MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team opens its 2017-18 home season at the WVU Rifle Range against No. 5 Ohio State on Saturday, Sept. 30. Competition will begin at 8 a.m. and continue into the afternoon.
 
Fans are encouraged to stop by the range throughout the day to cheer for the five-time reigning National Champion Mountaineers (1-0, 1-0 GARC). The WVU Rifle Range is located in the Shell Building directly behind the WVU Coliseum. Admission is free.
 
WVU earned two victories over the Buckeyes last season, including a 4721-4670 win in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 23.
 
"It's always nice to open our home season in our own range. There's a comfort factor there, and we are looking forward to that this weekend," Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. "This is where we spend most of our time training. There's a general excitement around the team as we open our home season, and this week, we'll be focused on getting more match experience under our belts."
 
The Mountaineers return to competition following a 4703-4630 win over No. 9 NC State in the season opener on Sept. 23, at The Citadel's Inouye Marksmanship Center, in Charleston, South Carolina. WVU defeated NCSU in both disciplines, winning smallbore, 2331-2284, and air rifle, 2372-2346.
 
"Following last week's match, we didn't focus on anything specific in training, just the basics," Hammond added. "We are building now for the rest of the year – mindset, position and techniques. We will continue to do that throughout the semester."
 
Junior Ginny Thrasher led the way last week, shooting winning marks of 595 air rifle and 587 smallbore.
 
OSU also opened its season at The Citadel last week and finished with a team score of 4646. The Buckeyes tallied a smallbore mark of 2300 and shot 2346 in air rifle. Unlike the Mountaineers, the Buckeyes did not shoot a shoulder-to-shoulder match against one team last week.