Saturday, November 2
Oxford, Miss.
9:00 a.m.
West Virginia University
4704
at
4674
Ole Miss
Photo by: Brian Persinger / WVU Photograph
No. 1 Mountaineers Defeat No. 8 Ole Miss
November 02, 2019 08:38 PM | Rifle
AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team defeated No. 8 Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) foe Ole Miss by a score of 4704-4674 on Saturday, at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center, in Oxford, Mississippi.
The Mountaineers (3-0, 2-0 GARC) topped the Rebels (2-1, 1-1) in smallbore, 2342-2302, but suffered a 2372-2362 setback in air rifle.
"We had a strong start in smallbore, but struggled in air rifle," 14-year coach Jon Hammond said. "It's always good to shoot in different ranges, but more than half of the team has never shot here before. Overall, it was a good challenge, and everyone worked hard. When you get two matches back-to-back, you get the chance to immediately work on what you need to work on the next day, and they'll get that opportunity tomorrow at Memphis."
Freshman Akihito Shimizu won his first collegiate competition, posting an 1185 aggregate total for a career-best mark. The Tokushima, Japan, native shot a career-high 590 smallbore score (198 kneeling, 197 prone, 195 standing) to finish first and equaled his air rifle career-high mark of 595 (98-100-99-100-99-99) to place second.
"He's getting more comfortable shooting matches over here and being a part of the team," Hammond said. "He was a lot calmer today. Overall, I think he was pleased with his performance, and so was I."
Abby Buesseler paced the Rebels, shooting a combined score of 1183 to finish second overall. Buesseler placed first in air rifle (597) and second in smallbore (586).
Senior Morgan Phillips and junior Sarah Osborn tied for third place in smallbore with 585s. In the tie, Osborn shot a season high and was four shots short of her career-best 588 score.
Senior Milica Babic and sophomore Jared Eddy placed fifth (582) and sixth (581), respectively.
Additionally, freshman Calista Smoyer shot 572, good for a career high, and sophomore Verena Zaisberger matched her season high with a 574.
In air rifle, Babic and Zaisberger shot 594 to tie for third, while junior David Koenders tied for fifth with a score of 593.
Smoyer and Eddy rounded out the Mountaineers in the top 10, tying for seventh (592) and placing 10th (589), respectively. Freshman Malori Brown also notched a career-high mark in air rifle, shooting 588 to tie for 11th.
Five Mountaineers shot toward the team score in both disciplines: Babic, Eddy, Osborn, Phillips and Shimizu.
With the win, the Mountaineers improve to 16-3 all-time against the Rebels.
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.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The Mountaineers (3-0, 2-0 GARC) topped the Rebels (2-1, 1-1) in smallbore, 2342-2302, but suffered a 2372-2362 setback in air rifle.
"We had a strong start in smallbore, but struggled in air rifle," 14-year coach Jon Hammond said. "It's always good to shoot in different ranges, but more than half of the team has never shot here before. Overall, it was a good challenge, and everyone worked hard. When you get two matches back-to-back, you get the chance to immediately work on what you need to work on the next day, and they'll get that opportunity tomorrow at Memphis."
Freshman Akihito Shimizu won his first collegiate competition, posting an 1185 aggregate total for a career-best mark. The Tokushima, Japan, native shot a career-high 590 smallbore score (198 kneeling, 197 prone, 195 standing) to finish first and equaled his air rifle career-high mark of 595 (98-100-99-100-99-99) to place second.
"He's getting more comfortable shooting matches over here and being a part of the team," Hammond said. "He was a lot calmer today. Overall, I think he was pleased with his performance, and so was I."
Abby Buesseler paced the Rebels, shooting a combined score of 1183 to finish second overall. Buesseler placed first in air rifle (597) and second in smallbore (586).
Senior Morgan Phillips and junior Sarah Osborn tied for third place in smallbore with 585s. In the tie, Osborn shot a season high and was four shots short of her career-best 588 score.
Senior Milica Babic and sophomore Jared Eddy placed fifth (582) and sixth (581), respectively.
Additionally, freshman Calista Smoyer shot 572, good for a career high, and sophomore Verena Zaisberger matched her season high with a 574.
In air rifle, Babic and Zaisberger shot 594 to tie for third, while junior David Koenders tied for fifth with a score of 593.
Smoyer and Eddy rounded out the Mountaineers in the top 10, tying for seventh (592) and placing 10th (589), respectively. Freshman Malori Brown also notched a career-high mark in air rifle, shooting 588 to tie for 11th.
Five Mountaineers shot toward the team score in both disciplines: Babic, Eddy, Osborn, Phillips and Shimizu.
With the win, the Mountaineers improve to 16-3 all-time against the Rebels.
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.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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