Sunday, January 26
Morgantown, W.Va.
9:00 a.m
West Virginia University
4683
vs
4648
Army West Point
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
No. 2 Mountaineers Win Spring Opener
January 26, 2020 07:14 PM | Rifle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 2-ranked West Virginia University rifle team opened its spring season on Sunday afternoon with a 4683-4648 win over No. 11 Army at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building.
The Mountaineers (8-0, 7-0 GARC) swept the Black Knights (3-4, 3-4 GARC) in both disciples, winning smallbore, 2316-2306, and air rifle, 2367-2342.
"It was great to be back on our Bill McKenzie Rifle Range down in the shell today," Mountaineer Coach Jon Hammond said. "It is a completely different atmosphere. Overall, we had a few struggles, but I thought the team was very professional. The score wasn't what we wanted, but the team is working really hard.
"We had some good performances today. David had a season high in air rifle. It also was good to see Noah hit a personal best in smallbore. This semester is going to keep us pretty busy, so we're looking forward to getting in some good training this week and getting back on the road next weekend."
Junior David Koenders placed first overall with an aggregate total of 1179, while senior Milica Babic and Army's Clayton Hanson tied for second with matching 1171s.
Koenders, a native of Mossautal, Germany, also won air rifle outright with a season-high score of 597 (100-99-99-100-100-99), two shots shy of a career high.
Junior Sarah Osborn, freshman Akihito Shimizu and Babic tied for second with 593 air rifle marks. Sophomore Jared Eddy rounded out the Mountaineers in the top five with a 591 total, and classmate Verena Zaisberger placed sixth with a 588 score.
Freshman Calista Smoyer shot 584 and finished 10th, while junior Noah Barker and freshman Malori Brown tied for 11th with matching 583s. Phillips shot 571 and placed 18th.
Kaitlyn Kutz, Lauren McMahan and Hanson paced the Black Knights in air rifle, finishing in a three-way tie for seventh with 587 totals.
In smallbore, Phillips, a native of Salisbury, Maryland, shot a winning, 588 mark (197 kneeling, 198 prone, 193 standing). Koenders (582) placed third, with Brown (580) and Barker (579) rounding out the top five. Of note, Barker's score was a personal best.
Babic finished sixth with a 578 total, and Shimizu followed in seventh with a 576 score. Smoyer shot 575 and placed eighth, while Osborn finished in ninth with a 574 mark. Zaisberger and Eddy added totals of 573 and 568, respectively.
Hanson paced the Black Knights in smallbore, finishing in second with a 584 mark.
Five Mountaineers counted toward the team totals: Babic, Osborn, Phillips, Shimizu and Zaisberger.
With the win, WVU improves to 40-10 all-time against Army.
Looking ahead, West Virginia heads to Columbus, Ohio, for a shoulder-to-shoulder match against No. 13 Ohio State on Saturday, Feb. 1. The contest is set to begin at 8 a.m. ET, inside the Lt. Hugh W. Wylie Range.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The Mountaineers (8-0, 7-0 GARC) swept the Black Knights (3-4, 3-4 GARC) in both disciples, winning smallbore, 2316-2306, and air rifle, 2367-2342.
"It was great to be back on our Bill McKenzie Rifle Range down in the shell today," Mountaineer Coach Jon Hammond said. "It is a completely different atmosphere. Overall, we had a few struggles, but I thought the team was very professional. The score wasn't what we wanted, but the team is working really hard.
"We had some good performances today. David had a season high in air rifle. It also was good to see Noah hit a personal best in smallbore. This semester is going to keep us pretty busy, so we're looking forward to getting in some good training this week and getting back on the road next weekend."
Junior David Koenders placed first overall with an aggregate total of 1179, while senior Milica Babic and Army's Clayton Hanson tied for second with matching 1171s.
Koenders, a native of Mossautal, Germany, also won air rifle outright with a season-high score of 597 (100-99-99-100-100-99), two shots shy of a career high.
Junior Sarah Osborn, freshman Akihito Shimizu and Babic tied for second with 593 air rifle marks. Sophomore Jared Eddy rounded out the Mountaineers in the top five with a 591 total, and classmate Verena Zaisberger placed sixth with a 588 score.
Freshman Calista Smoyer shot 584 and finished 10th, while junior Noah Barker and freshman Malori Brown tied for 11th with matching 583s. Phillips shot 571 and placed 18th.
Kaitlyn Kutz, Lauren McMahan and Hanson paced the Black Knights in air rifle, finishing in a three-way tie for seventh with 587 totals.
In smallbore, Phillips, a native of Salisbury, Maryland, shot a winning, 588 mark (197 kneeling, 198 prone, 193 standing). Koenders (582) placed third, with Brown (580) and Barker (579) rounding out the top five. Of note, Barker's score was a personal best.
Babic finished sixth with a 578 total, and Shimizu followed in seventh with a 576 score. Smoyer shot 575 and placed eighth, while Osborn finished in ninth with a 574 mark. Zaisberger and Eddy added totals of 573 and 568, respectively.
Hanson paced the Black Knights in smallbore, finishing in second with a 584 mark.
Five Mountaineers counted toward the team totals: Babic, Osborn, Phillips, Shimizu and Zaisberger.
With the win, WVU improves to 40-10 all-time against Army.
Looking ahead, West Virginia heads to Columbus, Ohio, for a shoulder-to-shoulder match against No. 13 Ohio State on Saturday, Feb. 1. The contest is set to begin at 8 a.m. ET, inside the Lt. Hugh W. Wylie Range.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ 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
