No. 5 UK Rifle Posts Second-Straight 4700+ in Win over No. 2 Alaska
LEXINGTON, Ky. – If Saturday’s match-best 4703 while competing alongside four of the top-five teams in the country was an initial indication of the No. 5 Kentucky rifle team’s improvement this season, Sunday’s 4702 showed the Wildcats now have a consistent base to build on.
The Wildcats topped No. 2 Alaska-Fairbanks 4702-4686 on Saturday at Buell Armory.
Like Saturday, it’s worth noting that multiple teams have scored better than UK’s 4703 and 4702 at other points this season. But the past two days the Wildcats showed their ability to stand toe to toe with the best teams in the country.
“The match went well even though we struggled a lot at the start,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “We have a lot more to give at the start matches to get to where we want to be. We will have to work on this the next few weeks leading up to the break.”
The Wildcats came back from a 775-769 deficit after the
kneeling portion of smallbore. UK came back to take a 1564-1563 lead after
prone and closed smallbore strong, winning the opening discipline 2334-2327.
UK outshot Alaska 2368-2359 in air rifle.
Hanna Carr led UK in smallbore with a 586. Sonya May had UK’s top air rifle
score, 595, for the second day in a row. May’s air rifle score was a season
best.
“We
had some good performances today and through the weekend from several different
people,” Mullins said. “The performances we had were good considering the
struggles that we had to work through. Now we have to work at not putting
ourselves in such situations.
“We are heading in the right direction. Moving into the late-November matches I
am looking for some good things from even more of our shooters.”
Connor Davis shot 585 in smallbore, May shot 584, Cathryn
Papasodora shot 579 and Carmen Fry shot 568.
Carr earned a 592 in air rifle, while Davis scored 589. Heather Kirby shot 592
and Papasodora shot 584.
Though not part of the scoring team, Jason Spaude shot a personal best 580 in
smallbore.
| Results | Kentucky | Alaska Fairbanks |
|---|---|---|
| Smallbore Aggregate | 2334 | 2327 |
| Air Rifle Aggregate | 2368 | 2359 |
| Team Score | 4702 | 4686 |
| Squadded Team Members | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | Alaska Fairbanks | ||
| Smallbore | Air Rifle | Smallbore | Air Rifle |
| Connor Davis 585 | Connor Davis 589 | Sagen Maddalena 580 | Sagen Maddalena 598 |
| Hanna Carr 586 | Hanna Carr 592 | Soren Butler 578 | Soren Butler 584 |
| Cathryn Papasodora 579 | Cathryn Papasodora 584 | JT Schnering 578 | JT Schnering 585 |
| Carmen Fry 568 | Sonya May 595 | Tim Sherry 584 | Tim Sherry 592 |
| Sonya May 584 | Heather Kirby 592 | Luke Johnson 585 | Luke Johnson 584 |
