Rifle: WVU Tops Army in Home Opener
November 14, 2009 07:25 PM | General
November 14, 2009
Match Results
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| Kyle Smith |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team opened its home season victorious, topping No. 5-ranked and Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) foe Army, 4638-4562, this evening at the WVU Rifle Range.
The Mountaineers (5-0, 2-0 GARC) trumped the Black Knights in both disciplines, winning smallbore, 2289-2277, and air rifle, 2349-2285. WVU has yet to lose a discipline match this season.
“I think it is always important to win, and we had some good individual performances today,” coach Jon Hammond says. “Our team score was lower than we had expected to shoot and that is something we can build on.
“We had a really big crowd here to watch us compete, and that was exciting to see. There was an excitement around the range today, and I know the team appreciated the support from the fans.”
Sophomore Michael Kulbacki finished first overall with a score of 1167. The DuBois, Pa., native was exceptionally strong in air rifle, winning the discipline with a season-best score of 593 (100, 97, 100, 100, 99, 97). He also shot 574 smallbore.
Junior Andy Lamson finished second overall with a score of 1163, while classmate Kyle Smith finished third with a score of 1157.
Smith finished ahead of the smallbore pack, shooting a season-best 582 (199 prone, 187 standing, 196 kneeling).
The Mountaineers secured the top four air rifle finishes today, with Lamson and senior Bryant Wallizer tying for second place (589), and sophomore Justin Pentz following in fourth place (580). Additionally, junior Tommy Santelli tied Army’s Kelly Buck for fifth place (578).
The Black Knights’ Ian Young finished second in smallbore with a score of 578. Junior Brandi Eskew finished one shot behind him (577), and Pentz placed fourth (575).
The Mountaineers close out the first half of their season next week with an anticipated match against No. 2-ranked Kentucky. The Wildcats were the only team to defeat WVU last season, trumping the Mountaineers in both a shoulder-to-shoulder match (4649-4639) and at the 2009 GARC Championship (4650-4645). UK finished second to WVU at the NCAA Championship (4643-4638).
"I think we need to perform a lot better next week than we did today to have a chance to get past Kentucky,” says Hammond. “We have to get back to work in practice and fine-tune some things.”
WVU plays host to the Wildcats next Saturday, Nov. 21, at the WVU Rifle Range. The match is set to begin at 8 a.m. and will play into the afternoon.
