MURRAY, Ky. ? The Kentucky rifle team fired a 4618 on Sunday to claim first place in the 10-team Withrow Invitational hosted by Murray State.

The Wildcats outshot everybody on the smallbore course with a 2309 and held on for victory with a matching 2309 in air rifle. Second place went to Memphis, which rallied with a 2333 air rifle score after a 2278 in smallbore.

?We came out of the tournament okay,? said Kentucky head coach Harry Mullins. ?The numbers weren?t what we wanted, but everybody shot low numbers this weekend. So, I think it?s a good sign that we came out on top.?

Kentucky got solid performances from three shooters to register its score. Junior Vicki Goss and senior Jeff Hamberg led the way on the smallbore course with a 582 and 581, respectively. Goss fired a 578 in air rifle while freshman Ray Geyer posted an outstanding 586 to lead the team.

?I was really happy to see Jeff shoot the way he did,? said Mullins. ?He?s been struggling a little bit, but we moved him to the first team and he turned in a solid performance.?

The Wildcats score could have been higher, but Chris Boggs, who has been the teams second best air rifle shooter all season, turned in a season low 567. Despite that fact, Kentucky hovered near the 4620 mark for the second straight week.

?We?re steadily picking up points here and there,? Mullins said. ?Even using different rotations, we?re gaining a few points, so that?s a good sign for our team.?

Kentucky returns to action next weekend when it hosts West Virginia and Rose Hulman in its first home meet of the Spring.