Rifle: WVU Defends GARC Title
February 25, 2011 03:32 PM | General
LIVE STATS
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1 West Virginia rifle team shoots for its second straight Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) championship on Feb. 26-27, at Mississippi’s Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Center, in Oxford, Miss.
The Mountaineers’ (11-2, 5-1 GARC) defense of their fourth GARC title begins tomorrow, as they take to the line for the smallbore competition at 8:30 a.m. ET, with finals set for a 5:30 p.m. start. The competition concludes Sunday, with the open air rifle relay at 9 a.m. and the finals at 1:30 p.m.
“We’ve been preparing all season for the championships,” says two-time GARC Coach of the Year Jon Hammond. “The team is focused and knows what it is capable of doing. We just need to go out there, focus on ourselves and shoot well.”
The Mountaineers enter the championships on a high, having shot a nation-best 4704 in season-ending victories over No. 11 Columbus State (4704-4607) and No. 9 Nebraska (4704-4596). In addition to its aggregate record, WVU also set air rifle (2374) and smallbore (2336) program records this season.
Five-time GARC champion No. 4 Kentucky is the only conference opponent to defeat the Mountaineers this season, as the Wildcats scored a 4696-4680 victory in Lexington, Ky., on Feb. 5; the win gave UK the GARC regular-season title.
“We have a great rivalry with Kentucky,” Hammond says. “Over the last few years, it’s been back-and-forth between us. We’re not only looking to win the championship this weekend, but we’re also looking to get one back over them for that loss.”
WVU, the 2010 GARC regular-season champions, shot 4653 at last year’s championships to secure its fourth conference title and first since winning three straight from 1998-2000. The Mountaineers also won the team smallbore title (2317) and finished third in air rifle (2336).
Senior Nicco Campriani swept the individual competitions, winning air rifle (597 relay, 102.8 finals), smallbore (590 relay, 101.9 finals) and combined score (1187).
Campriani enters this year’s championships after shooting a school-record 600 air rifle twice this season, most recently in the team’s victory over CSU on Feb. 6. The Florence, Italy, native also shot a season-best 592 smallbore, one shot short of the school record, for a program-best 1192 aggregate score.
Campriani paces the Mountaineers with 596.8 and 588.4 air rifle and smallbore season averages, respectively.
Junior Justin Pentz shoots at this weekend’s championships following a personal-best performance on Feb. 12, as the DuBois, Pa., native shot 595 air rifle and finished second overall. He previously shot a personal-best 588 smallbore on Nov. 14.
Through 13 matches this season, the Mountaineers average 2359.77 air rifle and 2314.15 smallbore for a 4680.92 aggregate score average.
No. 6 Ole Miss plays host to the championships for the seventh straight year. Rounding out this year’s championships field are No. 5 Army, the 2008 GARC champions, the Huskers, NC State and Memphis.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1 West Virginia rifle team shoots for its second straight Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) championship on Feb. 26-27, at Mississippi’s Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Center, in Oxford, Miss.
The Mountaineers’ (11-2, 5-1 GARC) defense of their fourth GARC title begins tomorrow, as they take to the line for the smallbore competition at 8:30 a.m. ET, with finals set for a 5:30 p.m. start. The competition concludes Sunday, with the open air rifle relay at 9 a.m. and the finals at 1:30 p.m.
“We’ve been preparing all season for the championships,” says two-time GARC Coach of the Year Jon Hammond. “The team is focused and knows what it is capable of doing. We just need to go out there, focus on ourselves and shoot well.”
The Mountaineers enter the championships on a high, having shot a nation-best 4704 in season-ending victories over No. 11 Columbus State (4704-4607) and No. 9 Nebraska (4704-4596). In addition to its aggregate record, WVU also set air rifle (2374) and smallbore (2336) program records this season.
Five-time GARC champion No. 4 Kentucky is the only conference opponent to defeat the Mountaineers this season, as the Wildcats scored a 4696-4680 victory in Lexington, Ky., on Feb. 5; the win gave UK the GARC regular-season title.
“We have a great rivalry with Kentucky,” Hammond says. “Over the last few years, it’s been back-and-forth between us. We’re not only looking to win the championship this weekend, but we’re also looking to get one back over them for that loss.”
WVU, the 2010 GARC regular-season champions, shot 4653 at last year’s championships to secure its fourth conference title and first since winning three straight from 1998-2000. The Mountaineers also won the team smallbore title (2317) and finished third in air rifle (2336).
Senior Nicco Campriani swept the individual competitions, winning air rifle (597 relay, 102.8 finals), smallbore (590 relay, 101.9 finals) and combined score (1187).
Campriani enters this year’s championships after shooting a school-record 600 air rifle twice this season, most recently in the team’s victory over CSU on Feb. 6. The Florence, Italy, native also shot a season-best 592 smallbore, one shot short of the school record, for a program-best 1192 aggregate score.
Campriani paces the Mountaineers with 596.8 and 588.4 air rifle and smallbore season averages, respectively.
Junior Justin Pentz shoots at this weekend’s championships following a personal-best performance on Feb. 12, as the DuBois, Pa., native shot 595 air rifle and finished second overall. He previously shot a personal-best 588 smallbore on Nov. 14.
Through 13 matches this season, the Mountaineers average 2359.77 air rifle and 2314.15 smallbore for a 4680.92 aggregate score average.
No. 6 Ole Miss plays host to the championships for the seventh straight year. Rounding out this year’s championships field are No. 5 Army, the 2008 GARC champions, the Huskers, NC State and Memphis.
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