Rifle: WVU Sits in Third Place at NCAAs
March 12, 2010 09:19 PM | General
March 12, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team opened the defense of its nation-best 14th national title today with a 2308 smallbore score and sits in third place at the NCAA Rifle Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.
Alaska-Fairbanks won the smallbore crown with a 2320 team score, while host TCU finished second with a score of 2314.
Today’s discipline loss is only the second of the season for WVU. The team also finished in third place in the air rifle competition at the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships on Feb. 21. The Mountaineers, the 2010 GARC champions, won the conference smallbore title with a 2317 score.
“There was a lot of good today, but I would have liked to have seen a better result,” says fourth-year coach Jon Hammond. “We were really close to shooting a great team score. Overall, the team competed well and has put themselves in a good position to make a push for the title tomorrow.”
Senior Bryant Wallizer and junior Brandi Eskew represented the Mountaineers (11-0, 7-0 GARC) in the smallbore finals and finished sixth (679.3) and eighth (677.8), respectively. The finals appearance is the first for Wallizer and the second for Eskew; the Petersburg, W.Va., native finished in seventh place (685.9) in 2008.
The Horned Frogs’ Sarah Scherer won the individual title with a final score of 685 (583 relay).
“Today’s smallbore final was one of the closest I have ever seen,” says Hammond, the 2010 GARC Coach of the Year. “All eight shooters were separated by two shots. Bryant and Brandi turned in great performances, but Sarah just shot incredibly and deserves her title.”
Wallizer paced the Mountaineers today with a championship-best 583 relay score. The Little Orleans, Md., native shot 199 prone (99-100), 190 standing (94-96) and 194 (97-97) kneeling.
Eskew finished second for the Mountaineers and shot 581 toward the team score. She totaled 198 prone (98-100), 191 standing (96-95) and 192 kneeling (95-97).
Junior Tommy Santelli tied for 10th place overall with a 579 relay score. Classmate Andy Lamson finished fourth on the squad with a 565 score.
Sophomore Justin Pentz, and individual smallbore qualifier, tied for 18th place and shot 576.
Despite finishing in sixth place (2290) in smallbore at last year’s national championships, the Mountaineers put together an unheralded comeback and finished first overall with a 4643 aggregate score.
“I think we know we can overcome this deficit and will carry a bit more confidence into tomorrow’s competition,” Hammond explains. “With that being said, this tournament is still wide open. You never know how it’s going to end until it’s over.”
WVU looks to put together its second-straight comeback and will return to the range tomorrow for the air rifle relays. Championship action is set to begin at 10 a.m. EST at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
