NC State’s coed rifle team started off the season with a win against Virginia Military Institute 4625-4487 on Saturday morning in Lexington, Virginia.

The No. 9 Wolfpack remains undefeated against the No. 23 Keydets as the Pack secured its fourth victory since 2002. The Wolfpack fell short in overcoming Akron by 15 points.

Sophomore Emily Fisher led the Wolfpack as the leading individual shooter. Fisher scored the highest in smallbore shooting with a score of 578. Fisher tied with Akron’s sophomore Andre Gross for air rifle with a score of 589. Fisher ended the match with an aggregate score of 1167, outscoring Gross by only three points.

The freshmen on the team placed well in their first match. Freshman Makenzie Sheffield placed fifth individually with a total score of 1154. Teammate and fellow freshman Addy Burrow followed close behind in seventh with 1153.

Senior Claire Zanti wrapped up the Pack, placing ninth with an aggregate score of 1150.

The smallbore placings closely resemble the overall leaderboard for the Wolfpack and were the closest score to Akron. The Pack missed matching Akron’s score in smallbore by just seven points.

Air rifle was the stronger performance of the two events for the Wolfpack. In air rifle, following Fisher’s performance, the Pack’s sophomore Aron Tinter placed fifth with a score of 585.

The Wolfpack dominated VMI and the VMI women’s team. As a team, the Pack outscored both Keydet teams by no less than 66 points in either smallbore or air rifle. Between the Pack and Akron, the Keydets had no opportunity to reach the leaderboard or score within the top 10 in any event.

Only four shooters scored 100 on any target. Two of the four were from the Pack as Fisher and freshman John Peterson both scored 100 in the smallbore event.

The Wolfpack will return to Reynolds Coliseum to compete against North Georgia Sunday Oct. 20.