Rifle Splits Weekend at Alaska
February 01, 2015 09:26 PM | General
.JPG) |
| Kyanko |
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team split two close matches with No. 2 Alaska-Fairbanks this weekend, January 31 and February 1, at the E.F. Horton Rifle Range in Fairbanks, Alaska.
WVU (10-1, 7-0 GARC) defeated UAF 4691-4688 on Saturday and lost, 4706-4705, today.
The Mountaineers won air rifle both days, while the Nanooks took both smallbore victories.
“The last two days have been great preparation for the NCAA Championship in March,” coach Jon Hammond said. “It was a really tough two matches for the team, but I’m proud of how hard they worked and dealt with the situation. We had some major travel issues resulting in a 28-hour trip the day before competing. Those things are out of our control, and while it was hard for the team, they dug in and did their best.”
While WVU lost to UAF in the smallbore discipline today, 2337-2327, senior Thomas Kyanko took first place, shooting 589 and matching his season high.
Junior Garrett Spurgeon shot 583 for fifth place, his best showing of the weekend. Senior Ziva Dvorsak and sophomore Jean-Pierre Lucas followed with 580, while senior Maren Prediger shot a 575 mark. Freshman Elizabeth Gratz scored 569 in the gun.
WVU won air rifle with a strong showing, 2378-2369, and Prediger and Dvorsak tied for first with 596.
Spurgeon tied with UAF’s Ryan Anderson and Sagen Maddalena for third with a 594 mark. Junior Patrick Sunderman and Kyanko shot 592, and Gratz completed the counting squad with a 587 shot.
Kyanko, Spurgeon, Dvorsak, Prediger and freshman Elizabeth Gratz made up the Mountaineer counting squads in both disciplines.
On Saturday, WVU fell short in smallbore, 2326-2314. The Mountaineers came back strong after the smallbore loss to win air rifle, outshooting the Nanooks 2377-2362.
Kyanko placed first in smallbore with a 586 mark, and Gratz followed with 581, while Lucas shot 578.
Dvorsak and Spurgeon tied for first in air rifle with 597, a career high for Spurgeon and just one short of Dvorsak’s. Sunderman tied for third with UAF’s Tim Sherry with a career-high 596 mark, while senior Maren Prediger scored 595 for fifth place. Gratz shot 592, while Lucas shot 591, one short of his career high.
“We had some positives, including personal bests from Garrett (Spurgeon) and Pat (Sunderman) in air rifle,” Hammond said. “We improved a lot today from yesterday.”
Bamsey, Dvorsak, Gratz, Lucas and Spurgeon made up Saturday’s counting squads.
This weekend’s matches push the team’s record against the Nanooks to 10-7 all time.
“It’s never nice to lose,” said Hammond. “We will focus on the things we learned and the good performances we did have, and I think we will be much better prepared when we come back here for the championships.”
The WVU rifle team will compete at No. 4 Kentucky next weekend, Friday, Feb. 7, in Lexington, Kentucky.
Gold-Blue Spring Festival Fan Recap
Sunday, April 19
John Neider | April 18
Saturday, April 18
Coach Zac Alley | April 18
Saturday, April 18
Coach Rich Rodriguez | April 18
Saturday, April 18
