No. 1 UK Rifle Hosts No. 10 Navy in Fall Finale

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 1 University of Kentucky rifle team finishes its fall schedule Saturday when No. 10 Navy travels to the Buell Armory at Barker Hall on the UK campus. The match will begin at 9 a.m. ET with live targets updated on UKAthletics.com.
 
For the first time this season, UK will send out the same lineup for both smallbore and air rifle. Sophomores Will Shaner, Ruby Gomes and Richard Clark along with freshmen Mary Tucker and Jaden Thompson will compete against the Midshipmen.
 
The Wildcats moved up to No. 1 in this week’s College Rifle Coaches Association Poll after defeating then-No. 5 Ole Miss and then-No. 6 Akron last weekend. UK has a perfect 5-0 record so far this season.
 
Kentucky’s score from the Ole Miss match was the best mark in the nation last weekend. The Wildcat’s five-shooter squad score of 4716 – 2342 in smallbore and 2374 in air rifle – was a season best. The last time UK shot a 4716 or better was in the 2018 National Championship when the Wildcats produced a score of 4717 on their way to the program’s second title.
 
A couple of Wildcats have provided standout performances in the early season, ranking high in the individual rankings. Freshman Mary Tucker currently has the No. 1 and No. 2 aggregate scores in the nation at 1192 and 1190 from last weekend. Tucker also is tied for No. 1 in air rifle (599) and has twice shot the No. 2 score in smallbore (593), both from last weekend. 
 
Sophomore Will Shaner has produced the No.1 smallbore score at 594 while also ranking No. 11 in air rifle (597) and No. 5 in aggregate (1187).

Kentucky returns to action in the spring when the team travels to Columbus, Ohio on Jan. 11 to compete against Alaska and Ole Miss.
 
This season’s GARC Championships will be in Memphis, Tennessee, on Feb. 28-29. Kentucky will play host to the 2020 NCAA Championships in Memorial Coliseum on March 13-14. Tickets are available online at UKAthletics.com/NCAARifle.
 
For the latest on the Kentucky rifle team, follow @UKrifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.