Jan. 31, 2016 PALMYRA, Pa. - In a neutral site match hosted at the Palmyra Rifle Range as part of the 17th Annual Palmyra Invitational, the 14th-ranked Navy rifle team defeated the 16th-ranked Akron squad, 4,596 to 4,585. After trailing by one following the smallbore section of the competition, the Mids came from behind with a 12-point advantage in the air rifle shoot. Freshman Josh Watson (Enterprise, Ala.) was the high aggregate scorer for the Mids against the Zips as he recorded a score of 1,157.
"Air rifle was the winning margin for us in this match," remarked head coach Bill Kelley. "We're still not close to what we are producing in practice so that's a bit frustrating. We got off to a fairly slow start in smallbore and just never really found our footing. Our air rifle performance led us to the win."
The Mids' air rifle lineup shot at its usual consistent level as the four counters posted a score of 2,332. Coming in with a season average of 582.3, Watson registered a career-best mark of 588 versus the Zips. Jodi Cull-Host (Sr., Los Alamos, N.M.) followed Watson closely in the standings as she totaled 586 points after 60 shots. The final two counters for Navy in the air rifle discipline were Thomas Sarant (So., Massapequa, N.Y.) and Zach Gibson (Sr., Montrose, Colo.), who posted scores of 580 and 578, respectively.
The team's strong showing in air rifle was of utmost importance after a below-average performance in the smallbore shoot. The Mids' four-person counting lineup totaled an aggregate of 2,264 with Watson's 569 leading the way. Gibson, Cull-Host and Sarant were tightly grouped in the second, third and fourth scoring slots for Navy with respective totals of 566, 565 and 564.
"After this match, we now turn our attention to Army next Saturday," said Kelley. "We're really looking for the Star Match to be a barn-burner. Both teams are very well matched and it should be a close, exciting competition that will come down to the last few shots."
The Mids will be in action on Saturday, Feb. 6 at home with the annual Army-Navy Star Meet. The first shot between the Mids and Black Knights is slated for 9:00 a.m. at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range.
