ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The eighth-ranked Navy rifle team (9-7, 4-4 GARC) cracked the 4,700-point plateau for the third-consecutive contest in a sweep of its NCAA Championship Qualifying Match against John Jay (0-6) and No. 14 North Carolina State (1-9, 1-8 GARC) Saturday at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range.
 
Navy finished with six of the top-10 individual competitors in the competition, including having the top-two smallbore and top-three air rifle shooters in the match.
 
The Midshipmen compiled their second-highest point total of the 2022 season at 4,716 points while the Wolfpack tallied 4,668 points to claim second place in the match. John Jay totaled a 4,241-point mark to finish third in the competition.
 
The scores recorded in Saturday's contest will account for 50 percent of each team's scoring average for the 2021-22 season. Each team's top-three scores from three different locations this season will be averaged together along with their respective totals from the qualifier match to determine the eight teams that will advance to next month's NCAA Championship that will be hosted by Air Force.
 
Navy currently ranks seventh among the top-eight qualifying teams in the nation following Saturday's competitions at 9,422.67 points. North Carolina State currently ranks 15th in the standings at 9,336 points while John Jay is 26th at 8,223 points.

"It was an exciting and very emotional day for our team," said head coach Mike Anti. "Our performance today was exceptional, despite the added pressure of qualifying for the NCAA's. Going into the match, things were very close between Navy, Akron and Ohio State for the eighth and final slot for the championship, so we knew we had to shoot to make it. That is exactly what our team did, not only holding our position but actually leaped ahead of Murray State for seventh. Now we await the official results that are going to be announced on Tuesday. 

"Emotionally, this was a tough match for our seniors being their last official home contest of their collegiate careers. I was very proud of how they handled the additional stress. All of them competed and supported the team like seasoned student-athletes."
 
Michael Zanti (Sr., Norfolk, Va.) was the top-overall performer in the competition, tying his career-best mark in aggregate scoring at 1,186 points on scores of 589 in smallbore and 597 in air rifle.
 
Marleigh Duncan (Fr., Wake Forest, N.C.) finished second in the overall match standings with 1,180 points – her third-highest aggregate total of the season – along with tallying 586 points in smallbore and a score of 594 points in the air rifle discipline.
 
Clarissa Layland (So., Granbury, Texas) tied her second-highest overall score of the 2022 season, along with finishing just three points shy of her career-high aggregate total at 1,172 points. The sophomore added 579 points in smallbore and a mark of 593 points in air rifle that fell just one-point shy of tying her career-high score in the discipline.
 
Following closely behind with the sixth and seventh-highest overall totals of the competition was the pairing of Stephanie Milvain (Fr., Matthews, N.C.) and McKenzie Shedd (Fr., Burke, Va.) with 1,171 points apiece. Milvain totaled scores of 588 in smallbore and 583 in air rifle while Shedd recorded a smallbore mark of 582 points along with a total of 589 points in air rifle.
 
The 588-point score in smallbore by Milvain fell just one-point shy of tying her career-best score in the discipline while the freshman's 583 points in air rifle was her third-best mark of the season in the event. Shedd posted a new career-best score of her own in smallbore with her aforementioned 582-point score.
 
Rounding out the Midshipmen presence in the top-10 shooters of the match was Mark Amdahl (Sr., Albuquerque, N.M.) who finished ninth with an aggregate total of 1,160 points on scores of 570 points in smallbore and 590 in air rifle.
 
Joshua Potts (Fr., Ephrata, Pa.) recorded an overall mark of 1,147 points on a 561-point score in smallbore along with a new career-best total 586 points in air rifle. Deonte Hayes finished two points behind Potts with a mark of 1,145 points including scores of 580 in air rifle and 565 in smallbore.
 
Mason MacKenzie (Jr., Henderson, Md.) tallied his third-highest overall score of the season at 1,144 points along with recording 571 points in smallbore and 573 points in the air rifle discipline.
 
Mark Dely (So., Fort Wayne, Ind.) added a score of 1,123 points in the aggregate category on that included his second-best air rifle total of the season at 576 points. Participating only in air rifle, Laurel Kuhne (Sr., Everett, Pa.) was the final competitor of the day for Navy, posting a 580-point mark in the discipline.
 
Addy Burrow and Katie Tedeschi led the way for the 14th-ranked Wolfpack by totaling 1,173 points, respectively, while Eric Lopez netted the top score for John Jay at 1,080 points.
 
UP NEXT
Navy will now await the results of the remaining NCAA Championship Qualifying Matches on Sunday, prior to learning if it has earned a bid to the eight-team NCAA Championship field during the NCAA's live selection show on Tuesday at 3 p.m.