Rifle: No. 1 WVU Welcomes No. 9 NU
February 11, 2011 11:36 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1 West Virginia rifle team closes out its home season and plays host to No. 9 Nebraska on Saturday, Feb. 12, at the WVU Rifle Range at 8 a.m.
The second meeting of the season between the Mountaineers (10-2, 5-1 GARC) and the Huskers (3-9, 2-3 GARC) also will serve as an NCAA qualifying match. WVU previously trumped NU, 4656-4592, on Nov. 21, and also defeated NU, 4659-4612, in its 2010 qualifying match. Both meetings took place in Morgantown.
Scores from Saturday will be added to the teams’ current averages, with the top eight teams from this weekend’s qualifiers advancing to the NCAA Championships on March 11-12, in Columbus, Ga.
The Mountaineers enter tomorrow’s match with a 4,679.0 season average.
“The team is focused on just shooting a good match,” says fifth-year coach Jon Hammond. “Hopefully, nothing else is weighing on their shoulders. Every student-athlete’s job is to come out and focus on shooting in the moment and competing as best he can.”
WVU is coming off a nation-best performance, having defeated No. 11 Columbus State, 4704-4607, on Feb. 6, in Lexington, Ky. Not only did the Mountaineers shoot an NCAA- and school-best aggregate score, they also shot a program-high 2336 smallbore. Additionally, senior Nicco Campriani shot his second perfect 600 air rifle score of the season and a school-record 1192 combined score.
“Individually, everyone has something they can work on this weekend,” Hammond explains. “Though last week’s performance was strong, we did not shoot personal bests across the board, and as a team we can still shoot higher numbers. This part of the season is all about fine-tuning and for everyone on the team to shoot the best he can.”
The Huskers closed out their regular season with a 4688-4585 loss to reigning national champion TCU on Feb. 6.
WVU owns a 5-3 all-time record over NU.
The Mountaineers went 1-1 last weekend, dropping a 4696-4680 decision at No. 4 Kentucky prior to their victory over the Cougars. The win gave the Wildcats the 2010-11 Great American Rifle Conference regular-season crown.
Campriani enters tomorrow’s match pacing the Mountaineers in both guns with a 596.67 air rifle average and a 588.78 smallbore average. He also ranks tops on the team with an 1185.44 aggregate score average.
After just four matches, sophomore Petra Zublasing ranks second on the team in both guns with a 594.75 air rifle average and a 584.0 smallbore mark. Seniors Tommy Santelli and Andy Lamson are third on the team with matching 587.25 air rifle averages, while classmate Kyle Smith ranks third in smallbore with a 581.09 average.
Tomorrow match marks the final home competition for seven seniors: Campriani, Lamson, Santelli, Smith, Brandi Eskew, Andraz Poje and Ashley Zultanky.
Fans are encouraged to stop by the range all day, as the two teams will shoot into the afternoon.
The second meeting of the season between the Mountaineers (10-2, 5-1 GARC) and the Huskers (3-9, 2-3 GARC) also will serve as an NCAA qualifying match. WVU previously trumped NU, 4656-4592, on Nov. 21, and also defeated NU, 4659-4612, in its 2010 qualifying match. Both meetings took place in Morgantown.
Scores from Saturday will be added to the teams’ current averages, with the top eight teams from this weekend’s qualifiers advancing to the NCAA Championships on March 11-12, in Columbus, Ga.
The Mountaineers enter tomorrow’s match with a 4,679.0 season average.
“The team is focused on just shooting a good match,” says fifth-year coach Jon Hammond. “Hopefully, nothing else is weighing on their shoulders. Every student-athlete’s job is to come out and focus on shooting in the moment and competing as best he can.”
WVU is coming off a nation-best performance, having defeated No. 11 Columbus State, 4704-4607, on Feb. 6, in Lexington, Ky. Not only did the Mountaineers shoot an NCAA- and school-best aggregate score, they also shot a program-high 2336 smallbore. Additionally, senior Nicco Campriani shot his second perfect 600 air rifle score of the season and a school-record 1192 combined score.
“Individually, everyone has something they can work on this weekend,” Hammond explains. “Though last week’s performance was strong, we did not shoot personal bests across the board, and as a team we can still shoot higher numbers. This part of the season is all about fine-tuning and for everyone on the team to shoot the best he can.”
The Huskers closed out their regular season with a 4688-4585 loss to reigning national champion TCU on Feb. 6.
WVU owns a 5-3 all-time record over NU.
The Mountaineers went 1-1 last weekend, dropping a 4696-4680 decision at No. 4 Kentucky prior to their victory over the Cougars. The win gave the Wildcats the 2010-11 Great American Rifle Conference regular-season crown.
Campriani enters tomorrow’s match pacing the Mountaineers in both guns with a 596.67 air rifle average and a 588.78 smallbore average. He also ranks tops on the team with an 1185.44 aggregate score average.
After just four matches, sophomore Petra Zublasing ranks second on the team in both guns with a 594.75 air rifle average and a 584.0 smallbore mark. Seniors Tommy Santelli and Andy Lamson are third on the team with matching 587.25 air rifle averages, while classmate Kyle Smith ranks third in smallbore with a 581.09 average.
Tomorrow match marks the final home competition for seven seniors: Campriani, Lamson, Santelli, Smith, Brandi Eskew, Andraz Poje and Ashley Zultanky.
Fans are encouraged to stop by the range all day, as the two teams will shoot into the afternoon.
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