No. 15 NC State rifle narrowly fell to No. 10 Navy by a total score of 4,703-4,693 in Charleston, South Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 12.
Just one day after a record-breaking win against the Citadel, both on program and personal levels, the Wolfpack (2-3) couldn’t take down the Midshipmen (6-3), who scored just 10 points higher than its opponents.
Against the Citadel, NC State broke program records in both aggregate score and in the smallbore discipline. Facing Navy just one day later, the Pack nearly topped its newly-established records by recording the second-highest aggregate score in history and by logging a smallbore score of four points less than the previous day’s performance.
NC State logged a 2,327-point performance in the smallbore, nearly shattering its previous record of 2,331. The red-and-white didn’t disappoint in the air rifle discipline either, scoring 2,366, which was good enough to tie the third-highest score in program history for the event.
Like the day before, junior Ben Salas led the Wolfpack in smallbore, tying one of Navy’s shooters for the highest score in the competition with a tally of 589. Freshmen Kendall Goebel and Kyra Meade fell in line right behind Salas, posting scores of 581 and 580, respectively. Meade’s score also earned a new personal best in the discipline.
The Pack’s air rifle efforts were led by sophomore Katie Tedeschi, who set a new personal record in the event with a score of 596. Goebel also set a new personal record in air rifle with her score of 591. Finally, junior Lauren Crossley finished with an air rifle score of 590, as she also put up a strong outing in the event, contributing to the Pack’s overall score of 2,366.
Despite NC State’s impressive overall effort, Navy was able to barely edge out the Pack due to its strong performance in air rifle. The Midshipmen’s score of 2,357 was enough to beat out NC State by ten, despite the red-and-white beating its opponents in the smallbore competition.
Next up for the Pack’s rifle squad is a showdown with West Virginia on Friday, Nov. 18. NC State will take on the Mountaineers starting at 10 a.m. in Morgantown, West Virginia.
