Rifle: Zublasing Wins National Air Rifle Title
March 10, 2012 05:37 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University junior All-American Petra Zublasing won the 2012 NCAA air rifle title, today, at the NCAA Rifle Championships, held at Ohio State University’s Converse Hall and French Field House, in Columbus, Ohio.
The Appiano, Italy, native secured the championship with a 696.2 combined score. Zublasing entered the finals tied with TCU’s Sarah Scherer at 593 (99-99-99-99-99-98). The 2011 air rifle runner-up secured her first national title with a 103.2 finals showing. Scherer shot 100.3 in the finals and finished in third place.
“Today felt great,” says Zublasing. “I didn’t expect my relay score to be good enough for first place, so that was nice. My finals just felt good. I’m really happy to win the title.”
Zublasing is the second Mountaineer in as many seasons to win the national air rifle title; former teammate Nicco Campriani won the championship last season. She is the 16th WVU national champion. The Mountaineers have 20 total individual titles.
No. 2-ranked WVU finished second in air rifle with a 2350 mark, bringing its two-day total to 4647, good enough for sixth place. The Mountaineers shot 2297 smallbore and sat in eighth place yesterday.
“We didn’t shoot our best air rifle match, but this was a nice way to finish the year,” says coach Jon Hammond. “We came out today with a positive mind frame. I was glad everyone was able to put yesterday behind them and focus on air rifle.”
The TCU Horned Frogs, the No. 1 ranked team, won their second title in three years with an aggregate score of 4676; TCU won its first championship in 2010. The Horned Frogs finished first in air rifle today with a 2353 mark and placed third in smallbore with a 2323.
Alaska-Fairbanks finished third today with a 2349 air rifle score and placed third overall with a two-day total of 4661.
Mountaineer freshman Taylor Ciotola finished sixth in air rifle with a 690.4 total. The Pasadena, Md., native shot 591, the top mark from the first air rifle relay, and 99.4 in the finals.
“Taylor came out with such a great attitude,” Hammond says. “It was a big accomplishment for him to qualify for the finals in his first season.”
Senior Justin Pentz finished third on the team with a 586 mark, while his classmate Michael Kulbacki shot 580. Redshirt-freshman Thomas Kyanko shot 579.
The Mountaineers, the three-time defending Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) champions, finished the 2011-12 season with a 12-2 overall record and a 5-1 mark in conference.
National Rifle Association All-America honors will be announced later this week.
The Appiano, Italy, native secured the championship with a 696.2 combined score. Zublasing entered the finals tied with TCU’s Sarah Scherer at 593 (99-99-99-99-99-98). The 2011 air rifle runner-up secured her first national title with a 103.2 finals showing. Scherer shot 100.3 in the finals and finished in third place.
“Today felt great,” says Zublasing. “I didn’t expect my relay score to be good enough for first place, so that was nice. My finals just felt good. I’m really happy to win the title.”
Zublasing is the second Mountaineer in as many seasons to win the national air rifle title; former teammate Nicco Campriani won the championship last season. She is the 16th WVU national champion. The Mountaineers have 20 total individual titles.
No. 2-ranked WVU finished second in air rifle with a 2350 mark, bringing its two-day total to 4647, good enough for sixth place. The Mountaineers shot 2297 smallbore and sat in eighth place yesterday.
“We didn’t shoot our best air rifle match, but this was a nice way to finish the year,” says coach Jon Hammond. “We came out today with a positive mind frame. I was glad everyone was able to put yesterday behind them and focus on air rifle.”
The TCU Horned Frogs, the No. 1 ranked team, won their second title in three years with an aggregate score of 4676; TCU won its first championship in 2010. The Horned Frogs finished first in air rifle today with a 2353 mark and placed third in smallbore with a 2323.
Alaska-Fairbanks finished third today with a 2349 air rifle score and placed third overall with a two-day total of 4661.
Mountaineer freshman Taylor Ciotola finished sixth in air rifle with a 690.4 total. The Pasadena, Md., native shot 591, the top mark from the first air rifle relay, and 99.4 in the finals.
“Taylor came out with such a great attitude,” Hammond says. “It was a big accomplishment for him to qualify for the finals in his first season.”
Senior Justin Pentz finished third on the team with a 586 mark, while his classmate Michael Kulbacki shot 580. Redshirt-freshman Thomas Kyanko shot 579.
The Mountaineers, the three-time defending Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) champions, finished the 2011-12 season with a 12-2 overall record and a 5-1 mark in conference.
National Rifle Association All-America honors will be announced later this week.
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