Rifle: WVU Opens Season with Win

By Shannon McNamara for WVUsports.com
October 15, 2011 08:09 PM

Taylor Ciotola

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 3-ranked West Virginia rifle team opened its 2011-12 season with a 4664-4587 victory over No. 9 Air Force this evening at the NU Rifle Range, in Lincoln, Neb.

The Mountaineers (1-0) triumphed over the Falcons (1-2) in both guns, winning air rifle, 2346-2320, and smallbore, 2318-2267.

“We had a good, solid performance today,” says sixth-year coach Jon Hammond. “Everyone came in to this match with the right attitude and performed well. Obviously, the scores leave room for improvement, but I like the direction this team is headed.”

The Mountaineers took the top six overall finishes. Junior Petra Zublasing finished first overall with a combined of 1177, while senior Justin Pentz placed second with a score of 1170. Freshman Taylor Ciotola opened his WVU career with a third-place finish and a combined score of 1165.

“Taylor had a great day,” Hammond says. “He shot two great scores, and I was happy to see him have such a strong performance in his first WVU match.”

The Falcons were paced by Patrick Everson’s 1150 combined score.

Zublasing, the runner-up at the 2011 NCAA air rifle championship, won the discipline today, shooting 597 (98-100-100-100-99-100) and matching a career-best mark. Ciotola tied Everson for second place with a score of 586, while Pentz shot 584 and placed fourth.

Pentz also was solid in smallbore, leading the Mountaineers to victory with a winning 586 (199 prone, 192 standing, 195 kneeling) score; the mark is two shots off his personal best. Redshirt-freshman Thomas Kyanko finished in second place with a score of 582, and Zublasing and Ciotola shot 580 and 579, respectively, and finished in third and fourth place.

Senior Michael Kulbacki, freshman Meelis Kiisk, Zublasing, Pentz and Kyanko combined for WVU’s team scores today.

Also of note, junior Chance Cover shot a combined score of 1139, including an air-rifle mark of 572, in his first match as a Mountaineer.

With the win, WVU improves to 17-0 all-time against the Falcons.

The Mountaineers return to the range tomorrow and face host and Great American Rifle Conference foe Nebraska, at 9 a.m. ET. The No. 12-ranked Huskers opened their season on Friday with a 4602-4570 loss to the Falcons.

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