MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team continued its season-opening win streak with a 4716-4653 victory at Nebraska today at the Nebraska Rifle Range.
 
The Mountaineers (3-0, 2-0 GARC) earned their second Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) win with a sweep of the discipline competitions, winning smallbore, 2336-2304, and air rifle, 2380-2349.
 
"Today was a gritty performance," Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. "A lot of the team had some struggles at some ponts in the match, but I was pleased with how they stuck to their tasks and stuck to their jobs on a mental aspect. They did a good job with that.
 
"We aren't crunching the numbers and seeing if we're up and down – we are just looking at the overall performances. They are shooting at such high levels with small margins of error. We aren't focusing on the numbers, but more the overall results. I think everyone handled the situation well today and shot the best they could."
 
Two WVU student-athletes earned the individual wins. Sophomore Milica Babic earned her second straight air rifle victory with a 597 (100-100-99-99-100-99) score, while redshirt-freshman David Koenders took the smallbore win with a career-high 588 (195 kneeling, 199 prone, 194 standing) total.
 
"David has been working really hard and settling in each week," Hammond added. "I think today was a solid performance and his most consistent showing. He's been working a lot in training, and that showed today. There's been a really good progression for him, and I'm happy to see that."
 
Senior Elizabeth Gratz finished second in air rifle with a season-high 595 mark. Koenders and junior Ginny Thrasher tied for third with 594s, while junior Will Anti and freshman Sarah Osborn shot 587 and tied for seventh place.
 
Of note, redshirt-freshman Noah Barker shot a season-best 583 air rifle, while sophomore Jack Anderson shot a season-best 580.
 
Dacotah Faught paced the Huskers in air rifle and finished fifth overall with a 592 mark.
 
In smallbore, Babic and sophomore Morgan Phillips tied for second with 586 totals, a season-best for Phillips. Anti shot a season-best 578 and tied for fourth place, while Gratz and Barker each shot 576, a season high for Barker, and tied for seventh place.
 
Also in smallbore, Thrasher shot a program-best 200 prone and finished ninth overall with a 575 mark.
 
Kayla Gadeken and Nina Radulovic tied Anti and finished fourth in smallbore with 578 marks.
 
Five Mountaineers counted toward the team's scores: Babic, Gratz, Koenders, Phillips and Thrasher.
 
WVU returns to Morgantown next weekend and plays host to GARC opponent No. 9 Mississippi on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 8 a.m., at the WVU Rifle Range.