West Virginia Meets Akron in First Match of 2026

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.

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Jennifer Kocher

Griffin Lake

Lauri Syrja

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Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Rifle versus Mount Aloysius on Sep 26, 2026 at 9 A.M.

Upcoming Event: Rifle at Army on Oct 3, 2026 at 8 A.M.

Upcoming Event: Rifle versus Norwich on Oct 4, 2026 at 8 A.M.

Upcoming Event: Rifle versus John Jay on Oct 4, 2026 at 8 A.M.

Upcoming Event: Rifle at Georgia Southern on Oct 17, 2026 at 9 A.M.

Upcoming Event: Rifle at Georgia Southern on Oct 18, 2026 at 9 A.M.

Upcoming Event: Rifle versus UAB on Oct 18, 2026 at 9 A.M.

Upcoming Event: Rifle versus Memphis on Oct 24, 2026 at 9 A.M.

Results

Completed Event: Rifle versus NCAA Championships - 1st of 8 - 4748 on March 14, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Rifle versus NCAA Championships (SB) - 2353 4th Place on March 13, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Rifle versus GARC Championship (AR) 1st of 6 on March 1, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Rifle versus GARC Championship (SB) - 1st of 6 2358 on February 28, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Rifle versus NCAA Qualifying Match (VMI) - 4737 (9485.67) on February 21, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Rifle versus #1 Kentucky on February 14, 2026 , Win , 4746, to, 4741

Completed Event: Rifle versus #6 Navy on January 31, 2026 , Win , 4745, to, 4719

Completed Event: Rifle versus #16 Army on January 31, 2026 , Win , 4745, to, 4683