Rifle: WVU Opens Season on Road
October 14, 2011 01:48 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 3-ranked West Virginia rifle team opens its 2011-12 campaign in Lincoln, Neb., with a pair of matches at the Nebraska Rifle Range. The Mountaineers will face No. 9 Air Force on Saturday, Oct. 15, and No. 12 Nebraska on Sunday. Both matches are set to begin at 9 a.m. ET.
“I think we’ve had a few good weeks of training, and we’re prepared and ready to open the season,” says sixth-year Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond. “I think our overall goal for this semester is to build a solid foundation for next semester and the championship season. We aren’t heading into this weekend looking to break records, but we would like to go to Nebraska and shoot two solid matches. We’re ready to test ourselves.”
The Mountaineers hold winning records over both opponents, having never lost to Air Force in 16 previous meetings and owning a 6-3 advantage against Nebraska.
WVU and AF last met in 2010, also in Lincoln, and the Mountaineers earned a 4655-4587 victory.
The Mountaineers defeated the Huskers three times last year: in the regular season (4656-4592), in an NCAA qualifying match (4704-4596) and at the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships (4704-4591).
WVU, the two-time reigning GARC champions, returns to the range after a second-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Championships, the squad’s third top-three finish in as many years.
Three National Rifle Association All-Americans return to lead the Mountaineers – seniors Michael Kulbacki and Justin Pentz, and junior Petra Zublasing.
Zublasing, ranked No. 2 in every team statistical category last season, finished in second place in air rifle at last season’s national championships. She preceded that performance with a second-place overall finish at the GARC Championships, as well as a second place air rifle showing and a fourth-place smallbore finish.
Pentz also shot at last year’s national championships and finished fifth in air rifle, while Kulbacki, one of the nation’s top air rifle shooters, shot at the NCAA match his first two seasons as a Mountaineer.
Redshirt-freshman Thomas Kyanko also returns this season.
Six join the Mountaineers this season: junior Chance Cover, sophomore transfer Daniel Sojka and freshmen Amy Bock, Taylor Ciotola, Meelis Kiisk and Matthew Martin.
Both matches this weekend are expected to last into the afternoon.
“I think we’ve had a few good weeks of training, and we’re prepared and ready to open the season,” says sixth-year Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond. “I think our overall goal for this semester is to build a solid foundation for next semester and the championship season. We aren’t heading into this weekend looking to break records, but we would like to go to Nebraska and shoot two solid matches. We’re ready to test ourselves.”
The Mountaineers hold winning records over both opponents, having never lost to Air Force in 16 previous meetings and owning a 6-3 advantage against Nebraska.
WVU and AF last met in 2010, also in Lincoln, and the Mountaineers earned a 4655-4587 victory.
The Mountaineers defeated the Huskers three times last year: in the regular season (4656-4592), in an NCAA qualifying match (4704-4596) and at the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships (4704-4591).
WVU, the two-time reigning GARC champions, returns to the range after a second-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Championships, the squad’s third top-three finish in as many years.
Three National Rifle Association All-Americans return to lead the Mountaineers – seniors Michael Kulbacki and Justin Pentz, and junior Petra Zublasing.
Zublasing, ranked No. 2 in every team statistical category last season, finished in second place in air rifle at last season’s national championships. She preceded that performance with a second-place overall finish at the GARC Championships, as well as a second place air rifle showing and a fourth-place smallbore finish.
Pentz also shot at last year’s national championships and finished fifth in air rifle, while Kulbacki, one of the nation’s top air rifle shooters, shot at the NCAA match his first two seasons as a Mountaineer.
Redshirt-freshman Thomas Kyanko also returns this season.
Six join the Mountaineers this season: junior Chance Cover, sophomore transfer Daniel Sojka and freshmen Amy Bock, Taylor Ciotola, Meelis Kiisk and Matthew Martin.
Both matches this weekend are expected to last into the afternoon.
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