The University of Akron Athletics
No. 15 Akron Rifle Tops Coast Guard Academy
January 25 | Rifle
AKRON, Ohio – The no. 15 Akron rifle team shot straight and let it fly this past weekend against the Coast Guard Academy to as the Zips continue to improve defeating the Bears, 4,628-4,505, in New London, Conn.
In the air rifle division, Akron controlled the boards with junior Zachary Strohl (Barto, Pa.), sophomore Julia Hatch (Northfield, Va.) and freshman Joshua Kovach (Akron, Ohio) all breaking above the 580 mark including Strohl tying his career-best 592 out of the possible 600. Strohl's score included three 10 shot series with a perfect score of 100 which is a program first for the Zips.
Akron's trio of Hatch, Strohl and senior Tim Hopkins (Olympia, Wash.) owned the top three slots in the smallbore competition. Hopkins was the Zips top deadeye shooter posting a score of 580 while Strohl (574) and Hatch (572) were just as accurate to propel Akron to a combined score of 2,295.
The Zips road win over the Bears of the Coast Guard Academy was Akron's first road match win of the year. They also broke a three match losing streak with the victory.
Next weekend, Akron rifle hits the road again traveling to Palmyra, Pa., to square off against the US Naval Academy and the US Military Academy in the Palmyra Invitational. The competition will feature three teams ranked in the top 15, Akron (15), Navy (14), and Army (11).
