Jan. 13, 2007

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy rifle team recorded a season-high score, in cruising past Coast Guard, 4,613 to 4,411 at the Bancroft Rifle Range on Saturday morning. The Mids improved to 4-2 overall with the victory.

"I thought we had a good performance today," said Navy head coach Bill Kelley. "We left some high scores off the counting team which would have given us higher scores. It's been very difficult picking our teams, and we need to find some consistency. But I was pleased with the performance. This is the best we have shot in our first return match in the eight years I have been here."

Navy outscored Coast Guard, 2,295 to 2,200 in the smallbore and was led by Chris Schneider's 578. Josh Albright added a 577, Alex Karacsonyi shot a 573 and Monica Amagna tallied a 567. Sarah Bergman, who was left off the smallbore counting team, tallied a career-best 579. In air rifle, which Navy won 2,318 to 2,211, Bergman and Lisa Kunzelman tallied 583s, Schneider scored a 578 and Albright shot a 574. Karacsonyi and Amagna, who were left off the air rifle team, shot a 587 and 584, respectively.

"There were a lot of positive signs this week and one big one was the help Eric Uptagrafft gave us, particularly in smallbore," said Kelley. "Bergman's career-high score was almost a direct result of his help. There were just a lot of good things that happened this week. It's time to get down to business and hopefully start to post some good scores. This was a good start for us."

Navy will travel to Palmyra, Pa., on Sunday for an 8:00 am match against Akron. The Mids will then host defending national champion Alaska-Fairbanks next weekend.

# GO NAVY #