ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The #9 Navy rifle team (7-3, 2-2 GARC) competed in its first match of the spring, taking on defending national champion and fourth-ranked West Virginia (15-1, 3-0 GARC) at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range on Saturday morning. The Mountaineers used a season-best score 4755 to defeat the Midshipmen, who notched a tally of 4724.
 
The Mids' aggregate score of 4724 tied for the eighth-best in program history. Navy posted a team score of 2381 in air rifle, which tied for seventh in school history, while notching a score of 2343 in smallbore, which was just three points outside of the Mids' all-time top 10.
 
West Virginia claimed the top two spots on the podium. The Mountaineers' Griffin Lake, who entered the weekend second in the NCAA in aggregate shooting with an 1190.0, paced all shooters with a score of 1192 thanks to a match-high scores of 593 and 599 in smallbore and air rifle, respectively. Lake was followed by teammate Jennifer Kocher who posted a combined score of 1190 (592 SB, 598 AR).
 
For Navy, freshman Tyler Wee picked up where he left off in the fall. The rookie posted an aggregate score of 1189 to finish the day third overall. The score tied for the fifth in program history. T. Wee opened the day with a smallbore score of 590, marking the fourth time in six matches in his young career that he shot 590 or better. In air rifle, he posted a score of 599, which was one shot back of his school-record performance of a perfect 600. It was the second time this season the freshman shot exactly 599.
 
Junior Isabella Baldwin and senior Parker Haydin followed T. Wee with scores of 1183 and 1181, correspondingly. Baldwin finished two points back of her season-best score (1185) with an 1183. She recorded a smallbore score of 586, which was one point shy of her season-best total shot last time out against Alaska Fairbanks and Army. Her air rifle score of 597 was two points shy of her season-high score of 599. Haydin carded a combined score of 1181 to finish the day third among Midshipmen. The senior carded a 587 in smallbore to go along with a 594 in air rifle to close out the day among the top 10 individuals in the match.
 
Seniors Devin Uhrich and Catherine Dely, along with juniors Chelsie Glover and Ryan Wee recorded scores in the 1160s. Uhrich carded a combined score of 1165, which was two points shy of his career best he shot earlier in the year against Kentucky. He tied a career-high tally of 579 in smallbore to go along with a 586 in air rifle. C. Dely posted a 1164 to mark the fifth time in six matches that the team captain topped the 1160 plateau. She shot a 573 in smallbore to go along with a 591 in air rifle for her 1164. Glover was two points back with an 1162 aggregate total. After shooting an 1158 in the opening match of the season, Glover has topped 1160 in the next five matches. Glover shot a career-high 580 in smallbore to go along with a 582 in air. R. Wee rounded out the shooters in the 1160s with an 1161. The junior shot a 578 in smallbore before increasing his tally with a 583 in air rifle.
 
Senior Grace Shepard used scores of 565 in smallbore and 586 in air rifle to post a final aggregate total of 1151.
 
Freshmen Preston Everette, Audrey Hart, and Bennett Hilgenberg, along with junior John Dely rounded out the scoring for the Midshipmen. Everette shot an 1145 (570 SB, 575 AR), while Hart posted a scorecard of 1141 (557 SB, 584 AR). Hilgenberg had a career day as the freshman recorded a season-high score of 543 in smallbore and a season-best tally of 582 in air rifle to register a new career best of 1125, marking the first time the rookie topped 1100 points. J. Dely, who spent the fall semester abroad, shot a 1098 (544 SB, 554 AR) in his first outing of the season.
 
Up next, Navy hits the road for a pair of matches against Ole Miss and Memphis. The Mids take on the Rebels in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, Jan. 31 before closing out the weekend against the Tigers in Memphis, Tenn. on Sunday, Feb. 1.