ANNAPOLIS, Md. – No. 14 Navy (3-8, 1-6 GARC) returned home on Saturday morning and suffered a 5,820-5,799 setback against No. 8 Army (3-3, 3-2 GARC) in the annual Star Match, which is part of the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA. The Midshipmen racked up a five-count score of 2,871 in smallbore while scoring 2,928 points in air rifle at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range.
 
For NCAA scoring, where each team counts four scores, the Black Knights scored 4,666 points opposed to Navy's 4,648. Michael Zanti (Jr., Norfolk, Va.) finished as Navy's leading scorer on the day with a 1,164 over the two disciplines. Freshman Clarissa Layland (Granbury, Texas) finished with career highs in all three scoring categories, which was paced by a 591 in air rifle for a 1,163 in aggregate scoring.
 
"This was a tough loss for the team," head coach Mike Anti said. "We knew it was going to be a challenge as it is every year, but we also knew we had a chance to win with a good performance. Unfortunately, we did not put it together today as a team, even though we had a number of good individual performances. All we can do is make some adjustments and look forward to our next competitions. Even though things did not work out today I am still very proud of our team, they did their best and worked for every single point. 
 
"I would like to congratulate Michael Zanti for being the MVP and winning the Josh Watson Memorial Trophy."
 
In smallbore, Zanti paced the Midshipmen with a 60-shot total of 580 points with Torrance Kang (Sr., Columbia, Md.) and Brianna Feerick (Jr., Pembroke, Mass.) following with scores of 575 and 574, respectively. Navy's final counting score for NCAA scoring came from Layland with her 572, which set a new personal best. For the Midshipmen's five-count score, Mason MacKenzie's (So., Henderson, Md.) 570 capped off the team's 2,871 for the Star.
 
Shifting into air rifle, Layland's 591 ranked second overall between the two teams and she paced the team in the discipline. Layland also set a career-high with her aggregate score of 1,163 points to rank fifth in the field. Laurel Kuhne (Jr., Everett, Pa.) finished with a total of 587 points in air rifle to match her career-high, which she set at West Point earlier this year during the President's Trophy Match. The final two totals of Navy's four-count score came from Kang with a 585 and Zanti with a 584. Luke Knollinger (Sr., Valley Grove, W. Va.) finished the five-count scoring for the Midshipmen after firing a 581.
 
Clayton Hanson and Lauren McMahan paced the Black Knights with overall scores of 1,171 and 1,170, respectively. Hanson led the field with a 592 in air rifle while McMahan posted a 581 in smallbore to finish tied for best in the field. Army notched a five-count score of 2,890 in smallbore and a 2,930 in air rifle en route to its 5,820 points.
 
Next up, the Midshipmen are set to take on No. 9 Memphis in a GARC virtual match on Saturday at 9 a.m.