WVU Release WVU Enters Tri-Match Weekend

Vernon

Heisman
Staff member
May 29, 2001
255,770
84,498
113
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Jan. 29, 2021) - West Virginia University rifle team plays host to trio, No. 12 Akron, No. 3 Ole Miss and No. 14 Navy on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 8 a.m. ET. WVU plays host to Ole Miss once more on Sunday, Jan. 31, at 9 a.m., ET. Both matches will be held at the WVU Rifle Range.



West Virginia also will honor senior Sarah Osborn prior to the start of Sunday's action, recognizing her for her hard work and dedication to the WVU rifle program.



“This weekend is going to be another good test and challenge for the team,” Coach Jon Hammond said. “It will be a mini-tournament on Saturday with four conference teams. That includes Ole Miss, who is undefeated and performing really well. Then we’ll have our conference head-to-head with Ole Miss on Sunday. We’re excited to shoot back on our Bill McKenzie range this weekend. With back-to-back matches and competing against a team ranked ahead of us, it will be a tough challenge. That’s how we learn and how we get better. The freshmen are getting valuable experience in each match, and while this has been a busy period of matches, it’s been a great experience.”



WVU is 19-0 all-time against Akron since 1952 and claimed a 4715-4665 victory over the Zips in the Mountaineers 2021 season opener on Saturday, Jan. 16. The Mountaineers (2-0, 1-0) swept the Zips (7-0, 4-0) in both disciplines, winning smallbore, 2333-2307, and air rifle, 2382-2358.





The Mountaineers are 16-3 against Ole Miss since 2002 and claimed a 4704-4674 victory over the Rebels in Morgantown on Nov. 2, 2019. The Mountaineers (2-0, 1-0) swept the Rebels (5-3, 2-2) winning smallbore, 2342-2302.






WVU is 29-8 all-time against Navy since 1966 and claimed a 4715-4655 victory over the Midshipmen on Nov. 23, 2019. The Mountaineers (2-0, 1-0) swept the Midshipmen (3-5, 1-3) in both disciplines, winning smallbore, 2350-2300 and air rifle, 2365-2355.


Senior Sarah Osborn placed first overall, earning a personal-best aggregate score of 1185. She was followed by sophomore Calista Smoyer, who posted a career-high aggregate score of 1181.

All nine Mountaineers that competed finished inside the top 10 in both the smallbore and air rifle standings.

Osborn claimed a career-high smallbore title with a 590 mark (198 kneeling, 197 prone, 195 standing), while Smoyer finished first in air rifle with a 596 mark (100-99-98-100-99-100).




Looking ahead, West Virginia closes its regular season at Kentucky on Saturday, Feb. 13 at the UK Rifle Range.



For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.