MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Navy rifle team (2-4, 0-3) was edged in a pair of Great American Rifle Conference matches on the road over the weekend. The Midshipmen opened the weekend by topping the 4700-point plateau, however, were edged by Ole Miss (3-1, 1-1) by a score of 4714-4702. The Mids closed out the road trip at Memphis (2-2, 1-2), being edged 4699-4689.
"The team had a busy weekend competing against Ole Miss on Saturday and then traveling to Memphis for a match on Sunday," head coach
Mike Anti said of the weekend. "I was very proud of our team this weekend competing against two top ranked schools. They worked hard in preparing for this weekend and fought for every point."
Against the Rebels, the Midshipmen topped the 4700-point plateau for the second time this season. The total of 4702 tied for the top total of the young season, set in the season opener against TCU and VMI on Sept. 23.
The duo of
Isabella Baldwin and
Marleigh Duncan continued to shine in the early going for the Midshipmen, finishing both matches in the top three among all finishers. Baldwin tied for first against Ole Miss with an aggregate score of 1184, while Duncan was third against the Rebels with a tally of 1178. Against Memphis, Duncan was second overall with a score of 1,180, while Baldwin was three points back in third-pace with a score of 1177.
Navy will return home on Saturday, Oct. 28 to host Kentucky in a match at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range. The competition begins at 9:00 a.m. and live results will be available.
Match 1 Recap: Ole Miss 4714, Navy 4702
Navy started the weekend road trip at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center in Oxford, Miss. The Midshipmen combined to score 4702 points for the second time in the early part of the season, however, match-host Ole Miss finished with a score of 4714 to earn the win.
As a team, Navy carded a score of 2335 in smallbore, while combining for a season-high air rifle score of 2367.
"We had a good performance against fifth ranked Ole Miss, tying our highest score for the season. It was a very close match. We had some great individual performances;
Isabella Baldwin fired the highest smallbore score 591 and tied for the high overall score 1184.
Marleigh Duncan tied for the best score in the air rifle event with a 595. Freshman
Ryan Wee competed as a starter for the first time. I was really proud of his performance. He had personal best with a 581 smallbore and 586 air finishing 10th overall."
Baldwin finished the match against Ole Miss tied for the individual lead with nine-time All-American Lea Horvath with an aggregate score of 1184. The Navy freshman posted the top smallbore score of the day, 591, while finishing with an air rifle score of 593.
Duncan finished third overall with a combined tally of 1178. She was fifth in the smallbore with a score of 583, but led the field in the air rifle competition with a season-best score of 595.
Clarissa Layland was third on the team with an aggregate performance of 1173. The senior posted season-high performances in both smallbore (580) and air rifle (593) to notch her best combined score of the year. Freshman
Ryan Wee also notched his season-best aggregate score on the young season, combining for a score of 1167. Like Layland, Wee also posted season-high scores in both disciplines – 581 (smallbore) and 586 (air rifle).
Joshua Potts and
Stephanie Milvain rounded out the scoring for the Midshipmen. Potts, who was a starter in the air rifle competition, registered a combined score of 1159, notching a 573 in smallbore and 586 in air rifle. Milvain was a starter in smallbore, shooting a 579 in both events for a final tally of 1158.
Match 2 Recap: Memphis 4699, Navy 4689
The Midshipmen closed out the weekend at the R.F. Fogelman Rifle Range in Memphis, Tenn. The Mids came in just under the 4700-point mark, notching a team score of 4689. The home team Memphis was able to edge Navy, posting a collective score of 4699.
"On Sunday against Memphis, our performance was not where it should be. Our accuracy was off just a bit which resulted in just missing the 10 ring too many times. Again, we still had some very good individual performances from Marleigh – high smallbore and second overall; Isabella – finished third overall; and Ryan – finishing sixth overall, beating his personal best by one point from the day before."
Memphis' Gabriela Zych was the individual medalist, posting a combined score of 1184. Duncan followed with an aggregate score of 1180 and Baldwin was third with a 1177. Duncan was top finisher in smallbore, registering a final score of 587 to finish ahead of Zych (586) and fellow Midshipmen Baldwin (585). Duncan was second in air rifle with a score of 593, while Baldwin was one point back (592) for third in the event.
Wee was third among the Navy shooters, finishing with an aggregate score of 1168. The freshman carded scores of 581 in smallbore and 587 in air rifle. He was followed by Layland, who finished with a total score of 1163. The senior posted a smallbore score of 575, while following with an air rifle mark of 588.
Milvain and Potts finished within two points of each other with an 1159 and 1157, respectively, to round out the scoring for the Midshipmen. Milvain shot a 576 in smallbore, while Potts was one-point back at 575. In air rifle, Milvain finished with a 583 with Potts notching a 582.
