The University of Akron Athletics
UA Rifle Upended at Ohio State
February 08 | Rifle
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Despite a strong showing, including several career best performances the University of Akron rifle team suffered its first setback of the new year, dropping a 4611-4577 decision against Ohio State this weekend.
Ohio State edged Akron for top gun honors in the smallbore rifle as OSU's Amanda Furrer shot 580 to earn the distinction. James Clark of OSU shot 575 to take second while UA's leading shooter in the field, sophomore Zachary Szabo finished a point shy in third with a career-high 574. Fellow sophomore Ryan Stein would round out the Zips in fifth with a score of 571.
Sophomore Sarah Benjamin shot a career-high-tying score of 587 in the air rifle stanza, narrowly missing top gun honors, which went to OSU's James Clark (588). Teammate Amanda Furrer finished in third place (585) ahead of UA junior Brittany Jones also shot a career-high mark, finishing fourth with 583 points.
Head coach Newt Engle states, "Our game is coming together at exactly the right time, sure a win would have been nice, but the improvement in smallbore is exactly what we needed." Engle adds, "We are one point away from the school air gun record and two points away from the school aggregate record. With this happening the week before the NCAA qualifiers, I am excited to see what we will do next week."
The Zips return to Columbus, Ohio next weekend to shoot in the NCAA Qualifier. Last year's event saw sophomore Jenna Compton's score of 587 qualify her for the NCAA Individual Air Rifle Championship, which she went on to claim. This year's NCAA Championships (March 11-12) will be hosted by Texas Christian University.
