Rifle Defeats Morehead State to Open 2021-22 Season
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky rifle team started its 2021-22 season with a victory Saturday as it posted a 4680-4658 victory over Morehead State inside Button Range in Morehead, Kentucky.
“Overall, not a bad day today,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “I think we saw some good things, but obviously there are things we need to work on. We’ve got to get better at our decision making and executing some shots down the stretch. I think we showed a lot of promise with where we are at, but the numbers are obviously lower than what we are used to shooting. We have the talent to iron things out and get the numbers where we want them to be when we get back in action later this month against Navy. Overall, lots of potential and I will take responsibility for us not being as sharp in air gun. I don’t think we were ready to shoot smallbore and air gun back-to-back in a match like that, but we will work on it and have it fixed moving forward.”
Kentucky (1-0) earned the season-opening win with a 2330 in smallbore and 2350 in air rifle. Morehead State posted a 2296 in smallbore and 2362 in air rifle. The Eagles were led by Bryce Ward, who scored a 582 in smallbore and 592 in air rifle for an aggregate of 1174. Erin Diehl scored a 574 in smallbore and 592 in air rifle for a 1166 total.
The Wildcats were led at the match by senior Richard Clark, who scored a 586 in smallbore and 590 in air rifle for an aggregate of 1176. Junior Jaden Thompson had a strong match with a 585 in smallbore and 587 in air rifle for a 1172 aggregate. Clark was the top finisher in smallbore at the match, with Thompson in second place. Clark was also third overall in air rifle. Fellow junior Emmie Sellers totaled a 1167 overall, scoring a 581 in smallbore and 586 in air rifle. Seniors Mitchell Nelson and Mason Hamilton performed in the match with Nelson earning a 1165 aggregate while Hamilton had a 1163 total.
Three newcomers performed in the match and did well in their collegiate debuts. Freshman Allison Buesseler scored a 576 in smallbore and 584 in air rifle for a 1160 aggregate. Fellow freshman Tori Kopelen scored a 576 in smallbore and 580 in air rifle for a 1156 total, while rookie Kayla Kalenza earned a 563 in smallbore and 578 in air rifle for a 1141 overall.
Following this weekend’s season opener, Kentucky will have two off weekends before traveling to Navy on Saturday, Oct. 30. UK will have its home opener on Saturday, Nov. 6 vs. Ole Miss.
For more information on the Kentucky rifle team, visit UKathletics.com or follow UKRifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
