LEXINGTON, Ky. — Shooting the NCAA Qualifying round in Lexington for the first time in school history, the Kentucky rifle team posted a solid 4635 score in qualifying competition, at Barker Hall on Sunday.

?We have to wait till all the numbers come in, but that should put us in the top five in the country headed to the NCAA?s,? Kentucky head coach Harry Mullins said. ?We had some good performances, including Leslie?s (Angeli) 587 in air rifle, which will put her in the hunt for individual NCAA competition.?

Kentucky (9-2) shot at its home range for the final time this season, getting good performances from several individuals, including Tom Csenge?s match-high in both smallbore (582) and air rifle (590). Senior co-captain Ray Geyer totaled a 585 air rifle score and Jen Pason finished with a 575 smallbore total. Arguably the best performance of the competition came from sophomore Leslie Angeli, who tallied a 587 air rifle total, the second best in the match. Andrew Roland finished with a 583 air rifle and a 579 in smallbore and Ashley Jackson notched a 582 in air gun.

?We just had an average day, it wasn?t anything great ? I think we felt some added pressure ? but having a young team, we learned from that pressure and that will only help us in future matches,? Mullins said. ?It was alright overall, nothing spectacular or dramatic. We came out strong in air rifle but just couldn?t close the door on the big numbers. If we keep working hard the numbers will fall.??

The Wildcats travel to Oxford, Miss., next weekend for the Great American Rifle Conference Championships, hosted by Ole Miss. UK enters the conference championships as the defending GARC Champion.