MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 2-ranked West Virginia University rifle team earned its ninth win of the season with a 4703-4678 victory at No. 3 TCU this afternoon at the TCU Rifle Range in Fort Worth, Texas.
In a battle between two of the NCAA's best programs, the Mountaineers (9-0, 4-0 GARC) split the discipline matches with the Horned Frogs (3-1), winning smallbore, 2337-2310, but dropping air rifle, 2366-2368.
With the victory, the Mountaineers snapped the Horned Frogs' win streak at 12. TCU had previously not lost in Fort Worth since Feb. 20, 2016.
"I think it was a really steady, professional performance from the team today," Mountaineer coach
Jon Hammond said. "We got off to a good start in smallbore, and I was happy with our strong performances. I wouldn't say we had a bad air rifle match, but I do think fatigue may have settled in a bit. We still had a solid performance.
"We take every match as a learning opportunity, and I like the way the team handled the match today. Their attitude was good. We've shot in different ranges and environments all fall, and I don't think we've hit our peak yet. That's not our goal for this semester. We want to build on these lessons and have a really strong finish to the fall schedule."
Juniors
Morgan Phillips and
Milica Babic paced the Mountaineers today. Phillips won smallbore with a season-best 591 (196 kneeling, 199 prone, 196 standing) mark, while Babic placed second in air rifle with a 596 (100-99-99-100-99-99) total.
"Morgan led the way in smallbore with a very strong, professional match," Hammond added. "Milica had a few struggles in smallbore early, but near the end, she worked hard and had a solid standing performance. It was positive for her, and she carried that momentum into air rifle."
TCU's Casey Lutz shot a winning 597 air rifle.
Senior
Ginny Thrasher and sophomore
Sarah Osborn finished just behind Phillips in smallbore, shooting 585 and 584, respectively, and placing second and third.
Sophomore
Noah Barker shot a career-high 579 smallbore and finished tied for fifth place. Classmate
David Koenders finished in ninth place with a 577 mark, and freshman
Jared Eddy shot 576 and placed 10th.
Babic and senior
Will Anti added marks of 574 and 564, respectively.
Kristen Hemphill paced TCU in smallbore and finished fourth overall with a 581 score.
Making her air rifle season debut, Phillips finished third today with a 593 mark. Thrasher shot 592 and placed fifth.
Koenders finished in seventh place with a 590 total, and Osborn (588) and Eddy (587) followed in eighth and ninth place, respectively. Anti shot 585, and Barker finished with a 583 total.
Four Mountaineers shot toward both team scores: Babic, Koenders, Osborn and Thrasher. Eddy was a member of the air rifle counting squad, and Phillips competed for the smallbore squad.
With the win, WVU improves to 6-2 all-time against TCU.
The Mountaineers conclude their fall slate against NC State on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 10 a.m., at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building.
