ANNAPOLIS, Md. – For the third time this season, the Navy rifle team (2-5, 0-4) topped the 4700-point plateau, but the Midshipmen were clipped, 4707-4701, by Kentucky (2-0, 1-0) in a Great American Rifle Conference match on Saturday at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range.
"We had another close match against a top ranked team in the nation," head coach
Mike Anti said after the match. "I was really happy with our smallbore score, our top four shooters with scores over 580, but we are just giving up too many points in the air rifle event. In the past years, we would have been satisfied with a score in the low 4700, but we are a better team than that. We just need to put it together in a match. Again,
Marleigh Duncan and
Isabella Baldwin had solid performances leading the team in overall scores. I was also really proud of
Grace Shepard shooting a personal best in the air rifle event. We have a few days to prepare for our next competition against Army and Air Force."
The 4701-point team total was one-point shy of the season-best tally of 4702 the Mids posted against TCU / VMI in the season opener and matched last weekend at Ole Miss. The Midshipmen registered its second-best smallbore total of the season, 2336, while also recording their second-best score in air rifle (2365).
Isabella Baldwin continued her tremendous start to her freshman campaign. She posted a team-high score of 1182, just two points shy of her season-best aggregate performance. Baldwin carded a smallbore score of 589 to lead all Navy shooters, while tying a season-best performance of 593 in air rifle.
Sitting atop the Midshipmen performances with Baldwin was
Marleigh Duncan. The junior registered a 1176 aggregate score. She turned in a 584 in smallbore, while carding a total score of 592 in air rifle.
Freshman
Ryan Wee was third among the Navy shooters. Competing as a starter for the second time this season, he notched his second-best performance of his young career. Wee missed tying a career-high in aggregate by one point, posting a combined tally of 1167. He was one point back of his smallbore season-best with a 580, while tying for a season-high score of 587 in air rifle.
Clarissa Layland started both disciplines on the day, posting a combined score of 1165. The senior tied for a season-best score of 593 in air rifle, while notching a 572 in smallbore.
Stephanie Milvain, who started in smallbore, carded a total score of 1165 to tie Layland. Milvain notched 583 in smallbore, which was just shy of her top performance of the season (586) in the event. She added a 582 in air rifle to card her season-best aggregate tally of the fall.
Joshua Potts registered a combined score of 1148. He was a starter in air rifle, notching a score of 579. In smallbore, Potts finished with a 569.
Sophomore
Catherine Dely posted an aggregate score of 1149 with tallies of 565 (SB) and 584 (AR), while sophomore
Grace Shepard was four points back with a career-best aggregate score of 1145, tying career-highs in smallbore (558) and air rifle (587). Sophomore
Devin Uhrich recorded scores of 563 (SB) and 576 (AR) for an aggregate tally of 1139. Senior team captain
Mark Dely and freshman
Chelsie Glover both only competed in air rifle. Dely posted a score of 565, while Glover notched a 567 in her first collegiate match of the season.
Navy will take part in the President's Trophy Match against fellow service academies – Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard. The annual matchup between service academies will be held in West Point, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 4. Competition is slated to begin at 9:00 a.m.
