LEXINGTON, Ky. — For the second consecutive match, sophomore Tom Csenge totaled a match-high 1181 combined score, to lead the Kentucky rifle team to a 4643-4478 win over N.C. State and a 4544-4481 win over Morehead State.
?The team worked very hard today,? Kentucky head coach Harry Mullins said. ?Overall, we can be pleased with the effort but not the result that it yielded as a group. Our groups were good but we just had too many wide shots to break out a big number. We just need to work on keeping our groups a little tighter and staying focused through the shot. We will work on that this week before we get to WVU.?
Kentucky (6-0, 3-0 Great American Rifle Conference) started its Blue team against conference foe N.C. State, with Csenge leading the way. In UK?s win on Friday, Csenge?s 1181 score was the highest combined score recorded by an NCAA shooter this year. Csenge, a Keene, N.H. native, posted match-high?s in both guns with a 592 in air rifle and a school-record tying 589 in smallbore, including a 195 kneeling smallbore and a 197 standing smallbore.
?I was really proud that Tom got another 1181 combined score, including tying the school-record with a 589 in smallbore and a 592 in air rifle,? Mullins said. ?The 589 is second only to the 590 that Chris Abolo shot in the Army match yesterday against Navy.?
Senior co-captain Ray Geyer also posted excellent scores in leading UK to its win over N.C. State, posting a 585 air rifle and 579 smallbore scores. Jen Pason added a 582 in air rifle and Andrew Roland posted a 578 smallbore score, boosted by a 200 in prone.
UK topped N.C. State 2329-2266 in air rifle and 2314-2212 in smallbore, extending its regular-season winning streak to nine-matches.
In its match with Morehead State, UK started its regular White team, with freshman Clint Sejkora leading the way with a 581 in air rifle. Senior Jake Savitts posted a 573 in air gun, and freshman Logan Fox finished second on the team with a 577 in air rifle. Freshman Sarah Broeker, a native of Seward, Neb., finished very consistently, leading the team with a 572 in smallbore and a 574 in air rifle. UK topped MSU in air rifle 2305-2100 and in smallbore 2239-2026.
?In the Morehead State match, I was really proud of the group holding it together and bringing in the win,? Mullins said. ?They had several opportunities to give in and start giving away points, but they did not. Clint shot a 581 in air rifle and Sarah won the smallbore match with a 572. The three freshmen got their first win as Wildcats shooting on the Blue team. Jake did a good job leading the guys, because he has shot in wins on the Blue team in the past.
?Overall, I think we learned a lot about ourselves and the team today. I think we can take this into our training sessions and really come back with some good results in the next few matches.?
The Wildcats return to action next Saturday, traveling to Morgantown, W.Va., to face off with West Virginia.
