The NC State rifle team opened its 2017-18 season with three wins and three losses at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, this past weekend.
The No. 9 Wolfpack (3-3, 0-2 GARC) picked up wins over The Citadel, No. 20 North Georgia and No. 6 Nebraska throughout the weekend competition. The Pack fell to No. 1 West Virginia, No. 5 Ohio State and No. 12 Ole Miss. The 2017-18 season marks the first time that the Pack is without Lucas Kozeniesky. Kozeniesky, a 2016 Olympian, graduated from NC State in May.
The two-day event began Saturday with NC State competing against West Virginia, Ohio State, North Georgia and The Citadel.
Led by graduate transfer Lauren Phillips, who scored a 577 in the smallbore competition, the Pack finished with a score of 2,284 for Saturday’s smallbore composite score. Junior Claire Spina recorded a personal best of 566 in the event.
For the air rifle portion of Saturday, NC State earned a team total of 2,346. Phillips again led the Wolfpack with an individual score of 588. Sophomore Claire Zanti was a close second with an individual score of 587.
State totaled an aggregate team score of 4,630 to finish third on the day. Defending national champion West Virginia took first place with a team score of 4,703 and Ohio State placed second with a team score of 4,646. North Georgia took fourth with a score of 4,609 and The Citadel placed fifth with a score of 4,510.
Sunday, NC State finished second overall with an aggregate team score of 4,650, up 20 points from Saturday’s competition. Once again led in the smallbore by Phillips, State beat Nebraska but fell to Ole Miss. Nebraska recorded an aggregate score of 4,631 while Ole Miss scored 4,661.
Phillips, who is the defending Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) smallbore champion, scored a 578 during Sunday’s match, up one from Saturday. Sophomore Zach Eisenberg finished second for the Wolfpack with a personal best score of 575 in smallbore. Overall, NC State scored 11 more points for Sunday’s smallbore competition than it did on Saturday.
For the air rifle portion of Sunday, the Wolfpack once again outdid its own score from Saturday, recording nine more points. Sophomore Kendra Jacobs, a transfer from the Air Force Academy, took first in air rifle for the Pack Sunday, scoring a personal best mark of 593.
All in all, four of the eight members of the rifle team recorded individual career bests in either smallbore or air rifle events. With the weekend event, the Wolfpack drops to 0-2 in GARC competition as West Virginia and Ole Miss were both conference opponents.
Overall, NC State finished its opening weekend of shooting with a solid performance from all its members. The team will be back in action on Oct. 6 when it takes on Murray State in Oxford, Mississippi.
