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Mountaineers Post NCAA Record Score in Win
January 12, 2016 07:04 PM | Rifle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team shot an NCAA record aggregate score of 4724, and defeated No. 5 Alaska-Fairbanks, 4724-4697, today, at the WVU Rifle Range.
West Virginia (8-0, 4-0 GARC) tallied its eighth straight victory and 22nd in a row at home. The Mountaineers outshot the Nanooks in both disciplines, besting UAF in air rifle, 2382-2374, and smallbore, 2342-2323.
“It was a special day,” coach Jon Hammond said. “We had a great performance and a lot of super individual efforts, but overall, we had a really good team performance. I think they were really focused on the right things today.
“They weren’t focused on the score or the outcome of the match. They were able just go in and work on their performances, and it was an all-around team effort to produce that kind of result.”
In smallbore, sophomore Elizabeth Gratz and senior Meelis Kiisk matched a program record, shooting 200 prone, while junior Jean-Pierre Lucas also matched a program record with a kneeling score of 199. The 200 prone mark was last shot by Gratz and seniors Michael Bamsey and Garrett Spurgeon against Ohio State, at the WVU Rifle Range, on Nov. 21, 2015. The 199 kneeling score was last shot by Spurgeon against TCU, at the WVU Rifle Range, on Oct. 12, 2014.
“There was a lot of strong, individual efforts,” Hammond noted. “There was a lot of really good performances across the board, and the great thing is that there is still room for improvement. Anytime you go out and shoot a personal best, it is going to contribute to the team’s overall score.”
Lucas shot a career-high 589 (199 kneeling, 199 prone, 191 standing) smallbore score and tied for first place. Spurgeon (194 kneeling, 198 prone, 195 standing) and Bamsey (196 kneeling, 199 prone, 192 standing) tied for third with a smallbore score of 587. Bamsey matched his career-high smallbore score last shot at Memphis on Oct. 31, 2015.
Kiisk placed fifth with a smallbore score of 586 (194 kneeling 200 prone, 192 standing), while senior Patrick Sunderman placed sixth with a score of 585 (195 kneeling, 198 prone, 192 standing). Freshmen Ginny Thrasher placed ninth and freshman Will Anti placed 10th with scores of 579 and 578, respectively.
Tim Sherry paced the Nanooks in smallbore with a score of 589 and tied for first.
A Mountaineer also tied for first in air rifle, as Thrasher shot a career-high 598 (100, 99, 100, 100, 99, 100). Spurgeon matched a personal-best score of 597 (100, 100, 99, 99, 99, 100) to finish third place in air rifle. Sunderman shot a 594 mark and tied for fourth place.
Sagen Maddalena paced the Nanooks in air rifle with a 598 score and placed first.
Four Mountaineers shot toward the team’s score in both guns: Gratz, Kiisk, Spurgeon and Thrasher. Bamsey shot toward the team’s smallbore mark, and Sunderman added to the squad’s air rifle total.
With the win, WVU improves to 11-7 all-time against UAF.
“Today showed that we are a really talented team,” Hammond explained. “They put in a lot of hard work during the first semester, and we have to keep working on the things that we have been working on. Today showed that they are capable of producing really good performances.”
The Mountaineers return to the WVU Rifle Range on Sunday, Jan. 17, to shoot against Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) foe, No. 15-ranked Akron. The match is set to begin at 8 a.m., and fans are encouraged to sit inside the range to watch the competition. The WVU Rifle Range is located directly behind the WVU Coliseum near the WVU Natatorium.
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