No. 3 Rifle Competes in Withrow Open at Murray State Saturday

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After setting a school-record team aggregate score of 4734 last weekend in its win at Army, the No. 3 University of Kentucky rifle team looks to continue its momentum this weekend as it travels to Murray, Kentucky to compete in the 2020 Withrow Open. The match will take place inside Pat Spurgin Range on the campus of Murray State University.
 
“We are looking forward to getting back in the range this weekend and competing in the Withrow Open,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “The team has been working very hard and you saw that hard work pay off last weekend with some impressive scores, including a school record on Sunday. I am excited to see how the team builds off that performance this weekend and continues to improve and move forward with each match.”
 
It was an impressive weekend for the Wildcats in West Point, New York, earning two wins over top-15 ranked teams in NC State and Army. Overall last weekend, UK set four individual season highs in smallbore, six individual season highs in air rifle, five individual season high aggregate scores, a season-high smallbore team score and a school-record air rifle team score. The biggest score of the weekend was UK’s 4734 team aggregate score vs. Army, which not only was a school record but is the best team aggregate score in the nation this season, besting TCU’s 4732.
 
Last weekend started with a 4715-4638 win over No. 13 NC State. The Wildcats scored a 2332 in smallbore and 2383 in air rifle against the Wolfpack. The following day, UK posted its high mark against Army with a season-high 2344 in smallbore and school-record 2390 in air rifle. As a team, UK has three of the top nine team smallbore scores in the nation this season while the Wildcats have three of the top five air rifle team scores, including the nation’s best of 2390.
 
Freshman Mary Tucker and sophomore Will Shaner have led the Wildcats this season as both have combined to record the top six smallbore scores in the nation while Tucker has six of the top seven air rifle scores this season. The duo also has combined to post the top five aggregate scores in the nation this year.
 
Several other Wildcats are coming off season-high performances last weekend with sophomore Ruby Gomes scoring an aggregate of 1176 while junior Hailee Sigmon scored a 1172 aggregate. Sophomore Richard Clark posted a 1175 Sunday vs. Army, while freshman Jaden Thompson posted a season-best 1170 in the match vs. NC State. Freshman Emmie Sellers posted a season-best 1167 in the match Saturday. Mitchell Nelson, Mason Hamilton, Ian Foos and Mason Joachim are also performing well this season with each averaging over a 1146 aggregate score.
 
The Withrow Open is a three-day event that will feature host Murray State along with NC State, North Georgia, UT Martin, Memphis, Jacksonville State and UAB. The Wildcats are scheduled to hit the range on Saturday while several teams will compete Friday to begin the event.
 
Following the Withrow Open, UK will return home for a dual match with Memphis on Feb. 1 before traveling to Morgantown, West Virginia on Feb. 15 for a dual match with the Mountaineers.
 
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.