LEXINGTON, Va. - Competing in the second of three consecutive home matches, the VMI rifle teams defeated the University of the Sciences and Penn State Saturday afternoon at Kilbourne Hall.
The VMI men tallied an aggregate score of 4509 to top the field while the VMI women' team placed second with 4416 points. The U.Sciences mixed team came in third with 4337 points, while Penn State (4015) and the U.Sciences women (4001) rounded out the group.
The VMI men shot the high scores in both the smallbore and air rifle competitions, shooting a 2219 in the smallbore and registeringt a 2290 in the air rifle. The VMI women logged a 2181 in the smallbore while tallying a 2235 in the air rifle segment.
Nick Reynolds shot a 561 in the smallbore to lead the men's squad while senior Andrew Hickey came in second for the team with a 556. Fellow senior Zach Johnson was close behind with a 555 while Matt Lusardi rounded out the scoring with a tally of 547 points for the segment. John Pitman competed well for the team and ended with a total of 543 points just outside of the scoring four.
Freshman Hunter Jacob led the Keydet men in the air rifle with a total of 579 points while Hickey also placed second for the team with a 573. Freshman William Davidson finished third for the team with a 570 with fellow freshman Chris Milliken scoring a 568 as the team's fourth scorer for the event.
The VMI women's smallbore was led by Samantha Alexander's 559 while Loyce Lightfoot registered a 550 for the second-best score on the team for the segment. Junior Katherine Watson came in third for the Keydets by logging a 542 with Rachel Jankelow coming in as the fourth and final scorer for the event with a 530.
In the women's air rifle, Alexander again led the way with a 566 while Jankelow and Kerrie Lightfoot tied for second and third place on the squad with a 561. Watson also scored in the air rifle for the team by registering a 547. Loyce Lightfoot also shot well in the event with a 539 just outside of the team qualifying points.
The VMI rifle teams return to action next Saturday by hosting Morehead State, Wofford and North Georgia for the third of three straight home matches. The first event is slated for an 8 a.m. start at Kilbourne Hall.
