COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The ninth-ranked Navy rifle team (5-5, 1-3 GARC) finished second overall at the President's Trophy Match on Saturday with a total of 5,850 points, marking its highest score in the competition in program history. Additionally, the Midshipmen shot an NCAA four-count score of 4,689 points, a new program record for overall scoring.
"We had another successful competition, increasing our program record for overall scoring to 4,689," said head coach
Mike Anti. "It was a very competitive tournament with all three service academies shooting school records in the President's Match format. That really shows the depth of each program. We have been very consistent throughout the season which is encouraging for future competitions. I still feel we are able to shoot at least 15 to 20 points higher if we can clean up a few mistakes.
Michael Zanti again had a good day, taking high awards in both smallbore and overall score."
Scoring for the overall President's Trophy Match features eight starters at most for each team in smallbore and air rifle with the top five scores counting toward each team's final score. The NCAA scoring of starting five shooters in each event with the top four scores counting will still be used for NCAA qualification purposes.
No. 7 Air Force (4-0, 1-0 PRC) won its eighth-straight President's Trophy Match after edging the Mids by a narrow margin of 33 points at 5,883 points while 10th-ranked Army (2-3, 0-1 GARC) finished third with a score of 5,837. Coast Guard also tallied a 2,263-point mark from its two competitors, Berit Bedord and Bryce Sturtz.
Michael Zanti (Sr., Norfolk, Va.) once again paced Navy with a total score of 1,183, tied for the highest-such mark in the event with Air Force standout Scott Rockett. The senior posted the highest smallbore score in the competition at 589 points in addition to posting a 594-point score in the air rifle discipline.
The smallbore mark for Zanti fell just one-point shy of his career-best score in the event, while his 594 points in air rifle marked the sixth time this season that the senior has reached at least 594 points in the discipline.
Mark Amdahl (Sr., Albuquerque, N.M.) joined Zanti among the top-10 performers in the competition with a 1,173-point overall score on 582 points in smallbore and 591 in air rifle. The senior's smallbore mark proved to be a new season-high score in the event while his overall mark also was a new season high.
Marleigh Duncan (Fr., Wake Forest, N.C.) turned in a stellar performance in the first President's Trophy match of her career, posting an overall mark of 1,166 points along with scores of 576 in smallbore and 590 in air rifle. The 576 points in smallbore fell just one-point shy of tying her career-high score in the discipline while her 590 points in air rifle matched her career-best score in the event.
Clarissa Layland (So., Granbury, Texas) shot a 1,162-point overall mark, highlighted by a 587-point score in air rifle while
McKenzie Shedd (Fr., Burke, Va.) finished with an overall score of 1,155 points on a score of 563 in smallbore and a 592-point mark in in air rifle.
Brianna Feerick (Sr., Pembroke, Mass.) posted an aggregate score of 1,158, falling just three points shy of her career-best overall mark, on 574 points in smallbore and 584 in air rifle.
Rounding out the Midshipmen participants in the President's Trophy Match was
Joshua Potts (Fr., Ephrata, Pa.) who scored 1,140 points on scores of 565 in smallbore and 575 in air rifle.
UP NEXT
Navy is set to return to action on Friday, November 12 as it welcomes North Carolina State to the
Bancroft Hall Rifle Range followed by a contest against top-ranked Alaska on Sunday. Friday's contest is set to get underway at 1 p.m. followed by a 9 a.m. start against Alaska on Sunday.
