Jan. 24, 2010

PALMYRA, Pa. -- The Navy rifle team finished first in air rifle and second in smallbore at the Palmyra Invitational on Sunday, concluding a tough three-day stretch for the squad. The 6-0 Mids shot three times in three days, starting on Friday.

Navy shot a 2278 in smallbore and a 2319 in air rifle for a total of 4597.

"The scores weren't as good as yesterday, and I think we could have done better today," said Navy head coach Bill Kelley. "Basically, if we could get everyone to hit it on the same day, they would all be home runs. We are trying to get everyone together on the same page and same day."

The Mids were paced in smallbore by Chris Burleson with a 580. He was followed by Liz Leckie's 571, Alison Lankes recorded a 565 and Kenan Wang scored a 562 to round out Navy's smallbore scoring.

Navy then had all four scores at 575 in air rifle to score a 2319. Freshman Ryan Williams and Kenan Wang scored a 584, while Lankes had a 576 and Burleson recorded a 575.

"We ended a tough three-day weekend, so there might have been some fatigue factor," added Kelley. "But we are trying to test ourselves and get prepared for NCAAs in March. It wasn't a bad performance, but we are capable of better."

Navy will be off next weekend, but will host Army in the Star Match in Annapolis on Feb. 6, beginning at 9:00 am at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range.

# GO NAVY #