LEXINGTON ? The Kentucky rifle got tremendous performances from junior Vicki Goss and freshman Ray Geyer team en route to a convincing 4627-4423 victory over Ohio State on Saturday in its home opener.

Goss, a returning All-American, fired rounds of 579 in smallbore and 587 in air rifle, the top effort towards the team total in each for the Wildcats. Geyer had equal 587s in both smallbore and air rifle, but only his air rifle score counted as he competed as an individual in the smallbore competition.

?I thought our team responded well from last week,? said Kentucky coach Harry Mullins. ?We had a couple people who didn?t shoot quite as well as last week, but they were close. We used some different people today to get them experience and I think the pressure may have affected them a little bit.?

?Ray was on all day long. He wants to get to where he?s shooting in the 590s and he?s going to get there very soon.?

Behind Goss and Geyer?s totals, along with All-American Jeff Hamberg?s 583 in air rifle, the Wildcats fired an excellent 2329 score.

?It seems like we?re moving in the right direction,? said Mullins. ?I don?t know if you can determine that by one match, but I think it shows we?re working towards our goal. Shooting three 580s is a good place to start and now our goal is to have four next time out.?

Ryan Kohatsu did everything he could to keep the Buckeyes in it with a 588 smalbore score and a 583 in air rifle. However, his efforts were not enough to keep Kentucky (1-1) from recording its first victory of the young season.

Kentucky returns to action on Oct. 23 at Ole Miss. The Wildcats will face off with Memphis the following day, also in Oxford, Miss. Both games are Great American Rifle Conference contests.