ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The 11th-ranked Navy rifle team started its Great American Rifle Conference slate with a victory over 12th-ranked Akron, 4,676-4,659, on Saturday at the
Bancroft Hall Rifle Range. The Midshipmen also defeated No. 9 North Carolina State in a non-conference match, 4,676-4,664.
The Midshipmen (3-1, 1-0 GARC) outscored the Zips (1-3, 0-3 GARC) by 21 points in air rifle to overcome a four-point deficit at the conclusion of smallbore competition.
"We had a very good day and posted a solid team score," head coach
Mike Anti said at the conclusion of the match on Saturday. "We had some great performances from our freshman and upperclassmen, while a number of our athletes shot personal best scores. We are looking forward to our first away competitions against Memphis and Ole Miss."
Following the action in the smallbore portion of the event, Navy trailed by four points after posting a score of 2,314. The duo of
Kestrel Kuhne (Jr., Everett, Pa.) and
Josh Watson (Sr., Enterprise, Ala.) paced the Midshipmen in smallbore with a pair of 582s.
Torrance Kang (So., Columbia, Md.) shot a 576 and
Daniel Enger (So., Walla Walla, Wash.) followed with a 574 to cap off the Navy team scoring. Of the non-starters,
Michael Zanti (Fr., Norfolk, Va.) had a strong showing for Navy with a 580 in smallbore, which included a perfect 200 in the prone position. Akron's Andre Gross had the highest smallbore total at 584 to guide the Zips to a 2,318 in the event.
In air rifle, Navy had three counting scores over 590. Kuhne led the way once again with a 592 in the discipline to post the best aggregate score between Navy and Akron after combing for a 1,174. The freshmen duo of
Mark Amdahl (Fr., Albuquerque, N.M.) and
Gabriella Mayes (Rio Rancho, N.M.) were just behind Kuhne with matching 591s. Kang had the final counting score for Navy with a 588 in air rifle, to cap of the Midshipmen's score of 2,362.
Despite not starting for Navy, Zanti had the third-highest aggregate in the field after compiling a score of 1,167. Following his 580 in smallbore, the freshman posted a 587 in air rifle.
Akron finished with an air rifle total of 2,341 to post a total of 4,659 – which was three points below the 4,662 mark it hit in each of its first two events of the year.
The Zips also competed against North Carolina State for GARC matchup and Akron suffered a 4,664-4,659 defeat to the Wolfpack to fall to 0-3 in the GARC.
Navy hits the road for the first time in 2018 as it travels to Memphis on Saturday and then Ole Miss on Sunday for two more GARC competitions.
