ANNAPOLIS, Md. – For the 29th time in program history, the seventh-ranked Navy rifle team (9-7, 3-4 in the GARC) will compete in the NCAA Championship meet that is scheduled to begin 11 a.m. Friday. The two-day competition, hosted by Air Force in Colorado Springs, will feature free, live video provided by the NCAA, along with free, live results on NavySports.com.
NAVY PRIMER
Overall Record: 9-7
Home Record: 4-4
Away Record: 3-3
Neutral Record: 2-0
GARC Record: 4-3
GARC Championship Finish: Fourth
Streak: W3
Head Coach: Mike Anti I Fifth Season (39-35)
NAVY IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Their 2022 NCAA Championship appearance marks the third time in the last four seasons that the Midshipmen have earned a berth to the national championship meet. In its most recent appearance in the NCAA Championship field in 2019, Navy posted a sixth-place finish in smallbore along with finishing seventh in air rifle for a seventh-place overall finish.
The Midshipmen have finished as high as second overall at the NCAA Championship twice, including the 1990 and 1999 seasons. Under the direction of head coach
Mike Anti, Navy has reached the championship field twice, finishing seventh in 2019 before qualifying for the 2020 championship that was ultimately canceled due to the pandemic.
THE FIELD
The Mids enter the NCAA Championship as the No. 7 seed in the eight-team field. Alaska claimed the No. 1 position with a qualification score of 9,490 points while Kentucky, the reigning national champion, is seeded second after posting a 9,478-point score. TCU (9,477.33) is third followed in order by host Air Force (9,454.67), Ole Miss (9,446.33) and West Virginia (9,441). The seventh-ranked Midshipmen (9,422.67) are trailed by Murray State (9,415) to round out the field.
LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, Navy earned a fourth-place overall finish at the 2022 GARC Championship, hosted by Army.
Marleigh Duncan (Fr., Wake Forest, N.C.) was the top-overall shooter for the Midshipmen in the competition, finishing fifth in the overall standings with 1,184 points. Team captain
Michael Zanti (Sr., Norfolk, Va.) finished seventh overall in the individual standings, just a point behind Duncan, with 1,183 points. The fourth-place mark by the Mids was their best since finishing third at the 2018 GARC Championship, in addition to posting their best finishes in air rifle since 2019 and smallbore since 2020.
LEADING THE CHARGE
Entering Friday's opening day of NCAA Championship competition, Zanti leads the Midshipmen in average scoring among each of the three categories. The senior standout is averaging 586.8 points per match in smallbore, 595.1 in air rifle and 1,182.1 in aggregate. Duncan is second on the team in smallbore (579.4) and aggregate scoring (1,169.1), along with being fourth in air rifle (589.7). Rounding out the top-performing shooters for the Mids this season is
Mark Amdahl (Sr., Albuquerque, N.M.), who ranks second in air rifle average (594.2), third in aggregate (1,167) and fourth in smallbore (574.8).
DUNCAN CROWNED SMALLBORE CHAMPION
For her efforts on the first day of competition, posting a score of 592 points in the smallbore discipline, Duncan was crowned the 2022 GARC Smallbore Champion. The freshman became the first Midshipman to win a GARC individual championship since Navy joined the conference in 2014. The 592-point score by Duncan tied the program's individual smallbore scoring record, marking the second time in three weeks the freshman accomplished the feat.
ALL-GARC HONOREES
Following their participation in the 2022 GARC Championship, the trio of Amdahl, Zanti and
Clarissa Layland (So., Granbury, Texas) garnered All-GARC recognition.
Amdahl was named an All-GARC Honorable Mention in the air rifle discipline, marking the second All-GARC honor of his career. In GARC matches this season, Amdahl averaged 592.14 points per match in air rifle, en route to earning his second all-conference award.
Zanti was named a First-Team All-GARC selection in the air rifle and aggregate disciplines, along with being a second-team honoree in smallbore. The trio of awards marked the first such honors in Zanti's career, after the senior carried GARC match scoring averages of 585.71 in smallbore, 595.14 in air rifle and 1,180.86 in the aggregate category.
Layland was selected as Navy's GARC Scholar Athlete of the Year for the first time in her career, after totaling an average of 580.14 points per GARC match in smallbore, 588.71 in air rifle and 1,162.71 in aggregate.
ANTI NAMED GARC COACH OF THE YEAR
In addition to the honors earned by Amdahl, Layland and Zanti following the conference championship, Anti was voted as the GARC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. Anti guided the Midshipmen to a record-breaking campaign in 2021-22, that included breaking the program scoring record in each of the three scoring categories. Additionally, Anti oversaw the Mids cracking the 4,700-point plateau three times after not eclipsing that mark prior to this season in the 60/60 era (since 2005).
UP NEXT
The 2022 NCAA Championship will mark the end of Navy's record-breaking 2021-22 season, in which it has broken the team-scoring record in each of the three categories, along with cracking the 4,700-point on three different occasions for the first time in program history.
