West Virginia Meets Akron in First Match of 2026
January 16, 2026 02:00 PM | Rifle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 3-ranked West Virginia University rifle team is set to open the 2026 portion of its schedule with a match against No. 15 Akron in the team's second Great America Rifle Conference match of the season. This season the Mountaineers are 8-1 when squaring off against a ranked opponent and 1-0 in conference matches.
Saturday's match is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET from the Bill McKenzie Mobile Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building.
A live scorecard for this weekend's matches can be found at ncaarifle.org. Additionally, live targets will be available online, courtesy of MegaLink.
The Mountaineers are a perfect 24-0 all-time against Akron in a series that dates back to 1952. West Virginia and the Akron met last season where WVU won 4747-4711 on the road.
WVU's 2394 in air rifle during the fall semester tied the all-time NCAA mark and set a new program record. The Mountaineers' 2383.2 average in air rifle is third in the nation. The squads' aggregate average of 4732.2 is fourth and the 2349 in smallbore sits fourth.
Griffin Lake is leading the nation in scoring average in air rifle so far this season with a 598.6. He averages a 1190.6 aggregate mark with averages of 591.3 in smallbore. The scores are the second and third best in the country.
Lauri Syrja (1183.4) and Jennifer Kocher (1182.4) rank 14th and 17th in aggregate average this year.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Saturday's match is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET from the Bill McKenzie Mobile Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building.
A live scorecard for this weekend's matches can be found at ncaarifle.org. Additionally, live targets will be available online, courtesy of MegaLink.
The Mountaineers are a perfect 24-0 all-time against Akron in a series that dates back to 1952. West Virginia and the Akron met last season where WVU won 4747-4711 on the road.
WVU's 2394 in air rifle during the fall semester tied the all-time NCAA mark and set a new program record. The Mountaineers' 2383.2 average in air rifle is third in the nation. The squads' aggregate average of 4732.2 is fourth and the 2349 in smallbore sits fourth.
Griffin Lake is leading the nation in scoring average in air rifle so far this season with a 598.6. He averages a 1190.6 aggregate mark with averages of 591.3 in smallbore. The scores are the second and third best in the country.
Lauri Syrja (1183.4) and Jennifer Kocher (1182.4) rank 14th and 17th in aggregate average this year.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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