Rifle: WVU Rolls Past Akron
October 18, 2009 06:32 PM | General
October 18, 2009
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| Bryant Wallizer |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University rifle team raised its season-opening win streak to four matches with a 4665-4560 victory against Akron this afternoon at the Robert A. Pinn Shooting Range in Akron, Ohio.
The Mountaineers, (4-0, 1-0 GARC) defeated the Zips 2316-2255 in smallbore and 2349-2305 in air rifle. The reigning national champions have yet to lose in either discipline this season.
The victory is the second in two days for WVU, as the team won at Ohio State yesterday, 4666-4538.
“We had really good results this weekend. Last year, when we went to a new range, we struggled. This year’s results so far really show how the team has improved,” says fourth-year coach Jon Hammond. “We had a good, solid weekend, and we’re ready to get back in the range and continue training for the rest of the season.”
Redshirt senior Bryant Wallizer finished first overall for the second time this year with a score of 1172. Junior Andy Lamson finished behind Wallizer with a final score of 1171, while junior Tommy Santelli finished third with a score of 1164.
“You always hope that your senior leads your team,” Hammond says. “Bryant has done a great job assuming the role as leader in both guns. Both he and Andy had strong performances all weekend.”
All but one of the Mountaineers finished ahead of the Zips, who were paced by Becca Gerevics’ final score of 1146.
Lamson finished first in air rifle for the second-straight day, shooting 593 and finishing one short of his personal-best mark, set yesterday at Ohio State. The Colchester, Vt., native finished with strings of 98, 99, 100, 97, 99 and 100.
Wallizer, a Little Orleans, Md., native, took second in air rifle with a season-high score of 592, and Santelli, a native of Prosperity, Pa., finished third with a score of 584. Akron’s Sarah Benjamin shot 583 for fourth place.
Sophomore Justin Pentz had his strongest smallbore match of the season, finishing first with a personal-best score of 584. The DuBois, Pa., native shot well in all three positions, scoring 196 (97, 99) kneeling, 195 (97, 98) prone and 193 (97, 96) standing.
“Justin came through with a great match today. Hopefully this will give him confidence for the rest of the year and we will see more out of him this season,” Hammond says.
Santelli and Wallizer tied for second place with matching season-high scores of 580. Wallizer’s total equals a personal-best mark set yesterday. Lamson and junior Brandi Eskew tied for fourth place with scores of 578. Ryan Stein paced the Zips with a score of 570.
With the victory, the Mountaineers improve to 8-0 against Akron.
This afternoon’s win concludes the first quarter of WVU’s 2009-10 season. The team will return to action on Nov. 14, when it plays host to Army at the WVU Rifle Range. The match is set to begin at 8 a.m., and will conclude in the afternoon.
