No. 1 Kentucky rifle faced off in a doubleheader on Jan. 31 and took home a pair of wins, notching impressive victories over Akron and North Georgia, respectively.
With the Withrow Invitational that was scheduled for Jan. 24 at Murray State postponed, this was the Wildcats’ first return to action since mid-January.
By the end of the match, however, it became very clear that the team as a whole stayed in stride even after the short break.
In their matchup against Akron, the first of two games on their weekend doubleheader, it was the Wildcats’ score that really stood out.
To say Kentucky notched an impressive result would be an understatement, as not only did they break a team record with their overall score on the day, but they also broke the NCAA record in the process.
The Kentucky Wildcats became the first team to break the 4,760 barrier, posting an overall total of 4,762.
The score was achieved with an NCAA record-tying 2,395 in air rifle, as well as a 2,367 in smallbore. Overall, it was good enough to beat the Akron Zips 4,762-4,690.
Spearheading this record-setting performance was sophomore Liz Probst, who shot a perfect 600 in air rifle, marking the first time in her career she has been able to do so.
The team as a whole performed so well that the top five leaders in total aggregate for the match all represented Kentucky.
Besides Probst, the two other Wildcats in the top three were Braden Peiser and Sofia Ceccarello, whose aggregates were 1,195 and 1,193, respectively.
Kentucky followed the performance up the next day with another win, this time over North Georgia.
Freshman Elisa Boozer notched a career-high 588 in smallbore, which led the way for the team. In fact, the rookie was not only first on the team in the smallbore category but also led the total aggregate.
It was another career high, with 1,183 on the day.
Her performance helped pave the path to their 4,693-4,668 victory.
Kentucky’s next matchup will come on the road against a formidable West Virginia squad. Currently sitting atop the polls, the Wildcats look to take down a team that is eyeing them from the No. 3 spot.
Catch the matchup between two top three schools on Feb. 14 at 9 a.m. It will be held inside the WVU Rifle Range, and you can catch updates on live targets as well as the NCAA scorecard on UKAthletics.com.
