CHARLESTON, S.C. – The top-ranked West Virginia University rifle team sits in second place after the first day of competition at the 2018 NCAA National Championships, as the Mountaineers shot 2327 smallbore today at The Citadel's McAlister Field House.
Additionally, sophomore
Morgan Phillips successfully defended her 2017 NCAA smallbore title. The Salisbury, Maryland, native clawed her way to the individual championship with a 459.4 final showing.
WVU trails No. 4-ranked Kentucky by 18 shots, as the Wildcats sit in first place with a 2345 score. No. 2-ranked TCU is in third place with a 2326 total, and No. 3 Murray State is in fourth place with a 2324 score.
Air Force is fifth with a 2319 total, and Alaska-Fairbanks is sixth with a 2312 mark. Nebraska and Ohio State are tied in seventh place with 2310 scores.
"They had a tough day, but they all worked incredibly hard," Mountaineer coach
Jon Hammond said. "They all had to fight a little bit, but honestly, they really gave it their best effort today. It wasn't our best team score – we're sitting in second place and have a lot of ground to make up over Kentucky. I can't fault anyone on the team – they all worked really hard today and were committed to doing their best. Some days, you just struggle. This is a really tough environment to shoot in. They worked hard and did their best, and we'll see what we can do tomorrow."
Sitting in fifth place in the final after the prone series, Phillips jumped five spots to first after the first five record shots in standing. She entered the knockout stage with a 0.5 lead over second place and never relinquished her advantage.
"Morgan shot a great final. It's a three-position final. You have to shoot great in all three positions," Hammond said. "She was middle of the pack after kneeling and prone but was still in it. She shot some incredible standing, and slowly but surely, she made her way up there. It was a bit of fight and a struggle, but what an accomplishment to win back-to-back titles as a freshman and sophomore.
"Just a great overall performance from Morgan today and an awesome final. Hopefully, this is a great pick-me-up for the team – something we can celebrate and take some momentum with us into tomorrow."
"I just tried to stay as present as possible and keep focused on every individual shot," Phillips added. "I knew I had a rough couple of kneeling series. I had to work through those and keep present for every shot after that. It means a lot (to repeat). I'm feeling a lot of emotion right now, and I'm pretty happy with it. It was definitely a fight out there today."
Phillips is the fourth Mountaineer to win back-to-back NCAA titles and the first since Petra Zublasing claimed the air rifle championships in 2012 and 2013. She is only the second Mountaineer to repeat as the smallbore champion and the first since Web Wright won two straight titles in 1987 and 1988.
Since 1961, 20 different Mountaineers have claimed 28 National Championships.
Phillips entered the final in eighth place, shooting 584 (195 kneeling, 196 prone, 193 standing) in the day's first relay.
In third place after one relay, the Mountaineers made up ground in the second relay, as junior
Ginny Thrasher (192 kneeling, 199 prone, 191 standing) and sophomore
Milica Babic (195 kneeling, 199 prone, 188 standing) shot matching 582 marks, good enough for a share of 10th place.
Senior
Elizabeth Gratz and redshirt-freshman
David Koenders shot alongside Phillips in the day's first relay. Gratz finished 22nd overall with a 579 mark (195 kneeling, 199 prone, 185 standing), while Koenders placed 36th with a 575 (193 kneeling, 198 prone, 184 standing).
"Tomorrow is a new day," Hammond added. "Things aren't really in our hands, as they never are in our sport. We're going to reset, refocus and shoot our best."
The 2018 NCAA Championships concludes tomorrow, March 10, with the air rifle competition at McAlister Field House. The first relay will begin at 10:15 a.m., and the second relay will start at 12:15 p.m. The eight-person final will follow at 2:30 p.m.
