Feb. 24, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. – In its final home outing of the season, the University of Kentucky rifle team shot a 4680 over the weekend at the NCAA Qualifiers, besting Ole Miss, Morehead State and Virginia Military Institute in the Lexington Qualifier.
“I thought we had a pretty good day,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “We’ve got a few kinks still to work out and make sure we don’t leave any points out there but I’m pleased with the overall effort from the team.”
The Wildcats posted a 2319 to open the day in smallbore, with sophomore Connor Davis leading the way, shooting a 585.
Freshman Sonya May followed with a 579 in smallbore, while seniors Emily Holsopple and Aaron Holsopple shot a 578 and 577, respectively.
As an individual, junior Jonathan Pinkel delivered a 584 in smallbore.
Kentucky rounded out the qualifiers by shooting a 2361 in air rifle.
Emily Holsopple paced the Wildcats in air rifle, shooting a 592, her 10th time above 590 and sixth time leading the Wildcats in air rifle this season.
Davis finished just one point behind Holsopple with a 591, while Aaron Holsopple tied his season best with a 590.
Individually, junior Cody Manning delivered a season-best 591 in air rifle.
“Overall, I felt like we performed under the circumstances fairly well,” Mullins said. “We saw some good individual performances, Aaron’s 590 in air rifle and Connor’s 585 in smallbore. Emily really held strong and finished with a 592. Now it’s time to tweak a few things and head into the conference championships on a positive note.”
Ole Miss completed the weekend with a 4612, while Morehead State and Virginia Military Institute shot a 4543 and 4485, respectively.
UK’s 4680 will contribute to the weighted average that determines the top-eight teams that qualify for the NCAA Championships. This weekend’s score is weighted 50 percent in the overall average, with the remaining 50 percent coming from an average of a team’s top-three scores over the course of the season, with no two scores allowed to come from the same site.
The Wildcats will learn their postseason fate Thursday at 5 p.m. ET during the selection show on NCAA.com.
Kentucky will return to action next weekend, traveling to Oxford, Miss., for the Great America Rifle Conference Championships.
