Saturday, January 21
Columbus, Ohio
9:15 a.m.
West Virginia University
4740
at
4713
Ohio State
West Virginia Outshoots Ohio State
January 21, 2023 04:40 PM | Rifle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 3-ranked West Virginia University rifle team defeated No. 11 Ohio State, 4740-4713, on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
"We're happy with another solid team performance, and we improved our NCAA qualifying average for the year," coach Jon Hammond said.
The Mountaineers claimed victory over the Buckeyes in both disciplines, with WVU claiming smallbore 2357-2345 and air rifle 2383-2368.
"No one shot their best today, so there is plenty of room for improvement, but there were lots of positive and productive parts," Hammond said. "Tomorrow will be challenging completing four matches in 10 days, so it will be about their resiliency and mental toughness to deal with that and still perform to the best of their ability."
The match was led by West Virginia Senior Mary Tucker, who shot an 1189 overall, including a 591 in smallbore and a 598 in air rifle. Tucker was joined in the top two by her classmate Akihito Shimizu. The Tokushima, Japan, native earned a 589 in smallbore and a 598 in air rifle for an aggregate score of 1187. Shimizu's 598 air rifle points are good enough for a season best.
Outside of Tucker and Shimizu, five Mountaineers finished inside the top 10 of the individual match leaderboard. Senior Malori Brown also finished in the top five, earning fourth for WVU with an aggregate score of 1186. Brown notched a 593 in both disciplines. Brown is coming off a career high smallbore performance, as she shot a 595 in Alaska on Jan. 14.
Sophomore Natalie Perrin was the first of four consecutive Mountaineers in the top 10, claiming sixth place. Perrin shot a 585 in smallbore and a 595 in air rifle, summing to 1180. Perrin tied her season best in both disciplines and aggregate score.
Juniors Molly McGhin and Matt Sanchez followed Perin with aggregate scores of 1178. The classmates also notched the same score in both disciplines, shooting a 584 in smallbore and a 594 in air rifle.
Fifth-year senior Verana Zaisberger rounded out the top 10 for West Virginia, finishing ninth. The Hohenems, Austria, native shot an aggregate score of 1176, with a 583 in smallbore a 593 in air rifle.
Senior Calista Smoyer and junior Becca Lamb earned aggregate scores of 1165. Smoyer notched a 577 in smallbore and a 588 in air rifle, while Lamb put up 574 points in smallbore and 591 points in air rifle. Freshman Visnu Pandian rounded out the Mountaineers, shooting a 544 in smallbore and a 588 in air rifle for an aggregate score of 1132.
West Virginia continues the action in Ohio tomorrow, Sunday, Jan. 22, as it faces off against the No. 10-ranked Akron Zips. Action is set to begin at 8:15 a.m. ET, and live streams for compeittion against the Zips can be found here and here.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
"We're happy with another solid team performance, and we improved our NCAA qualifying average for the year," coach Jon Hammond said.
The Mountaineers claimed victory over the Buckeyes in both disciplines, with WVU claiming smallbore 2357-2345 and air rifle 2383-2368.
"No one shot their best today, so there is plenty of room for improvement, but there were lots of positive and productive parts," Hammond said. "Tomorrow will be challenging completing four matches in 10 days, so it will be about their resiliency and mental toughness to deal with that and still perform to the best of their ability."
The match was led by West Virginia Senior Mary Tucker, who shot an 1189 overall, including a 591 in smallbore and a 598 in air rifle. Tucker was joined in the top two by her classmate Akihito Shimizu. The Tokushima, Japan, native earned a 589 in smallbore and a 598 in air rifle for an aggregate score of 1187. Shimizu's 598 air rifle points are good enough for a season best.
Outside of Tucker and Shimizu, five Mountaineers finished inside the top 10 of the individual match leaderboard. Senior Malori Brown also finished in the top five, earning fourth for WVU with an aggregate score of 1186. Brown notched a 593 in both disciplines. Brown is coming off a career high smallbore performance, as she shot a 595 in Alaska on Jan. 14.
Sophomore Natalie Perrin was the first of four consecutive Mountaineers in the top 10, claiming sixth place. Perrin shot a 585 in smallbore and a 595 in air rifle, summing to 1180. Perrin tied her season best in both disciplines and aggregate score.
Juniors Molly McGhin and Matt Sanchez followed Perin with aggregate scores of 1178. The classmates also notched the same score in both disciplines, shooting a 584 in smallbore and a 594 in air rifle.
Fifth-year senior Verana Zaisberger rounded out the top 10 for West Virginia, finishing ninth. The Hohenems, Austria, native shot an aggregate score of 1176, with a 583 in smallbore a 593 in air rifle.
Senior Calista Smoyer and junior Becca Lamb earned aggregate scores of 1165. Smoyer notched a 577 in smallbore and a 588 in air rifle, while Lamb put up 574 points in smallbore and 591 points in air rifle. Freshman Visnu Pandian rounded out the Mountaineers, shooting a 544 in smallbore and a 588 in air rifle for an aggregate score of 1132.
West Virginia continues the action in Ohio tomorrow, Sunday, Jan. 22, as it faces off against the No. 10-ranked Akron Zips. Action is set to begin at 8:15 a.m. ET, and live streams for compeittion against the Zips can be found here and here.
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
