Friday, February 28
Memphis, Tenn.
9:00 a.m.
West Virginia University
vs
GARC Championships
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Aims for 11th Consecutive GARC Title
February 27, 2020 06:09 PM | Rifle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 3-ranked West Virginia University rifle team competes for its 11th consecutive title at the 2020 Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships, Feb. 28-29, at the University of Memphis' Larry O. Finch Center, in Memphis, Tennessee.
Army, Akron, Kentucky, host Memphis, Navy, NC State, Nebraska and Ole Miss will join 10-time defending champion West Virginia at the event. Live results are available at WVUsports.com.
The first smallbore relay will begin at 9:15 a.m. ET Friday, with two additional relays to follow. The smallbore final will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET.
The first air rifle relay will begin at 9:15 a.m. ET Saturday, with two additional relays to follow. The air rifle final with begin at 4 p.m. ET, and an award ceremony will immediately follow.
WVU (9-1, 7-1 GARC) enters the weekend having claimed the last 10 championship titles. Last season, the Mountaineers won with a 4715 aggregate total, shot at the University of Akron's Stile Athletics Field House, in Akron, Ohio.
WVU owns a conference-best 13 GARC Championships titles.
"It's the conference championships, and five of the eight teams who earned spots at this year's NCAA Championships will compete at GARCs this weekend," 14-year coach Jon Hammond said. "Having a tournament format like this is great preparation for Nationals, and our goal is similar to what we have set in the past. We want to have the best performance that we possibly can. We're shooting in one of their arenas on a mobile range, so that's going to be exciting. We are going to enjoy the experience and just use this weekend as another learning opportunity."
The Mountaineers head to the championships after shooting an impressive 4706 in an NCAA Qualifying Match on Feb. 22. WVU's NCAA qualifying score was the last factor determining the field for the 2020 NCAA Rifle Championships, from March 13-14, at the University of Kentucky, in Lexington. The qualification is the 13th straight for the Mountaineers.
Prior to the NCAA Qualifier, West Virginia dropped its only match of the season, 4723-4712, to No. 1 Kentucky, on Feb. 15. The Wildcats (16-0, 7-0 GARC) earned the GARC regular-season title that day by outshooting the Mountaineers in both disciplines.
"It's a really competitive field," Hammond said. "Kentucky is No. 1 in the country, and deservingly so. We have competed against all the GARC teams this season, and everyone is really competitive. It's going to be a great competitive weekend, and it gives us a great chance to test ourselves and gain experience."
The Mountaineers are averaging an aggregate score of 4709.090 with smallbore and air rifle season averages of 2335.545 and 2373.545, respectively. WVU ranks No. 2 nationally in smallbore and No. 3 in air rifle.
Individually, senior Milica Babic ranks No. 3 in the GARC, No. 4 nationally, with a 595 air rifle season average.
In smallbore, junior Morgan Phillips ranks No. 3 in the conference, No. 4 nationally, with a 586.091 season average.
Kentucky's Mary Tucker ranks No. 1 in the nation with smallbore and air rifle season averages of 590.692 and 597.846, respectively.
Last season, the Mountaineers won their 10th consecutive GARC Championships title with a 4715 aggregate score. The title was the team's conference-best 13th, and WVU swept the smallbore and air rifle team titles for the 10th time since 1998.
Ginny Thrasher capped her WVU career with her fifth GARC title, finishing first in air rifle for the third consecutive year with a final score of 249.4. Phillips shot 461.0 in the GARC smallbore final for her first career conference title.
The 2020 GARC Championships officially opens tonight with a team banquet, where the conference's yearly honors will be awarded.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Army, Akron, Kentucky, host Memphis, Navy, NC State, Nebraska and Ole Miss will join 10-time defending champion West Virginia at the event. Live results are available at WVUsports.com.
The first smallbore relay will begin at 9:15 a.m. ET Friday, with two additional relays to follow. The smallbore final will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET.
The first air rifle relay will begin at 9:15 a.m. ET Saturday, with two additional relays to follow. The air rifle final with begin at 4 p.m. ET, and an award ceremony will immediately follow.
WVU (9-1, 7-1 GARC) enters the weekend having claimed the last 10 championship titles. Last season, the Mountaineers won with a 4715 aggregate total, shot at the University of Akron's Stile Athletics Field House, in Akron, Ohio.
WVU owns a conference-best 13 GARC Championships titles.
"It's the conference championships, and five of the eight teams who earned spots at this year's NCAA Championships will compete at GARCs this weekend," 14-year coach Jon Hammond said. "Having a tournament format like this is great preparation for Nationals, and our goal is similar to what we have set in the past. We want to have the best performance that we possibly can. We're shooting in one of their arenas on a mobile range, so that's going to be exciting. We are going to enjoy the experience and just use this weekend as another learning opportunity."
The Mountaineers head to the championships after shooting an impressive 4706 in an NCAA Qualifying Match on Feb. 22. WVU's NCAA qualifying score was the last factor determining the field for the 2020 NCAA Rifle Championships, from March 13-14, at the University of Kentucky, in Lexington. The qualification is the 13th straight for the Mountaineers.
Prior to the NCAA Qualifier, West Virginia dropped its only match of the season, 4723-4712, to No. 1 Kentucky, on Feb. 15. The Wildcats (16-0, 7-0 GARC) earned the GARC regular-season title that day by outshooting the Mountaineers in both disciplines.
"It's a really competitive field," Hammond said. "Kentucky is No. 1 in the country, and deservingly so. We have competed against all the GARC teams this season, and everyone is really competitive. It's going to be a great competitive weekend, and it gives us a great chance to test ourselves and gain experience."
The Mountaineers are averaging an aggregate score of 4709.090 with smallbore and air rifle season averages of 2335.545 and 2373.545, respectively. WVU ranks No. 2 nationally in smallbore and No. 3 in air rifle.
Individually, senior Milica Babic ranks No. 3 in the GARC, No. 4 nationally, with a 595 air rifle season average.
In smallbore, junior Morgan Phillips ranks No. 3 in the conference, No. 4 nationally, with a 586.091 season average.
Kentucky's Mary Tucker ranks No. 1 in the nation with smallbore and air rifle season averages of 590.692 and 597.846, respectively.
Last season, the Mountaineers won their 10th consecutive GARC Championships title with a 4715 aggregate score. The title was the team's conference-best 13th, and WVU swept the smallbore and air rifle team titles for the 10th time since 1998.
Ginny Thrasher capped her WVU career with her fifth GARC title, finishing first in air rifle for the third consecutive year with a final score of 249.4. Phillips shot 461.0 in the GARC smallbore final for her first career conference title.
The 2020 GARC Championships officially opens tonight with a team banquet, where the conference's yearly honors will be awarded.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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