensively, our team was solid.

We were probably one of the best in the nation. A lot of my success had to do with the defense in front of me. It was big for me coming off my first season and being able to follow that up with another good season. We had a strong defensive line so it definitely made my job easier.”

Nevertheless, Johnson is clearing his mind of the past and looking ahead to what the future holds.

“This has to be a big year for us. With the BIG EAST semifinals and final coming to Morgantown, I can guarantee you none of us wants to be sitting in the stands, watching four other teams play on our home field for the BIG EAST Championship,” Johnson said. We want to be there and we want to be playing in front of our home crowd for the title.

That’s going to be big throughout the season. That’s going to be in our minds as we go through the season.”

As great of a motivating tool as that will be, expect Johnson to be just as powerful of a spark on the 27-man roster. Now a junior, Johnson understands that as one of the upperclassmen, he not only needs to continue to be a respon-

FRONT ROW MAGA ZINE/FALL 20 09

sible teammate, but also shoulder more responsibility throughout the year.

He also has continued to make every last effort to improve individually, starting with help from assistant coach Mark Carr, who is in charge of the WVU goalkeepers. Johnson adamantly stated how he feels working directly with Carr has taken his game to the next level.

“Every day at practice, he takes us out and gives us a workout and that keeps my skills sharp; he keeps me on top of my game,” Johnson said. “He actually is out there pushing us through drills and getting our fitness up. It’s good having someone there who can work with you everyday and he definitely helps finetune my skills.”

Even with Carr’s guidance, Johnson, who has put together record seasons in back-to-back years, realizes he still has not reached his ultimate potential, which at the moment, seems as high as a mountain peak.

“You’re never as good as you think you are,” Johnson stated. “I know that I need to keep improving my play to be able to help the team out. I know there’s so much more I can learn about the game.

I need to keep growing to stay on top of everything.

“I think the big thing that I have to do is become a bigger and better leader – being able to take control of the back line and demanding respect more often.

I want to get my point across more often and get people to listen. With that, it should help me organize the defense better and take charge of the game.”

This summer, Johnson was invited to play with the Bradenton Academics, a squad in Bradenton, Fla., in the Professional Development League. Again, the Lumberton, N.J., native made the most of his opportunity. He started six matches, earning three wins, one via shutout, one tie and stopping 27 shots. While he knew it would be a great experience, he was always skeptical about possible fatigue before reaching the collegiate season.

“That was one of my concerns – I would be tired by the time the school season started, but I’m not at all,” Johnson stated. “I was able to split time with the goalkeeper down there. It was a good experience for me. It kept me in shape and it didn’t overwork me at all. I don’t feel drained. I feel like I’m coming

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into this season in the best shape I’ve been in my whole college career. I’m coming into the season ready to go. I just can’t wait for it to start.”

And Johnson has had every reason to be overly anxious about getting the season underway.

Prior to the start of the 2009 campaign, Johnson was named a second team preseason All-American

by CollegeSoccerNews. The recruiting class, for the first time in program history, was ranked in the Top 15 nationally by Soccer America and is loaded with offensive threats. Additionally, as Johnson alluded to earlier, the team knowingly is competing for a championship that will take place in its backyard. With senior leaders Jason Bristol, Ryan Gillespie and Maworere, the team, with-

out question, has the guidance to make this a banner year. And Johnson wants to make sure this squad sends the trio off in fashion.

“I feel the pressure to give them a ring on their way out,” Johnson said firmly. “I still have two years, so I still have a chance, but it’s a chance to get Gillespie, Bristol and Gift some hardware. I want to help them out and be able to deliver that to them.”

With all of the pieces in place – from highly touted freshman on the attack, to a solid midfield, one of the stingiest defensive units in the nation and arguably one of the best goalkeepers in the country – the Mountaineers are back on track to compete with the nation’s elite.

With the passing of each second on the clock, WVU is that much closer to being where it wants to be. The season of a lifetime is here. Johnson’s time is now – and the time is just right to seize the opportunity.

Ira Green is a graduate assistant in the West Virginia University Sports Communications office.

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The Cusp of Greatness

M

By Shannon McNamara

arathons are often likened to journeys – both long in time and distance; neither lacks of obstacles and both require stamina and persistence.

In a way, West Virginia University redshirt senior Clara Grandt and the Mountaineer cross country squad she leads have together crossed the peaks and been through the valleys of a shared journey toward the upper-echelon of the sport over the last four years. Now, both are prepared to cross the line of greatness never before breached by the program.

“I’ve always wanted to be a great runner, and to run for West Virginia is a great honor,” the West Union, W.Va., native began. “It’s nice to be able to pioneer the national program. There have been other national teams at WVU before, but this group has put together a consistent national contender.

“I really want to leave something behind for the next team members to look up to, with hopes that they can carry on this consistency.”

Grandt’s travels with the WVU cross country team have led her all over the mountain. As a WVU recruit out of Doddridge County High, Grandt watched the Mountaineers climb the ranks in 2004, win their first-ever Mid-Atlantic regional championship and finish 15th at the NCAA Championship. Coupled with the distance team’s recent success as part of the WVU track and field squad, Grandt knew that she was joining a program poised for years of glory.

“After talking to (coach) Sean Cleary, I knew I wanted to come here. I knew he could motivate me and he was ready to help me reach my goals,” Grandt said. “I wanted to do well in college. I wanted to bring the team to a new level.”

Cleary attests to the team’s high point prior to Grandt’s enrollment.

“When I recruited Clara, our program was at the absolute peak,” he said. “In no point in our program’s history were we ever better.”

Yet, attrition took its toll on the Mountaineers, and the 2005 season saw the team sink towards the back of the pack. Grandt, still nursing an injury sustained during her high school career, sat out the year with a redshirt.

“Clara hits our campus, and we sunk maybe 10 years,” Cleary explained. “The atmosphere surrounding the team was still pretty good, but the

FRONT ROW MAGA ZINE/FALL 20 09

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girls felt like they had let down the history of our program.”

A sour year did little to hurt the resolve of the Mountaineer rookies in 2006. Though Grandt had the fortune of being with the program for a year, that cross country season was her first opportunity to compete for WVU – and the exercise physiology major ran with the chance, joining forces with in-state newcomer Keri Bland and Canadian freshman Marie-Louise Asselin to form one of, if not the best, trios in Mountaineer history.

The threesome made an impact early, pushing the team to a sixth-place finish at the 2006 BIG EAST Championship.

More notable, the team made a swift recovery at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship, running to a fourthplace finish and once again standing among the best.

“Honestly, if there’s such a thing as overachieving, which I don’t really believe in, that team did it,” Cleary said with a lingering sense of amazement.

“I don’t like to say it, but they did overachieve. Fourth place – that just set the tone for the rest of their careers.”

The following season saw Asselin and Bland emerge as national-class runners, as they finished 19th and 24th, respectively, at the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championship and earned first team All-America honors; they

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became the first WVU duo to earn AllAmerica status in the same year.

The Mountaineers also crossed team hurdles that season, winning their first BIG EAST title and finishing a programbest ninth at the NCAA Championship.

Grandt, though not yet at the same level as her teammates, continued to make strides, earning sixth place at the regional championship and eighth at the league championship. Her presence within the track community began to grow as well, as she finished 14th in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Regional Championship and came within seconds of qualifying for the national championship.

“Clara began to emerge that season,” Cleary said. “She could smell the national class, but wasn’t quite there.”

Grandt said that witnessing the quick success Asselin and Bland achieved fueled her to push past her natural limit.

“We’re all very competitive with each other, so we all try to match each others’ goals,” she explained. “If one of us has a goal, the other two ask themselves, ‘Well, why can’t I get that, too?’ Watching them earn All-America honors was an incentive for me to work harder.”

Grandt’s hard work pushed her to the limit during the 2008 cross country campaign, as she finished third at the BIG EAST Cham-

pionship, two places behind champion Asselin, and sixth at the regional championship, where the Mountaineers tied for first place. Additionally, her 42ndplace finish at the NCAA Championship helped her squad finish fourth overall.

“When I look at Clara’s finish at BIG EAST last season, I think ‘Wow, two years ago this girl is walking around our campus with a broken leg, and now she’s in third place at the championship’,” Cleary marveled. “And then, she really separated herself.”

The coach alludes to Grandt’s 2009 outdoor track season, in which she both earned that elusive All-America honor and scored quality finishes at national races.

Hot all year, Grandt exploded once championship season opened, winning her first BIG EAST title with a 16:07.55 finish in the 5,000-meter race; the time goes down in the school’s record book as the third-best, behind All-American and Olympian Megan Metcalfe and Asselin. She followed that with a sixthplace finish (16:14.60) in the same race at May’s 2009 NCAA Outdoor Regional Track and Field Championships.

Though Grandt missed qualifying for the NCAA Championship in the 5,000, she did qualify for the 10,000-meter race on the strength of her school-record 33:16.96 finish at the Stanford Outdoor Track and Field Championship in March. Once in Fayetteville, Ark., Grandt finally grasped the elusive prize she had been chasing – an AllAmerica honor – awarded following her fourth-place, 33:45.16 finish.

“I didn’t really know the meaning of All-America before I came to WVU, but once I started talking to Sean about it, I started mak-

ing it one of my goals,” Grandt said with a laugh. “It was just awesome to win it. Once you realize what it means, and how hard you have to work for it, it’s just such a really big honor.

“I’m just happy and really proud that I was able to achieve that. It makes you proud to be from West Virginia and you were able to do that.”

From there, Grandt continued to roll, as she also finished 20th (34:13.76) in the 10,000-meter race at June’s USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. For her efforts all season long, Grandt was named the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the Year.

“Clara’s career could probably be defined as two steps up, one step back,” Cleary said. “The difference last track season is Clara continued to rise. She didn’t have a setback.

“I say this to Clara all of the time – she’s made tremendous mistakes over the last five years, as has anyone in college, but every time she makes one, she learns from it and she gets better. And that is the rarest of all qualities to have. You aren’t going to see her make the same mistakes over and over. She makes it, she puts her head down, she buries herself away for a few weeks and trains hard and she comes back.”

As the final year of her Mountaineer career quickly approaches, Grandt knows the time is now for her to feed off her track success and surge ahead during the 2009 cross country season.

“What I think about most is everything I still want to accomplish here, and this is my last chance to do everything,” she said. “So, I’m just going to try and go for it. I’m going to put everything into this season that I can.”

Grandt is not just concerned for her individual success – she knows that the triumphs she has experienced over the last four years are due to the support she receives from both Cleary and her team.

“One of my goals is to always improve every season. I never want to stay the same, or get worse,” she explained. “We (the cross country

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team) look at the mistakes we make during training, talk about what we can do better and work on those. We don’t see why we can’t do better than we did before and continue to improve.”

For his part, Cleary sees Grandt far surpassing any past expectations she once had.

“I have put it in her head for the last three years that I believe she can make it to the 2012 London Summer Olympics,” he said. “To tell someone who’s never won a meaningful college race, prior to her April BIG EAST win, that you think she can actually do something as great as to be one of the three greatest Americans in the marathon says that she has something special.

“In her mind, I think some of the successes she has attained in the last four or five months are allowing her to truly believe.”

“I would love to do the marathon – to be in London in 2012,” Grandt said thoughtfully. “I don’t see why I couldn’t at least be at the Trials.

It’s nuts to think about.

It’s still so hard to believe, but you have to believe it if you really want to do it. The more that I keep improving, the more I can believe that it is all a possibility.”

While the WVU cross country team’s marathon appears to be nearing its end, and the squad poised to fight for its first NCAA Championship, Grandt seems content to continue her journey once her days as a Mountaineer are over – through the peaks and the valleys, she is determined to see this race to the end.

Shannon McNamara is a graduate assistant in the West Virginia University Sports Communications office.

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DOING A GOOD THING

By Deborah Miller, J.D. • Director of Planned Giving, WVU Foundation, Inc.

“A

lot of things in my life tie back in with WVU Athletics,” said Lee Good, a 1976 WVU engineering graduate.

He’s certainly right about that.

His college job as the football team’s head manager meant he didn’t have to pay tuition at WVU. After graduating, he got his first job as a result of an athletics contact. In 2000, he set up a scholarship to support the football team. And his future wife is WVU’s long-time gymnastics coach, Linda Burdette.

Lee remembers that the idea for making the gifts to fund a football scholarship came from a message he saw on the scoreboard at a game. He hadn’t realized that such support was needed because of receiving tuition waivers years before. A change in procedures had made WVU’s Intercollegiate Athletic program a self-supporting program in the meantime.

Knowing it would make a difference, Lee and his brother, Andrew, also a WVU graduate, were pleased to set up the scholarship and name it for their father, who had always loved Mountaineer football. It seemed a fitting choice.

Lee Good and Linda Burdette

And where else did he meet Linda but at a football game? That’s exactly where it happened.

Lee, the owner of an HVAC design firm for larger commercial installations and an asbestos abatement company in northeastern Ohio, is

also interested in the future of WVU Athletics and has worked with his attorney to include gift provisions in his will that assure that the football, men’s basketball and women’s gymnastics programs will benefit.

“I’m providing for my family and for WVU Athletics because they’re both important in my life,” Lee said. “As WVU competes against everbigger schools, the support from fans gets to be more important, too.”

Doing that is as simple as having your attorney include the wording of “to the West Virginia University Foundation, Inc. for the benefit of the Mountaineer Athletic Club” in your will or revocable trust. Such special support can lead to membership in the Jerry West Society as well.

With a smile on his face, Lee mentions his future plans to split more of his time between work in Ohio and a home in Morgantown as he settles into married life. He’s excited about the efforts to expand and enhance the Cary Gym. It seems that since his favorite past-times involve a variety of athletic endeavors, Morgantown’s the perfect place to be.

COMPLIANCE UPDATE

By Deborah Miller, J.D. • Director of Planned Giving, WVU Foundation, Inc.

Hairston Hired As Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance

W

est Virginia U n i ve r s i t y Director of Athletics Ed Pastilong has announced that Patrick Hairston has been named Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance.

Hairston, a native of Williamson, W.Va., comes to WVU from Patrick Hairston the NCAA, where he served as Assistant Director of Championships since March 2008. At the NCAA, Hairston served as a manager for selected governing sports committees, administered championships and managed selected coaches’ associations and selected national governing bodies.

“We are extremely pleased to have Patrick Hairston join the Mountaineer family,” said Pastilong. “Patrick brings a great deal of experience with him, and he will be an outstanding leader of our compliance department.

“I would also like to thank Chad Wall and Jordan Blizzard, who have done an outstanding job

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during the past year. We believe we have a great staff to kick off the new academic year.”

From 2005-08, Hairston was Associate Athletics Director for Internal Operations at Delaware State. Some of his responsibilities included a wide range of supervisory duties, including oversight of compliance and sport administration.

Prior to Delaware State, Hairston served as an assistant commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) for six years. In that multifaceted position, he worked closely with member institutions in the areas of compliance, NCAA Certification, secondary and major NCAA rules violations, in addition to conducting compliance reviews and audits.

During his tenure at the WAC, Hairston oversaw the National Letter of Intent Program, Coaches Certification Test Program, the conference’s Student-Athlete Special Assistance and Student-Athlete Opportunity Funds, the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program, as well as crafted amendments to NCAA and conference legislation. He was the primary liaison for the conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and to the Faculty Athletic Representatives.

Hairston was also a source of expertise concerning conference and NCAA rules, not only providing written and verbal interpretation, but also developing and writing amendments to

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conference and NCAA legislation. In addition, he coordinated and conducted seminars concerning conference rules.

In 1998-99, Hairston served as a compliance coordinator and athletics academic advisor at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He held internships with the NCAA and was a graduate assistant in compliance at WVU. During his career, Hairston has had opportunities to serve on numerous NCAA compliance and governance committees.

“I’m excited to return to the great state of West Virginia” said Hairston. “It is a privilege and an honor to have an opportunity to work for West Virginia University. I look forward to working with the athletic department, coaches, faculty and staff and student-athletes to ensure we maintain institutional control by complying with NCAA rules and regulations. In addition, I want to support Ed Pastilong’s mission to have competitive teams and to ensure our studentathletes have the opportunity to reach their athletic and academic endeavors.”

Hairston holds a bachelor’s degree in human services from UNC-Charlotte and a master’s degree in sport management from West Virginia University. He is pursuing a doctorate degree in higher education leadership from Delaware State.

Patrick and wife Vanessa have two children, Patrick, Jr. and Faith.

DIGEST

T

140 Named BIG EAST Academic All-Stars

he BIG EAST Conference has selected 140 West Virginia University student-athletes as 2008-09 BIG EAST Academic AllStars, an increase of 30 student-athletes from last year.

The student-athletes selected represent 12 different sports at WVU. To be eligible for the honor, nominees must have competed in a BIG EAST-sponsored sport, earned a varsity letter, attained a minimum grade-point average of 3.00 for the preceding academic year and completed a minimum of two-consecutive semesters or three-consecutive quarters of academic work, with a total of 18 semester or 27 quarter credits.

All told, there are 2,662 honorees for the 2008-09 academic year throughout the entire league, an increase of 195 studentathletes from the 2,467 named for the 2007-08 season.

Baseball: Vince Belnome, Grant Buckner, Dan DiBartolomeo, Colin Durborow, Mark Dvoroznak, Justin Ellis, Christopher Enourato, William Gross, Jedd Gyorko, Jonathan Jones, Austin Markel, Justin Parks, Jeffrey Pickering Men’s Basketball: Darryl Bryant, Joe Mazzulla, Alex Ruoff, Josh Sowards, Cam Thoroughman, Jonnie West Women’s Basketball: Natalie Burton, Takisha Granberry, Ashley Powell, Liz Repella Women’s Cross Country: Erica Arthurs, Marie-Louise Asselin, Keri Bland, Brooke Boening, Sarah-Anne Brault, Katie Burda, Stephanie Carusso, Kaylyn Christopher, Jamie Cokely, Maria Dalzot, Kerry Davis, Clara Grandt, Shannon Gribbons, Jordan Hamric, Kate Harrison, Ahna Lewis, Amanda McBean, Aubrey Moskal, Jessica O’Connell, Hallie Portner, Alison Spiker, Lindsay Wyatt Women’s Rowing: Kimberly Benda, Brett Krumholz, Amanda Mahasky, Alita Meyers, Caroline Rettig, Stephanie Roof, Keyara Stevenson, Rachel Viglianco, Kathryn Walsh Men’s Soccer: Jason Bristol, Sean Brooks, Gary Clark, Declan Coll, Kona Dennis, Kurt Freemyer, Raymon Gaddis, Ruben Garrido, Ryan Gillespie, Dan Hagey, Zach Johnson, Tony Lindroos, Gift Maworere, Adam Mills, Michael Pitrolo, Milo Sanda, Alex Silva, Alex Yost.

Women’s Soccer: Morgan Betscher, Carolyn Blank, Stephanie Burgess, Chelsey Corroto, Lisa DuCote, Deana Everett, Kelsey Fowler, Erica Henderson, Meghan Lewis, Nicole Mailloux, Blake Miller, Megan Mischler, Michelle Molinari, Robin Rushton Men’s Swimming & Diving: Joseph Bailey, Jeffrey Byrd, Brandon Carr, Richard Farquhar, Jack Greenhalgh, Stephen Huether, Jake Kudrna, Pablo Marmolejo, Ian Stavros Women’s Swimming & Diving: Kayla Andrews, Morgan Callaway, Sarah Kosmak, Lindsey Largo, Natalie Lautzenheiser, Ashley Malik, Margaret Moreland, Jaqueline Paredes, Stephanie Shupe, Jaryn Studer Women’s Track & Field: Sandra Anim-Yankah, Chelsea Carrier, Nicole DeStefano, Rachael Goodman, Victoria Marra, Jordann Mitchell, Meghan Mock, Roshawna Mongold, Lauren Moskal, Natasha Redman, Lori Rendos, April Rotilio, Olivia Shimko, Margaret Smith, Katelyn Williams, Brittany Wolford, Ayana Young Women’s Tennis: Gabriela Blaskovicova, Monique Burton, Veronica Cardenas, Olga Elkin, Kathryn Haught, Stephanie LaFortune, Milica Pantovic, Ashley Pilsbury, Catie Wickline.

Women’s Volleyball: Tamara De Angelis, Lisa Hough, Nicole Jones, Marissa Meyers, Andrea Miller, Abby Monson, Abby Norman, Tammy Wolf

Five Gymnasts Earn Scholastic All-America Honor

Five West Virginia University gymnasts were named Scholastic All-Americans for the 2008-09 academic year by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W).

Additionally, the Mountaineers ranked 29th overall for the second-consecutive year with a cumulative team grade point average (GPA) of 3.3254.

The five individual honors boost the program’s numbers to 67 honorees in 35 years.

Rising junior Stephanie Keaton was one of 67 student-athletes to earn the 2009 honor with a 4.0 GPA. The fashion merchandising major received the award for the second-straight year. Graduate Heather Izer (speech pathology and audiology) and rising senior Kiersten Spoerke (mechanical engineering) each earned her third honor. Spoerke’s classmate, Shelly

Stephanie Keaton

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Purkat (human nutrition and foods), received her second-straight award, while rising sophomore Jenn Sharon (child development and family studies) was awarded her first.

Scholastic All-America status is awarded as a result of GPAs of 3.5 or better for the year. The NACGC/W is the national association for women’s collegiate gymnastics coaches. The association seeks to actively manage and develop the sport of women’s gymnastics at the collegiate level and works with the NCAA and USA Gymnastics in order to provide the best possible experience for student-athletes.

Additionally, WVU had a program-best 14 gymnasts named to the East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) All-Academic Team in the spring – Izer, Keaton, Purkat, Sharon, Spoerke, Ashley Wilson, Amy Bieski, Naja Johnso, Faye Meaden, Jessica Young, Erica Watson, Chelsi Tabor, Tina Maloney and Nicole Roach.

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DIGEST WVU Posts Second-Straight Top-50 Finish in Directors’ Cup

West Virginia University finished 50th in the final Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings.

Coupled with last year’s school-best 30th-place finish, WVU has now finished in the top 50 in back-to-back years for the first time. WVU’s finish this year is its third-highest finish in the Directors’ Cup final standings.

The Mountaineers accumulated 442.50 points, ranking third among BIG EAST schools. Notre Dame, which does not play BIG EAST football, finished 21st overall. Louisville finished second among BIG EAST schools with a 32ndplace finish.

“This solid finish is a tribute to our coaches, staff, student-athletes and fans,” said Director of Athletics Ed Pastilong. “Our teams continue to have success, not only on the field, but in the classroom as well. We are very proud of our accomplishments.”

The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 20 sports.

Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA’s web site at www.nacda.com.

Six Mountaineer Football Players on Watch List

Six West Virginia University football players have been named to various football award watch lists.

Redshirt juniors Scooter Berry, Chris Neild, J.T. Thomas and redshirt senior Reed Williams are on the Rotary Lombardi Award Watch list, joining 153 players from 79 teams and 11 conferences.

The award, in addition to outstanding performance and ability, is also based on the lineman who best exemplifies the discipline of Vince Lombardi.

WVU is the only member of the BIG EAST conference to have multiple watch list members, while USF, Pitt, Syracuse and Rutgers each boast one candidate.

The watch list was formed by using 2008 postseason and 2009 preseason allNoel Devine conference and All-America teams. Additional nominations were accepted from Rotary Lombardi Award voters and college sports information directors.

On Oct. 14, the 12 semifinalists for the Rotary Lombardi Award will be announced.

On Nov. 11, the four finalists will be chosen and will attend the award’s ceremony on Dec. 9 at the Hilton Americas in Houston.

Senior quarterback Jarrett Brown, a West Palm Beach, Fla., native, is one of 14 players nominated for the 2009 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given to the nation’s best quarterback. The redshirt senior is one of three BIG EAST players on the list.

Brown has also been named to the 2009 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award® Watch List. The list highlights 33 quarterbacks who will compete for the award honoring the nation’s best quarterback; however, all 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) starting quarterbacks are equal candidates at this time.

Junior running back Noel Devine, a Ft. Myers, Fla., native, is one of 45 candidates for the Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation’s top college running back.

Butler, Ebanks on Wooden List

West Virginia basketball players Da’Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks were selected as 2009-10 preseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year trophy, announced today by Richard “Duke” Llewellyn, Wooden Award Chairman and founder.

The list is comprised of 50 student athletes who, based on last year’s individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor.

WVU is one of nine schools that had two players chosen to the Wooden Award preseason Top 50. These players and others who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for December’s Midseason list and the official voting ballot released in March.

Eleven conferences are represented on the Wooden Award Preseason List. Leading

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Da’Sean Butler

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the way is the Big East (11), followed by the ACC (10), Big 10 (8), SEC (7), Big 12 (6), Pac-10 (3), and Atlantic 10, CAA, Conference USA, WAC and West Coast with one apiece.

In late December, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason Top 30 list, followed in March by the National Ballot, consisting of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round during the NCAA Tournament.

The 34th annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award winner, and the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will take place the weekend of April 9-11, 2010.

DIGEST BIG EAST Basketball Opponents Set

In 2009-10, the BIG EAST begins its third season featuring an 18-game league schedule. The 18-game format allows teams to play each opponent once and three teams twice.

West Virginia will play home games against Cincinnati, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pitt, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Syracuse and Villanova. WVU will play road games at Connecticut, DePaul, Notre Dame, Pitt, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall, USF and Villanova.

On the women’s side, West Virginia will play a 16-game schedule with one repeat opponent.

The Mountaineers will face DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pitt, Rutgers and Villanova in the WVU Coliseum and play at Cincinnati, Connecticut, Pitt, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Syracuse and USF. West Virginia’s complete basketball schedules will be announced in early September.

Ruoff, Repella Earn BIG EAST Awards

Liz Repella

West Virginia University basketball players Liz Repella and Alex Ruoff were named recipients of the 2008-09 BIG EAST Conference’s Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Awards, which recognize academic and athletic achievement as well as community service.

Repella guided WVU to an 18-15 record and a berth in the WNIT after leading the team in scoring (16.1) and rebounding (8.1) and tallied all-BIG EAST second team accolades as a result. She was named an ESPN The Magazine all-Academic District II first team performer, a BIG EAST Academic All Star and

a member of WVU’s Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll. The exercise physiology major is also heavily involved in community service.

Ruoff graduated with a degree in history this past season and averaged 15.7 points per game for the 23-12 Mountaineers. He earned all-BIG EAST honorable mention honors and also garnered the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award, the BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year and was named an ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic AllAmerican First Team honoree.

The Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Awards are given to one student-athlete in each BIG EAST sport based on academic credentials, athletic accolades or performances and volunteer service to the community.

Student-athletes who attained junior academic standing and a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 are eligible. The winners are chosen by the BIG EAST faculty athletic representatives.

76 Classic Field Set – WVU Opens Against Long Beach State

ESPN Regional Television, Inc. (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, has announced the schedule of matchups for the 2009 76 Classic, to be held Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 26, 27 and 29, at the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center, adjacent to Disneyland. The third-year event will include 12 games in three days and will be broadcast on ESPN2 and ESPNU. The 76 Classic field includes eight teams: Butler, Clemson, Long Beach State, Minnesota, Portland, Texas A&M, UCLA and West Virginia. Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a brackettournament format.

In the first round of action Thursday, Nov. 26, West Virginia opens the 76 Classic against Long Beach State at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT on ESPNU. The other three games will all be televised live on ESPN2, with Texas A&M taking on Clemson at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT, Minnesota facing Butler at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT, and Portland squaring off against UCLA at 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT. Seven of the eight teams reached the postseason in 2008-09, including six in the NCAA Tournament: UCLA and Texas A&M advanced to the second round, while Butler, Clemson, Minnesota and West Virginia were also in the field. No eight-team, regularseason tournament has ever had more than

FRONT ROW MAGA ZINE/FALL 20 09

seven postseason teams from the previous year. The 2008 Old Spice Classic also had seven; the EA Sports Maui Invitational has had seven postseason teams five times, most recently in 2004.

The two teams that remain undefeated throughout the tournament will face off in a championship match Sunday, Nov. 29, at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT on ESPN2.

The Big West Conference again will serve as the host for the 76 Classic at the 7,800seat Anaheim Convention Center, which has served the conference for the past eight years as the site of its postseason tournament.

Tickets to the 2009 76 Classic will go on sale in early September, at www.Ticketmaster.com or by calling (714) 704-2000. Packages include all 12 games for $90 or singlesession tickets for $20. Special travel package information can be found at www.GETTRAVEL.com. Additional information can be found on the 76 Classic Web site at, www.76classic. com. For more information on Disneyland Resort, visit www.disneyland.com.

Blank on Hermann Watch List

West Virginia University women’s soccer player Carolyn Blank been named to the 2009 Missouri Athletic Club (M.A.C.) Hermann Trophy Watch List.

The award is college soccer’s version of the Heisman Trophy and represents the highest level of individual achievement in the sport.

Players are selected to the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Watch List by a committee of Division I coaches who are NSCAA members.

Blank is one of 45 players named to the preseason listing. The Toms River, N.J., native earned All-America honors at midfield from the NSCAA, Soccer Buzz and TopDrawerSoccer as a junior in 2008. Blank was also named first team all-BIG EAST and became the school’s second BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year winner. Blank, a 2009 unanimous preseason all-BIG EAST selection, is the sixth Mountaineer in program history to be named to the watch list, including two later named semifinalists: Ashley Banks (2007) and Chrissie Abbott (2003).

A list of 15 semifinalists is selected by a coaches committee in November, with three finalists announced in early December. They will be invited to the M.A.C. in St. Louis, Mo., for a news conference on Jan. 8, 2010, where the winner will be announced, with a presentation banquet following.

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SCHEDULES CROSS COUNTRY Date Sept. 5 Sept. 16 Oct. 2 Oct. 16 Oct. 31 Nov. 14 Nov. 21 Nov. 23 Nov. 28 Feb. 6

Opponent Location at UMES Princess Anne, Md. at Midwest Open Kenosha, Wis. at Paul Short Bethlehem, Pa. at Penn State National Invitational University Park, Pa. at BIG EAST Championship Kenosha, Wis. at NCAA Regionals Princess Anne, Md. at ECAC New York City, N.Y. at NCAA Championships Terre Haute, Ind. Canadian Cross Country Championships Guelph, Ontario, Canada USA National Cross Country Championships Spokane, Wash.

FOOTBALL Date Sept. 5 Sept. 12 Sept. 19 Oct. 1 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Oct. 24 Oct. 30 Nov. 7 Nov. 13 Nov. 27 Dec. 5

Opponent Liberty East Carolina at Auburn (ESPN/ESPN2) Colorado (ESPN) at Syracuse Marshall Connecticut at USF (ESPN) Louisville at Cincinnati (ESPN2) Pitt (ESPN/ABC) at Rutgers (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2)

Date Oct. 10 Oct. 11 Oct. 17 Oct. 18 Oct. 24 Nov. 14 Nov. 21 Jan. 17 Jan. 21 Jan. 30 Jan. 31 Feb. 13 Feb. 20-21 March 12-13

Opponent Air Force % at Nebraska* at Ohio State at Akron Alumni Match Army * Kentucky * NC State * Alaska-Fairbanks vs. Ole Miss*$ vs. Memphis*!

NCAA Qualifiers (TBA) GARC Championship ^ NCAA Championship #

Time Noon 3:30 p.m.

7:45 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

TBA 3:30 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

RIFLE Time 8:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

All Day All Day All Day

Sept. 11 Sept. 13 Sept. 18 Sept 20 Sept. 24 Sept. 27 Oct. 2 Oct. 4 Oct. 9 Oct. 11 Oct. 16 Oct. 18 Oct. 23 Oct. 25

Oct. 29 Nov. 1 Nov. 6 Nov. 8

Virginia NIKE Soccer Classic (Charlottesville, Va.) at Virginia 6:00 p.m. vs. Dartmouth Noon at Pitt 7:00 p.m.

Tennessee (WVPBS) 1:00 p.m.

Marquette 7:00 p.m. at USF 1:00 p.m.

Notre Dame (ESPNU) 6:00 p.m.

DePaul Noon Syracuse 5:00 p.m.

St. John’s 1:00 p.m. at Villanova 4:00 p.m. at Georgetown 1:00 p.m. at Connecticut 7:00 p.m. at Providence 1:00 p.m.

BIG EAST Championships BIG EAST First Round (at campus sites) BIG EAST Quarterfinals (at campus sites) BIG EAST Semifinals (Storrs, Conn.)

BIG EAST Finals (Storrs, Conn.)

MEN’S SOCCER Date Opponent Time West Virginia University Classic presented by Jersey Subs Sept. 4 UC-Santa Barbara 8:00 p.m.

Sept. 6 Buffalo (WVPBS) 4:00 p.m.

UNC Wilmington Tournament Sept. 11 at UNC Wilmington 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 13 vs. Appalachian State 1:00 p.m.

Sept. 18 at Louisville 7:00 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Cincinnati 1:00 p.m.

Sept. 25 USF 8:00 p.m.

Sept. 27 DePaul 4:00 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Marquette 8:05 p.m.

Oct. 6 at Pitt 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 9 Connecticut (FSC) 8:00 p.m.

Oct. 14 Elon 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Notre Dame 11:30 a.m.

Oct. 21 at Ohio State 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 24 Georgetown 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 28 Providence 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 31 at Seton Hall 7:00 p.m.

BIG EAST Championships Nov. 4 BIG EAST First Round (Campus Sites) Nov. 7 BIG EAST Second Round (Campus Sites) Nov. 13 BIG EAST Semis (Morgantown, W.Va.) Nov. 15 BIG EAST Finals (Morgantown, W.Va.)

* - GARC match % - in Lincoln, Neb. $ - in Cookeville, Tenn. ! – Winthrow Invitational in Murray, Ky. ^ - in Oxford, Miss. # - in Fort Worth, Texas

WOMEN’S SOCCER Date Aug. 23

Aug. 29 Aug. 31 Sept. 3 Sept. 6

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Opponent Time Ohio State 6:00 p.m.

Penn State Invitational (University Park, Pa.) at Penn St. 7:30 p.m. vs. BYU Noon Duquesne 7:00 p.m.

Boston (WVPBS) 1:30 p.m.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING Date Oct. 3 Oct. 17 Oct. 24 Nov. 6

Opponent Gold-Blue Meet Marshall at Penn State w/ Colgate Cincinnati

Time 9:00 a.m.

Noon 1:00 p.m.

5:00 p.m.

Nov. 7 Louisville TBA Nov. 13 at Villanova 5:00 p.m.

Nov. 14 at Rutgers TBA Dec. 3-6 at Ohio State University Invitational TBA Dec. 30-Jan. 8 Winter Training Trip # TBA Jan. 9 Pitt 11:00 a.m.

Jan. 24 at Maryland TBA Jan. 30 Virginia Tech/Duquesne 1:00 p.m.

Feb. 12-14 at BIG EAST Diving Championships ^ TBA Feb. 17-20 at BIG EAST Swimming Championships ^ TBA TBA at NCAA Diving Zone Championships TBA March 17-20 at Women’s NCAA Championships * TBA March 24-27 at Men’s NCAA Championships + TBA # Cocoa Beach, Fla. (opponent TBA) ^ Pittsburgh, Pa. * West Lafayette, Ind. + Columbus, Ohio

VOLLEYBALL Date Aug. 28 Aug. 29

Sept. 4

Sept. 5

Sept. 11

Sept. 12 Sept. 18 Sept. 19

Sept. 20 Sept. 23 Sept. 26 Sept. 27 Oct. 3 Oct. 4 Oct. 9 Oct. 11 Oct. 16 Oct. 18 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 1 Nov. 6 Nov. 8 Nov. 14 Nov. 15 Nov. 20-21

Opponent Time Oakland (WVU Volleyball Classic) 7:30 p.m.

Towson (WVU Volleyball Classic) 1:30 p.m.

St. Francis (WVU Volleyball Classic) 7:00 p.m. vs Eastern Illinois (Denver Tournament) 1:00 p.m. vs Air Force (Denver Tournament) 7:00 p.m. vs Southern Utah (Denver Tournament) 5:00 p.m. at Denver (Denver Tournament) 9:30 p.m. vs Bucknell (Akron Tournament) 9:30 am vs TCU (Akron Tournament) 5:00 p.m. at Akron (Akron Tournament) 12:00 p.m.

Wright State (WVU Invitational) 7:00 p.m.

Princeton (WVU Invitational) 2:00 p.m.

Duquesne (WVU Invitational) 7:30 p.m.

George Mason (WVU Invitational) 2:30 p.m. at Marshall 7:00 p.m.

Syracuse 2:00 p.m.

Marquette 2:00 p.m. at Louisville 2:00 p.m. at Cincinnati 2:00 p.m. at USF 7:00 p.m. at Georgetown 2:00 p.m.

DePaul 6:00 p.m.

Notre Dame 1:00 p.m. at Pitt 7:00 p.m. at Connecticut 7:00 p.m. at St. John’s 2:00 p.m.

Villanova 7:00 p.m. at Youngstown State 2:00 p.m.

Rutgers 2:00 p.m.

Seton Hall 1:00 p.m.

BIG EAST Championships (Louisville, Ky.)

Home events in Bold All times Eastern and subject to change

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