FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The Kentucky rifle team stands in third place and trails first place Alaska-Fairbanks by only nine points after day one of competition in the NCAA Championships, held in Fairbanks, Alaska. on Saturday.
?We are currently in third place and have some ground to make up during air rifle tomorrow,? Kentucky head coach Harry Mullins said. ?The regular season is out the window and the national championship is up the grabs. It is about who is going to come in and grab it tomorrow.?
The nation?s top eight teams competed in smallbore Friday, with Kentucky posting its third-place 2299. Alaska-Fairbanks sits atop the standings with a 2308, while Army notched a 2307 score. Several other teams posted solid scores to round out the top-six including, TCU (2293), Nebraska (2287), and Jacksonville State (2281).
Wildcat freshman shooters Thomas Csenge and Jen Pason again paced the Wildcat lineup, along with senior Amy Sowash and sophomore Andrew Roland. Csenge led the squad with a 577, while Pason notched a 576. Pason notched GARC Rookie of the Year honors earlier this season, after battling it out with Csenge for the accolade throughout the campaign. Sowash shot a 574, while shooting in the final relay of the match. Roland tallied a 572.
?It was not an ideal day for good scores,? Mullins, the GARC Coach of the Year, detailed. ?There were only a handful of 580 scores and I think shooting on the big stage and with the major pressure had an effect of the totals.?
Saturday, Kentucky will look to make up the nine-point deficit, similar to the comeback rally which led to the GARC Conference Championship title in mid-February. UK also captured the regular season GARC crown, after going undefeated in conference action. The only blemish on UK?s 11-1 regular season schedule was a narrow defeat at the hands of Alaska-Fairbanks – a loss that produced Kentucky?s season high team total score.
?This is a good opportunity to shoot well in air gun, hit our target numbers and have a great match,? Mullins said. ?We need to come out, shoot well, perform up to our abilities, and good things will happen.?
