ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The annual President's Trophy Match takes part this weekend as the No. 13 Navy rifle team (5-3) competes against its service academy counterparts No. 6 Air Force (3-0) and No. 9 Army (2-1) on Saturday morning at the Cadet Rifle Range at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Competition on Saturday morning begins at 11:00 a.m. and live results will be available.
 
The President's Trophy Match features eight starters for both teams and the five highest scores among the starters count toward the team score for the President's Trophy. Navy's last victory in this event came in 2008 when it bested the three other service academies in Colorado Springs, Colo.
 
About the President's Trophy
The first President's Trophy Match was contested in 1998 against Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, and U.S. Merchant Marine. In 1998, Army was the host site for the inaugural event, as Navy won its first of seven titles with a score of 7601. The Black Knights were the runner up, followed by the Falcons with scores of 7384 and 7535, respectively, using the 120/40 shot scoring system. Prior to 2003, scoring for the match was based on the 120/40 shot scoring system for both smallbore and air rifle. The new system was implemented in 2004 with a 60/60 shot system for both rifles. Scores identified are based on the five-counter method. In the history of the President's Trophy Match, Air Force has won 11 titles, including the last 10. Army has won the title eight times, while Navy has seven titles. The match is held annually in November, and is rotated between the three academies.
 
National Rankings
Navy is ranked No. 13 in the latest Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) rankings, tied with fellow Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) foe Akron. Saturday's opponents Air Force and Army are also ranked with the Falcons coming in at No. 6 and the Black Knights ranked ninth.
 
Last Time – at President's Trophy (Nov. 4, 2023)
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Navy shot a school-record performance, 5856, to finish second against its service academy counterparts at the President's Trophy Match that was held at the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center in West Point, N.Y. Additionally, the Midshipmen shot an NCAA four-count score of 4697 points.
 
Scoring for the overall President's Trophy Match features eight starters at most for each team in smallbore and air rifle with the top five scores counting toward each team's final score. The NCAA scoring of starting five shooters in each event with the top four scores counting will still be used for NCAA qualification purposes.
 
Air Force won its 10th-straight President's Trophy Match after posting a collective score of 5892 points, finishing ahead of Navy (5856). Match-host Army was third with 5853, while Coast Guard rounded out the team scores with 5118.
 
Navy tallied 4697 points according to the NCAA scoring, while Air Force finished with 4716. Army was third with 4692 and Coast Guard closed out the scoring with 4277 points.
 
Freshman Isabella Baldwin led the way for the Midshipmen, finishing with an aggregate score of 1183. Her total was one-point shy of her season best, 1184, that she set at Ole Miss. The rookie notched a 589 in smallbore, while registering a career-high 594 in air rifle. Baldwin tied for first in aggregate scoring, while leading all shooters in smallbore.
 
Fellow freshman Ryan Wee joined Baldwin atop the Navy standings. Wee was second among the Midshipmen recording a season-best performance in his first President's Trophy Match. He shot a season-high 583 in smallbore, besting his previous high of 581 set at Ole Miss and matched at Memphis. In air rifle, Wee bested his previous high by three points, registering a 590 on the day. Wee's scores combined for a 1173, giving the freshman a new aggregate high score.
 
Junior Marleigh Duncan was one point back of Wee, carding an aggregate tally of 1172. She shot a 585 in smallbore, while adding a 587 in air rifle to register the third-best Navy score on the day.
 
Finishing fourth among the Midshipmen was senior Clarissa Layland. She carded a collective score of 1164 on the day. Layland posted a smallbore score of 573, while finishing in the top 10 in air rifle with a score of 591.
 
Junior Joshua Potts and Stephanie Milvain were fifth and sixth for Navy. Potts recorded an aggregate score of 1159, while Milvain was three points back with an 1156. Potts registered a 575 in smallbore and 584 in air rifle with Milvain was steady with a 578 score in both disciplines.
 
Sophomore Catherine Dely, sophomore Grace Shepard, and senior Mark Dely rounded out the Midshipmen's scoring. C. Dely finished with scores of 565 (smallbore) and 576 (air rifle) for an aggregate count of 1141. Shepard notched her second-best aggregate score of the year with an 1137, posting her second-best performances of the season in smallbore (557) and air rifle (580). M. Dely registered a season-best score of 572 in smallbore to go along with a 554 in air rifle for a combined score of 1126.
 
Up Next
Following the President's Trophy Match, Navy travels to Ohio for a busy weekend on November 16-17. The Mids will take on No. 8 Ohio State and No. 10 Nebraska in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, Nov. 16 before closing out the weekend against No. 13 Akron and Nebraska in Akron, Ohio on Sunday, Nov. 17.