Sunday, February 11
Morgantown, W.Va.
10:00 a.m.
West Virginia University
4720
vs
4693
Kentucky
No. 1 Mountaineers Claim GARC Crown
February 11, 2018 06:55 PM | Rifle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – For the fifth straight season and the 11th time in program history, the West Virginia University rifle team is the Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) regular-season champion, as the top-ranked Mountaineers claimed the 2018 crown with a 4720-4693 victory over No. 3 Kentucky this afternoon at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range.
Competing in their new home venue for the first time, the Mountaineers (13-0, 9-0) outshot the Wildcats (7-1, 6-1 GARC) in both disciplines, winning smallbore, 2337-2317, and air rifle, 2383-2376.
With the win, WVU improves to 19-9 all-time against the Wildcats.
"Today was a great day. There were a lot of different factors going into the day, and I was pleased to see a lot of strong individual performances, as well as a good team effort across the board," Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. "Winning this title is part of the process of having a successful season, and it's good to check this accomplishment off the list. We did well against a strong Kentucky team, but we'll move on relatively quickly as we have more to accomplish.
"I was particularly pleased to see the team compete so well in the new range. They enjoyed the new setting and adjusted quickly. It's going to be exciting moving forward with this range and providing a good environment for our fans."
A pair of Mountaineers tied for first place in air rifle, as senior Elizabeth Gratz (100-100-100-100-99-99) and sophomore Milica Babic (100-100-99-100-100-99) each shot 598. The mark is a season-high matching score for Gratz.
"This was a great air rifle match for Elizabeth and Milica," Hammond noted. "As a coach, it was nice to see them have such a good match in a new range. This range mimics what we will see at the NCAA Championship, and today's match was good practice for them. They showed a lot of discipline today."
Sophomore Morgan Phillips finished in fifth place with a 595 mark, and junior Ginny Thrasher followed in sixth place with a 592 total.
Redshirt-freshman David Koenders shot 591 and placed eighth. Junior Will Anti and freshman Sarah Osborn tied for 10th place with matching 589 marks, and sophomore Jack Anderson and redshirt-freshman Noah Barker added scores of 580.
Henrik Larsen and Hailee Sigmon paced the Wildcats and finished in third place with 597 totals.
Koenders paced the Mountaineers in smallbore with a second place, 586 (195 kneeling, 199 prone, 192 standing) total. Phillips and Thrasher tied for third place with 584 totals, and Babic finished in fifth place with a 583 score.
Gratz shot 581 and placed sixth, while Anti matched his season-high score of 578 and finished in seventh place. Osborn finished in 10th place with a 575 total, and Barker and Anderson added scores of 563 and 562, respectively.
"Smallbore was a strong team effort," Hammond added. "Everyone had a solid match. There are parts they each want to improve on, but there was a lot of good, too. We'll build off today."
Larsen finished first in smallbore with a 590 total.
Five Mountaineers counted toward the team's scores: Babic, Gratz, Koenders, Phillips and Thrasher.
WVU returns to the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range on Saturday, Feb. 17, for an NCAA Qualifying Match at 10 a.m.
Competing in their new home venue for the first time, the Mountaineers (13-0, 9-0) outshot the Wildcats (7-1, 6-1 GARC) in both disciplines, winning smallbore, 2337-2317, and air rifle, 2383-2376.
With the win, WVU improves to 19-9 all-time against the Wildcats.
"Today was a great day. There were a lot of different factors going into the day, and I was pleased to see a lot of strong individual performances, as well as a good team effort across the board," Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. "Winning this title is part of the process of having a successful season, and it's good to check this accomplishment off the list. We did well against a strong Kentucky team, but we'll move on relatively quickly as we have more to accomplish.
"I was particularly pleased to see the team compete so well in the new range. They enjoyed the new setting and adjusted quickly. It's going to be exciting moving forward with this range and providing a good environment for our fans."
A pair of Mountaineers tied for first place in air rifle, as senior Elizabeth Gratz (100-100-100-100-99-99) and sophomore Milica Babic (100-100-99-100-100-99) each shot 598. The mark is a season-high matching score for Gratz.
"This was a great air rifle match for Elizabeth and Milica," Hammond noted. "As a coach, it was nice to see them have such a good match in a new range. This range mimics what we will see at the NCAA Championship, and today's match was good practice for them. They showed a lot of discipline today."
Sophomore Morgan Phillips finished in fifth place with a 595 mark, and junior Ginny Thrasher followed in sixth place with a 592 total.
Redshirt-freshman David Koenders shot 591 and placed eighth. Junior Will Anti and freshman Sarah Osborn tied for 10th place with matching 589 marks, and sophomore Jack Anderson and redshirt-freshman Noah Barker added scores of 580.
Henrik Larsen and Hailee Sigmon paced the Wildcats and finished in third place with 597 totals.
Koenders paced the Mountaineers in smallbore with a second place, 586 (195 kneeling, 199 prone, 192 standing) total. Phillips and Thrasher tied for third place with 584 totals, and Babic finished in fifth place with a 583 score.
Gratz shot 581 and placed sixth, while Anti matched his season-high score of 578 and finished in seventh place. Osborn finished in 10th place with a 575 total, and Barker and Anderson added scores of 563 and 562, respectively.
"Smallbore was a strong team effort," Hammond added. "Everyone had a solid match. There are parts they each want to improve on, but there was a lot of good, too. We'll build off today."
Larsen finished first in smallbore with a 590 total.
Five Mountaineers counted toward the team's scores: Babic, Gratz, Koenders, Phillips and Thrasher.
WVU returns to the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range on Saturday, Feb. 17, for an NCAA Qualifying Match at 10 a.m.
Players Mentioned
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