MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The No. 5-ranked Alaska Nanooks rifle team could not find redemption against the team who had narrowly defeated team in last year's NCAA Championship, as defending National Champion, and No. 1-ranked, West Virginia knocked off the Nooks, 4,724-4,697, this afternoon in Morgantown.
Alaska was able to pick up a pair of individual titles in both the air rifle and smallbore, as redshirt sophomore Sagen Maddalena won her fourth-straight individual air rifle title, while 2014 NCAA smallbore champion, Tim Sherry captured first place in the smallbore.
"It was a good day for us," said head coach Dan Jordan. "We posted our second-best score of the year, but we still have a lot of potential in front of us and we will have some good momentum coming into our next match from today. Normally we struggle out of the break, but we've been able to have a pair of strong meets to open the semester, which I promising. We'll get back to Fairbanks and continue to push hard down the stretch."
Sherry and Maddalena collected their team's top overall finish, as Sherry finished second with a score of 1,181, while Maddalena was placed one slot behind her teammate with a 1,179 to place third.
"Air gun is normally our weaker event, and it's been great to see Sagen having the run that she's been on. Tim had a great day and that's going to put him in a good place as he tries to make another run at the smallbore championship."
Despite the individual titles, No. 1 West Virginia had the most prolific day in NCAA history on the range, as they set a new NCAA record for a total score, as they shot 4,724 on the afternoon.
In the air rifle, the No. 5-ranked team in the country nearly set a school record in the event, as they shot a 2,374, just two points shy of the program standard. Despite a season-high score in the air rifle, the Nooks were unable to post a higher mark than the defending National Champion in the event, as West Virginia collected a 2,382.
Maddalena picked up a first-place finish in the air rifle by scoring a 598. It is the fourth-straight air rifle title for Maddalena at an event, as she also picked up a first-place score at Arkron, at the NCAA Championship rehearsal and at Kentucky. Sophomore Luke Johnson recorded a 594 to place fourth, while All-American Tim Sherry (7th; 592) and senior Soren Butler (9th; 590) rounded out the top 10 for Alaska in the air rifle.
For the smallbore, Alaska posted a 2,323 as they had two shooters finish inside the top 10. Sherry placed first place in the smallbore with a score of 589, which marks his first individual title in the event since Nov. 5, when he took the place spot against Akron. Maddalena was the other Nanook to place inside the top 10, as her score of 581 was good enough for eighth.
The Alaska Nanooks rifle team will be back in action Feb. 4, as they take on Nevada in Fort Worth, Texas for a warmup match before the 2015 Patriot Rifle Conference Championships that take place in Fort Worth on Feb. 6 and 7.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks rifle team, follow @NanooksRifle on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks rifle on Facebook.
