LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The Kentucky rifle team shot a season-high team total but fell just short of an upset of the defending NCAA Champion Alaska-Fairbanks, losing its first match of the season 4680-4689.
?The team shot really well,? head coach Harry Mullins said. ?I was really happy with the performance and effort that we gave. It was our highest number of the year and the second-highest team number in the country. It would have been the highest had it not be for Alaska?s score today. I was really happy to see that our team came up to meet the challenge. We are still on the uphill climb to get to the numbers that we feel we can shoot and want to shoot.?
The Wildcats pushed the Nanooks to the limit, winning smallbore with a season-high 2329 score to get the match started. UK was led by freshman Thomas Csenge?s team-high 588 smallbore score. Senior captain Amy Sowash delivered a solid performance as well, with a 584 in smallbore.
With Kentucky holding a narrow lead after the smallbore section of the competition, the Nanooks took control of the match behind some dominating individual air rifle performances.
Alaska-Fairbanks rode the gun of its star German shooter, Matthias Dierolf, as he posted the high score of the match with a 597 score in air rifle, including three perfect 100 scores.
?Even though it was a loss it had its up sides because Alaska is a great team,? Mullins said. ?We won the smallbore and then they had some great shooting in air rifle. That was their highest score of the year. I feel that both teams really came out today and gave it their best. I think that our team will learn from the loss and build on it.?
Csenge captured the smallbore individual title with his 588 score and Dierolf blew away the competition with his 597 in air rifle, followed by his teammate Matthew Rawlings with a 592.
Kentucky?s 4680 score was a season-high which will help in the NCAA qualifying process.
?We had some good performance on the second relay too,? Mullins concluded. ?Jake [Savitts] had a personal-best in air rifle and Leslie [Angeli] broke the 1150 mark in the combined score for the first time, so I am encouraged by that. Even though we lost it was still a respectable day for our program we will come out of this experience a stronger team.?
The match concludes competition for the fall semester. The Wildcats will return to the range on Jan. 13 when they travel to Palmyra, Penn. to face North Carolina State.
