Saturday, November 2
Oxford, Miss.
9:00 a.m.
West Virginia University
at
Ole Miss
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
No. 1 Mountaineers Return to the Road
November 01, 2019 02:36 PM | Rifle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team hits the road for a pair of Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) matches this weekend.
The Mountaineers first lineup at No. 8 Ole Miss (2-0, 1-0) on Saturday, Nov. 2, with action inside the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center, in Oxford, Mississippi, set to begin at 9 a.m. ET. WVU closes the weekend at No. 12 Memphis (0-2, 0-2) on Sunday, Nov. 3, with the head-to-head match set for a 9 a.m. ET start at the Fogelman Rifle Range, in Memphis, Tennessee.
"We are looking forward to this weekend," 14-year coach Jon Hammond said. "We are always trying to find ways to improve and do better, and there certainly are aspects that we want to improve on from the last match. This weekend also represents a great opportunity to shoot on the road at two different venues. It's always a challenge shooting two days in a row, but we are looking forward to that challenge."
The Mountaineers enter the weekend boasting a 4713.5 season average, including averages of 2334.5 smallbore and 2379 air rifle.
In its last match, WVU shot an identical aggregate score of 4708 against then-No. 2 TCU, the reigning National Champions, on Oct. 26, at the WVU Rifle Range, in Morgantown. Although the two squads had matching aggregate totals, the Mountaineers outshot the Horned Frogs in center shots, 311-293, for the match victory. It was the first time a contest between the top two teams was decided by a tiebreaker.
Senior Milica Babic, the reigning WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, paces WVU with a 598.5 air rifle season average. The Belgrade, Serbia, native matched her career-high score of 599, good for the best mark nationally thus far, to finish first in air rifle on Oct. 26. The last time she recorded a 599 mark was against Army West Point on Nov. 5, 2017.
Classmate Morgan Phillips, a native of Salisbury, Maryland, boasts a team-best 589 smallbore average, firing a season-high 589, including a program-record matching 200 prone, to place first against the Horned Frogs last weekend.
WVU, who is 15-3 all-time against the Rebels, will see a pair of familiar faces in Oxford on Saturday. Ole Miss' head coach Marsha Beasley led WVU to eight NCAA titles (1990-93, 1995-98), and assistant coach Jean-Pierre Lucas won four titles as a student-athlete (2014-17).
The Rebels are led by junior Abby Buesseler with an aggregate season average of 1171. Freshman Claire O'Neal paces Ole Miss with a 591.5 air rifle season average, while senior Alana Kelly sports a team-best 581.5 smallbore season average.
Additionally, WVU will face Memphis for the 16th time overall on Sunday, with the Mountaineers holding a 13-2 lead in the all-time series. The Tigers are led by third-year coach Dan Hermsmeier, a graduate assistant with the Mountaineers from 2014-16.
Last season, WVU earned a 4711-4639 win over Memphis on Oct. 14, 2018, at the WVU Rifle Range.
Looking ahead, the Mountaineers will take a week off from competition before welcoming Akron to Morgantown on Saturday, Nov. 16, followed by NC State on Sunday, Nov. 17.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The Mountaineers first lineup at No. 8 Ole Miss (2-0, 1-0) on Saturday, Nov. 2, with action inside the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center, in Oxford, Mississippi, set to begin at 9 a.m. ET. WVU closes the weekend at No. 12 Memphis (0-2, 0-2) on Sunday, Nov. 3, with the head-to-head match set for a 9 a.m. ET start at the Fogelman Rifle Range, in Memphis, Tennessee.
"We are looking forward to this weekend," 14-year coach Jon Hammond said. "We are always trying to find ways to improve and do better, and there certainly are aspects that we want to improve on from the last match. This weekend also represents a great opportunity to shoot on the road at two different venues. It's always a challenge shooting two days in a row, but we are looking forward to that challenge."
The Mountaineers enter the weekend boasting a 4713.5 season average, including averages of 2334.5 smallbore and 2379 air rifle.
In its last match, WVU shot an identical aggregate score of 4708 against then-No. 2 TCU, the reigning National Champions, on Oct. 26, at the WVU Rifle Range, in Morgantown. Although the two squads had matching aggregate totals, the Mountaineers outshot the Horned Frogs in center shots, 311-293, for the match victory. It was the first time a contest between the top two teams was decided by a tiebreaker.
Senior Milica Babic, the reigning WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, paces WVU with a 598.5 air rifle season average. The Belgrade, Serbia, native matched her career-high score of 599, good for the best mark nationally thus far, to finish first in air rifle on Oct. 26. The last time she recorded a 599 mark was against Army West Point on Nov. 5, 2017.
Classmate Morgan Phillips, a native of Salisbury, Maryland, boasts a team-best 589 smallbore average, firing a season-high 589, including a program-record matching 200 prone, to place first against the Horned Frogs last weekend.
WVU, who is 15-3 all-time against the Rebels, will see a pair of familiar faces in Oxford on Saturday. Ole Miss' head coach Marsha Beasley led WVU to eight NCAA titles (1990-93, 1995-98), and assistant coach Jean-Pierre Lucas won four titles as a student-athlete (2014-17).
The Rebels are led by junior Abby Buesseler with an aggregate season average of 1171. Freshman Claire O'Neal paces Ole Miss with a 591.5 air rifle season average, while senior Alana Kelly sports a team-best 581.5 smallbore season average.
Additionally, WVU will face Memphis for the 16th time overall on Sunday, with the Mountaineers holding a 13-2 lead in the all-time series. The Tigers are led by third-year coach Dan Hermsmeier, a graduate assistant with the Mountaineers from 2014-16.
Last season, WVU earned a 4711-4639 win over Memphis on Oct. 14, 2018, at the WVU Rifle Range.
Looking ahead, the Mountaineers will take a week off from competition before welcoming Akron to Morgantown on Saturday, Nov. 16, followed by NC State on Sunday, Nov. 17.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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