ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy rifle team (2-1) began the 2024-25 season with a strong performance, tallying 4704 points in the season opener at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range in Annapolis. Defending national champion TCU posted a team score of 4716 to finish just ahead of the Midshipmen, while the VMI men's squad tallied 4536 and the VMI women's team posted a score of 4498.
 
"We were very pleased with our performance for the first match of the season," head coach Mike Anti said following the match. "I think it is the highest score we have fired to start a season. It was a great test to see where we are at and what we need to work on in the next few weeks.
 
"We had a number of athletes that had outstanding scores and we are very excited about the potential for even higher scores this season. Isabella Baldwin earned our MVP leading the team in both smallbore and air rifle. Marleigh Duncan also had a strong performance in both guns, just a couple of points behind Isabella. Stephanie Milvain and Ryan Wee also had a solid smallbore performance breaking the 580 mark. Everyone can identify areas that need work before our next match in a few weeks. We look forward to putting in the range time to get to that next level."
 
Isabella Baldwin picked up where she left off after an All-American freshman season. The sophomore tallied a team-high 587 points in smallbore, while also leading the team with 596 points in air rifle. Baldwin's aggregate tally of 1183 was one-point shy of tying her career-best.
 
Senior Marleigh Duncan was four points back of Baldwin, turning in an aggregate score of 1179. She posted a score of 585 after six shots of smallbore. Duncan upped her total with a score of 594 in air rifle.
 
Parker Haydin, who missed the 2023-24 season, shook off the rust in his first competition in over a year. The junior posted a smallbore score of 578, while notching a 593 in air rifle for an aggregate total of 1171. Senior team captain Stephanie Milvain matched Haydin with a combined score of 1171. Milvain posted a smallbore score of 581, while tying a career-high mark of 590 in air rifle.
 
Sophomore Ryan Wee and senior Joshua Potts finished with aggregate scores of 1163 and 1161, respectively. Wee was consistent with scores of 581 (smallbore) and 582 (air rifle), while Potts notched a 574 in smallbore, but raised his total significantly with a 587 in air rifle.
 
Juniors Catherine Dely and Grace Shepard posted solid performances. C.Dely (571 SB, 586 AR) notched an aggregate score of 1157, while Shepard (566 SB, 587 AR) finished with a combined score of 1153.
 
Competing in her first collegiate match, freshman Elizabeth Johnson posted a score of 1144, carding totals of 568 in smallbore and 576 in air rifle. Junior Devin Uhrich (559 SB, 569 AR) and sophomore John Dely (532 SB, 542 AR) also competed turning in aggregate totals of 1128 and 1074, respectively.
 
Navy will return to action Saturday, October 19 as it hosts Nebraska and fellow GARC member Ole Miss. The match is set to get underway at 9:00 a.m.