No. 3 Rifle Hosts NCAA Qualifier

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The third-ranked Kentucky rifle team will host Morehead State on Saturday at 9 a.m. ET inside Barker Hall and Buell Armory as part of the nationwide NCAA Qualifiers ahead of the NCAA Championships next month. It will also be the last home match of the season and last home match for senior Billy Azzinaro.
 
“We’re excited to be done with the regular season,” head coach Harry Mullins said. “Now it’s time for the postseason. We were a little disappointed how it ended in West Virginia, but needing to shoot better in smallbore – this is a good opportunity for us to put together a number that we are targeting. The team is continuing to work hard and our air gun is climbing, we just need to go out and perform.”
 
The Wildcats have an overall record of 29-2, 13-1 in the Great American Rifle Conference.
Two components go into the qualification for the 2017 NCAA Rifle Championships. The first is each team’s current NCAA three score aggregate average – the score based on each team’s highest three regular season scores fired at three different locations. The result of this weekend’s qualifier will add to that average. The teams with the eight highest combined scores will qualify for the NCAA Championship hosted by The Citadel, March 9-10, in Charleston, South Carolina.
 
Kentucky lost a tough match on the road last week to top-ranked and five-time defending national champion West Virginia, 4693-4720. Henrik Larsen grabbed top-individual honors again with an 1187 aggregate and 597 in smallbore while Hailee Sigmon set another personal best in air rifle, matching Larsen’s 597. Four Wildcats shot 590 or higher in air rifle and tied their highest score in the discipline for the season.
 
No. 17 Morehead State is the only other team that will come to Lexington for the qualifier. The Eagles are coming off a home win against VMI on Saturday, 4624-4436, and a second-place finish at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships two weeks ago with a 4637 aggregate score.
 
The GARC Championships, held in Morgantown, West Virginia, will follow this week’s qualifier on Feb. 23-25.
 
For the latest on the Kentucky rifle team, follow @UKRifle on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.