Marty Gordon
After a perfect week that included one of the best comebacks in school history, Radford University men’s basketball guard Jarvis Moss was named the Big South Player of the Week, announced by the conference office Monday afternoon.
Moss had another huge week as he helped lead the Highlanders to a perfect 2-0 record with big wins over Old Dominion and Evansville. He started the slate off with 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals against Old Dominion and followed it up with a career-best 30 points to go along with four boards, four helpers and three swipes in the thriller over Evansville.
The Concord, North Carolina native was instrumental in the Highlanders 22-point comeback against the Aces as he dropped in 28 of his 30 points in the second half.
For the week, the senior guard posted averages of 26.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per contest.
After the big two-game slate, Moss now leads the Big South in scoring at 21.0 points per game, a mark that sits 45th overall in all of NCAA Division I basketball. He is also currently slotted in at 34th in the country in made three’s (14), 43rd in threes per game (3.50), 53rd in total points (84) and 72nd in made field goals (28).
High Hokie academic rate
Virginia Tech Athletics continues to earn high marks academically as the department recorded an overall Graduation Success Rate of 90% in a report released by the NCAA Wednesday afternoon.
The NCAA developed the formula for its Graduation Success Rate, or GSR, metric as part of its 2003 academic reform initiatives to better measure student-athlete academic success. It differs from the federal graduation rate in several ways, most notably by not penalizing schools that have transfers who depart in good academic standing and by counting transfers who enroll into a school in good academic standing. The GSR also takes into account the academic standing of mid-year enrollees, whereas the federal formula does not.
The NCAA’s GSR metric allows student-athletes six years to earn their degrees. This year’s rate is based on the average of student-athletes who enrolled in 2014, 2015, 2016 and the most recent data of 2017, and graduated within six years following their enrollment.
For the ninth consecutive year, Virginia Tech’s overall GSR was at least 90 percent, and the athletics department has been at or above that threshold in 10 of the past 12 years.
Nine Virginia Tech sports recorded a perfect GSR of 100 – men’s basketball, women’s cross country/track and field, women’s golf, lacrosse, men’s swimming and diving, softball, women’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis and women’s tennis. The Hokies’ women’s tennis program has recorded a 100 percent score ever since the NCAA went to the GSR formula.
RU signs golfer
Will Giaquinto has signed to play for the Radford University men’s golf program, Head Coach Mike Grant has announced.
Some of Giaquinto’s junior accomplishments included two top 3 placements, with one coming in at the US Challenge Cup where he placed 3rd and his second coming in at the AJGA Chicopee, where he would earn 2nd overall. Giaquinto would also have two top 10 finishes to his resume, placing 6th at the AJGA Golf Performance Center Invite and 7th at the Connecticut PGA Jr.
With his performances, Giaquinto would find himself ranked 737th in the Junior Golf Scoreboard Rankings.
All-South honors
The Big South Conference announced Wednesday afternoon that Sophie Paspal and Aubrey Hatch had earned all-conference awards thanks to their impressive seasons.
Paspal is in the midst of a historic season for the Highlanders with one of the top attack percentages in program history and among Big South players. Finishing third in player of the year voting, Paspal earned first-team honors for the first time in her career after securing honorable mention last season.
Paspal has stepped up to lead the Highlanders offense with 251 kills while hitting .394. She set a season-high for kills with 18 against conference foe Presbyterian and had 10 or more kills in 13 matches. Her 106 blocks also lead the team and rank ninth most in a single season in program history. She is the first Highlander to eclipse 100 in a single season since 2014 when Savannah Cantrell finished with 101.
Hatch was impressive for the Highlanders throughout her debut season at the collegiate level and has been named to the all-freshman team by the conference for her efforts. The outsider hitter finished with 140 kills and 45 blocks, most among freshmen on the team. Her season high of 12 kills at Charleston Southern helped Radford clinch a postseason berth for the first time since 2018.