Friday, March 9
Charleston, S.C.
10:15 a.m.
West Virginia University
at
NCAA Championships
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
No. 1 WVU Seeks Sixth Straight Title
March 08, 2018 03:14 PM | Rifle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The top-ranked West Virginia University rifle team shoots for its sixth straight and nation-best 20th NCAA Championship at the 2018 NCAA National Rifle Championships this weekend, March 9-10, at The Citadel's McAlister Field House in Charleston, South Carolina.
The championship opens Friday, March 9, with the smallbore discipline, with relays at 10:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. An eight-athlete final will be held at 3:30 p.m.
On Saturday, the air rifle relays will be held at 10:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., with an eight-person final set to begin at 2:30 p.m. An award ceremony will follow.
Links for live targets and a video stream are available at WVUsports.com.
Five Mountaineers and three past NCAA champions will represent WVU (13-0, 9-0 GARC) this weekend: senior Elizabeth Gratz, junior Ginny Thrasher, the 2016 NCAA smallbore and air rifle champion, sophomores Morgan Phillips and Milica Babic, the reigning NCAA smallbore and air rifle champions, respectively, and redshirt-freshman David Koenders.
"We feel great about the team we're taking to the championships," Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. "They've had an excellent season – a record-breaking season – and we've had great team chemistry throughout the year. This is one of the strongest groups of five we've taken to the NCAA Championships."
TCU is seeded second. Murray State and Kentucky are seeded No. 3 and No. 4, and Alaska-Fairbanks follows at No. 5. Air Force, Ohio State and Nebraska round out the field.
Since Hammond's arrival in 2006, the Mountaineers have won six national titles, including his first in 2009. A championship win this weekend would make WVU the first team in the sport's history to win six straight titles twice; the Mountaineers achieved the feat from 1988-1993. Alaska-Fairbanks also won six straight titles from 1999-2004.
"A successful weekend for us would be going to the championship and having great performances," Hammond explained. "Naturally, you want to win the championship. We're very conscious of the fact that we don't control that. We have to set our own expectations, which are to perform to the best of our abilities and to enjoy the experience. We want to do our best."
WVU has set three NCAA records this season, including the team aggregate record of 4742, attained in a victory at Murray State (4703) on Nov. 12. WVU also shot an NCAA-record 2356 smallbore that day. Just one month earlier, the Mountaineers shot an NCAA-record 2392 air rifle against Mississippi on Oct. 21.
Thrasher, the 2018 Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) air rifle and smallbore champion, paces the Mountaineers in both disciplines with season averages of 586.3 smallbore and 596.6 air rifle. Phillips follows in smallbore with a 585.8 average, and Babic ranks No. 2 in air rifle with a 596.2 average.
The Mountaineers claimed the 2017 NCAA title on March 11 with a championship-record 4723, shot inside The Ohio State's French Field House. WVU swept the team titles, shooting 2336 smallbore and a season-high 2387 air rifle. A pair of rookies claimed the individual titles, as Babic shot 208.1 in the air rifle final and Phillips shot 464.3 in the smallbore final. Phillips also finished second in air rifle and was named the NCAA Championships' Top Performer.
"Morgan and Milica will have a lot of outside expectations placed on them, but they need to focus on themselves and their own expectations," Hammond added. "I want them to relax, enjoy the competition and trust what they've been doing."
WVU student-athletes have swept the NCAA individual titles five times since 1992. Twenty different Mountaineers have claimed 27 National Championships since 1961.
Most recently, the Mountaineers won their ninth straight GARC Championship title with a 4699 showing at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range on Feb. 25. WVU tallied marks of 2366 air rifle and 2333 smallbore.
The championship opens Friday, March 9, with the smallbore discipline, with relays at 10:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. An eight-athlete final will be held at 3:30 p.m.
On Saturday, the air rifle relays will be held at 10:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., with an eight-person final set to begin at 2:30 p.m. An award ceremony will follow.
Links for live targets and a video stream are available at WVUsports.com.
Five Mountaineers and three past NCAA champions will represent WVU (13-0, 9-0 GARC) this weekend: senior Elizabeth Gratz, junior Ginny Thrasher, the 2016 NCAA smallbore and air rifle champion, sophomores Morgan Phillips and Milica Babic, the reigning NCAA smallbore and air rifle champions, respectively, and redshirt-freshman David Koenders.
"We feel great about the team we're taking to the championships," Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. "They've had an excellent season – a record-breaking season – and we've had great team chemistry throughout the year. This is one of the strongest groups of five we've taken to the NCAA Championships."
TCU is seeded second. Murray State and Kentucky are seeded No. 3 and No. 4, and Alaska-Fairbanks follows at No. 5. Air Force, Ohio State and Nebraska round out the field.
Since Hammond's arrival in 2006, the Mountaineers have won six national titles, including his first in 2009. A championship win this weekend would make WVU the first team in the sport's history to win six straight titles twice; the Mountaineers achieved the feat from 1988-1993. Alaska-Fairbanks also won six straight titles from 1999-2004.
"A successful weekend for us would be going to the championship and having great performances," Hammond explained. "Naturally, you want to win the championship. We're very conscious of the fact that we don't control that. We have to set our own expectations, which are to perform to the best of our abilities and to enjoy the experience. We want to do our best."
WVU has set three NCAA records this season, including the team aggregate record of 4742, attained in a victory at Murray State (4703) on Nov. 12. WVU also shot an NCAA-record 2356 smallbore that day. Just one month earlier, the Mountaineers shot an NCAA-record 2392 air rifle against Mississippi on Oct. 21.
Thrasher, the 2018 Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) air rifle and smallbore champion, paces the Mountaineers in both disciplines with season averages of 586.3 smallbore and 596.6 air rifle. Phillips follows in smallbore with a 585.8 average, and Babic ranks No. 2 in air rifle with a 596.2 average.
The Mountaineers claimed the 2017 NCAA title on March 11 with a championship-record 4723, shot inside The Ohio State's French Field House. WVU swept the team titles, shooting 2336 smallbore and a season-high 2387 air rifle. A pair of rookies claimed the individual titles, as Babic shot 208.1 in the air rifle final and Phillips shot 464.3 in the smallbore final. Phillips also finished second in air rifle and was named the NCAA Championships' Top Performer.
"Morgan and Milica will have a lot of outside expectations placed on them, but they need to focus on themselves and their own expectations," Hammond added. "I want them to relax, enjoy the competition and trust what they've been doing."
WVU student-athletes have swept the NCAA individual titles five times since 1992. Twenty different Mountaineers have claimed 27 National Championships since 1961.
Most recently, the Mountaineers won their ninth straight GARC Championship title with a 4699 showing at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range on Feb. 25. WVU tallied marks of 2366 air rifle and 2333 smallbore.
Players Mentioned
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
A Conversation with Wren Baker
Monday, December 05
Jon Hammond | Thursday
Thursday, September 30
Life as a Mountaineer - Jared Eddy
Wednesday, March 24
Jon Hammond | Thursday
Thursday, January 14
