Leigh Shines Bright as This Week’s Star Student-Athlete!

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After achieving a 9.95 on the floor exercise, senior Anna Leigh from the West Virginia University gymnastics squad has been honored as the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, sponsored by University Apartments.

Hailing from St. Michael, Minnesota, Leigh secured a flawless 10.0 from one judge and a 9.9 from another, culminating in a career-high 9.95. This score surpassed her earlier career mark of 9.925, which she achieved as a freshman on February 21, 2022. The score is the highest for WVU on the floor since sophomore Jurnee Lane tallied a 9.925 on January 28, 2024, and is also the first 9.95 since Emily Holmes-Hackerd accomplished it against CMU and Pitt on March 5, 2023.

With this accomplishment, Leigh captured her first career event victory on the floor, tallying three event wins and 11 podium finishes throughout her career. She currently ranks No. 3 in the Big 12 Conference and No. 27 nationally for the floor exercise.

The West Virginia team is now looking forward to their inaugural home meet of the 2025 season when they host Kent State in Morgantown on Thursday, January 16. The competition at the WVU Coliseum is set to begin at 7 p.m. ET. It’s 90’s Night, featuring a 90’s style band tee giveaway for the first 250 fans and 90’s throwback music to be played throughout the meet. 

This Week in Women’s Basketball: The Mountaineers are gearing up for two home matches this week… WVU kicks off the games on Wednesday, January 15, versus Colorado … The tipoff is projected for 7 p.m. ET and will be aired on ESPN+ … the Mountaineers then welcome Iowa State on Sunday, January 19 … The tipoff is planned for 2 p.m. ET and will be WVU’s initial nationally televised home match of the season on Fox.

Last Week in Women’s Basketball: The Mountaineers improved to 13-3 for the season and 3-2 in the Big 12 Conference after splitting two away games… WVU commenced the week with an 89-53 victory over Texas Tech … Five Mountaineers reached double digits, with JJ Quinerly (21) and Jordan Harrison (20) leading the pack … West Virginia subsequently fell to Oklahoma State with a score of 64-57 … Kylee Blacksten topped the Mountaineers’ scoring effort with 16 points.

Notes: WVU brings back eight student-athletes this season, including four of five starters from last season’s NCAA Tournament squad … All-Big 12 First Team and Defensive Team choice JJ Quinerly emphasizes the returning players … She was also selected for the Preseason All-Big 12 team and made it to the Naismith College Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, the 2025 Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Watchlist and the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watchlist … Jordan Harrison is recognized on the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year watchlist … Quinerly has surpassed 1,500 career points this season with Harrison and Zya Nugent having crossed the 1,000-point threshold… the Mountaineers ended the nonconference schedule with a 10-1 record … JJ Quinerly ranks fourth in the program’s all-time steals list.

This Week in Wrestling: No. 22 West Virginia travels to compete against Oklahoma on Friday, January 17, and Oklahoma State on Sunday, January 19.

Last Week in Wrestling: West Virginia faced losses against No. 13 Iowa State and No. 18 Pitt … during the match against Pitt, fifth-year No. 3 Peyton Hall pinned Jared Keslar, marking his 20th win of the season … this victory also ties Hall for second in all-time wins at WVU with a total of 120 career victories.

Notes: Last week, it was revealed that sophomore Ty Watters would be sidelined for the rest of the season due to an injury … Watters is currently positioned at No. 3 in the 149-pound weight class, as reported by FloWrestling … he has not participated for West Virginia since November 14 against Rider … during his freshman year, Watters clinched a Big 12 title in 2024 and was awarded All-American status after finishing fourth at the NCAA Division I Championships.

This Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia anticipates its inaugural home contest of the 2025 season as it greets Kent State in Morgantown on Thursday, Jan. 16 … the event inside the WVU Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU registered a collective score of 193.75, securing second place in a dual meet at Central Michigan held at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, on Jan. 12 … the hosting Chippewas achieved first place with a score of 193.95, surpassing the Mountaineers (1-1) … West Virginia accumulated scores of 48.1 on vault, 48.375 on uneven bars, 48.425 on balance beam, and 48.85 on floor exercise … a highlight of the meet occurred on floor, where senior Anna Leigh attained a personal best of 9.95, leading the lineup … in the final event standings, freshman Karleigh DiCello achieved her first-ever podium placement with a victory on vault (9.75) … sophomore Julia Brown secured second on beam (9.825), while peer Amer Lowe (9.8) and DiCello (9.8) ended in a tie for third … Leigh claimed the floor title, her inaugural win on the event, followed by freshman Emerson Smith in second (9.85). 

Notes: Leigh’s floor exercise score represented the highest for WVU since sophomore Jurnee Lane scored a 9.925 on Jan. 28, 2024, and the first 9.95 since Emily Holmes-Hackerd achieved it against CMU and Pitt on March 5, 2023 … Leigh stands at No. 3 in the Big 12 Conference and ranks No. 27 nationally for floor exercise with a 9.875 average in the event … in this week’s Road to Nationals rankings, West Virginia is placed No. 26 nationally on floor exercise and No. 50 overall.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia will not compete until it hosts Villanova and Duquesne (women only) for senior day on Saturday, Jan. 25.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: The Mountaineers were defeated by Pitt and George Washington on Jan. 11.

This Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers are prepared to commence their spring season this weekend … WVU hosts Navy at the WVU Shell Building on Saturday, with the match set to start at 9 a.m. ET … the match will be WVU’s third in the Great America Rifle Conference.

Last Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers did not take part in any competitions. 

Notes: The Mountaineers have achieved 21 consecutive regular season victories … Jon Hammond secured his 200th career win against No. 5 Georgia Southern … the Mountaineers’ aggregate score of 4738.2 stands as the second best in the nation … the 2354 mark in smallbore ranks as the top while the 2384.2 is in second place … Griffin Lake is averaging a team-leading 1185.8 aggregate score, which is the sixth best nationwide … Lake’s 590.1 average in smallbore also leads WVU and is the sixth best in the country … Camryn Camp’s air rifle score of 596.5 is the tenth best in the nation.

This Week in Tennis: West Virginia begins the 2025 season at home with a doubleheader against Duquesne and Morgan State … the Mountaineers are scheduled to take on Duquesne at 10 a.m. and Morgan State at 3 p.m. … both matches will be located at Summit Tennis Academy in Morgantown.

Last Season in Tennis: West Virginia experienced one of its most successful seasons in program history, concluding with a 15-13 overall record … the Mountaineers also achieved their highest number of conference victories since becoming part of the Big 12 … WVU reached a postseason tournament for the first time, competing in the UTR Sports NIT Championship.

Notes: Head coach Miha Lisac begins his twelfth season at the helm of the Mountaineers … seniors Michaela Kucharova and Tatiana Lipatova return following outstanding seasons in 2024 … Kucharova was among three players to finish with 30 or more victories … redshirt junior Maja Dodik was another athlete who concluded the 2024 season with 30 or more wins … Dodik has consistently progressed each year since joining West Virginia and will be a core component of the team in the upcoming campaign … Lisac also made significant additions during the offseason with senior Mille Haagensen, graduate transfer Julie Bousseau, and freshmen Lyla Byers, Susannah Su, and Laura Villanueva Morillo … Byers hails from Morgantown … during three years at Drake, Haagensen recorded an overall record of 90-39, including 50-18 in singles and 43-21 in doubles … Haagensen earned the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Freshman of the Year honors in 2022 and was also selected First Team All-Conference in 2022 … in the fall season, Haagensen concluded with a 12-9 overall record and was crowned the 2024 Bedford Cup singles champion.

This week in Track and Field: West Virginia is back on the track after a break since Dec. 7 … the Mountaineers will send divided squads to the YSU Collegiate Invitational and the Nittany Lion Challenge on Jan. 17 and 18, respectively … the YSU Collegiate Invitational will occur at the Watson and Tressel Training Site in Youngstown, Ohio, while the Nittany Lion Challenge will be held at the Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Last week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers did not participate in any competitions.