No. 13 NC State Rifle Hosts West Virginia Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum

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RALEIGH, N.C. – For the first time since the 2008-09 season, the 13^th-ranked NC State rifle team will host a match. The Wolfpack welcomes the top-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers Saturday with the competition to take place inside Reynolds Coliseum at 10 a.m. in the main arena.

The contest will be NC State's 2016-17 season opener, while West Virginia enters the matchup with a 1-0 record thanks to a home win against Ohio State on Oct. 2. Both teams will commence their Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) slates Saturday.

At 10 a.m. Saturday the match will begin with smallbore action, followed by air rifle at noon and an air rifle finals at 2:15 p.m.

Admission is FREE and both teams will be signing autographs following the event.

The match will be streamed live at this link and live targets can be found by clicking here.

*Key Storylines*

Battle of Olympians
NC State and West Virginia boast a 2016 Olympian, as the Wolfpack's Lucas Kozeniesky competed in the 10m men's air rifle competition in Rio and the Mountaineers' Ginny Thrasher won the Gold Medal in the women's 10m air rifle event.

National Champions Visit Raleigh
The West Virginia Mountaineers have established themselves as one of the top programs in the nation, having won the National Championship in each of the past four seasons to own a total of 18 national titles.

NCAA Qualifiers Return for the Wolfpack
Each of NC State's 2016 NCAA qualifiers returns to the lineup for this season: Caitlyn Ford and Lucas Kozeniesky. Ford competed at the championships in the air rifle and smallbore events, while Kozeniesky took part in the air rifle event.

Ford finished 10^th in the smallbore competition and claimed seventh in air rifle. Kozeniesky fired the top air rifle score at the championships en route to a fifth-place finish.

Debut of All-American Lauren Phillips
The NC State rifle team received a pleasant boost to its roster for 2016-17 and 2017-18 when All-American Lauren Phillips transferred into the program. Phillips spent her first two seasons at Nebraska, where she claimed All-America honors as a freshman.

She is expected to make an immediate impact in the Wolfpack's lineup.

Hosting A Match
Thanks to the completion of the $35 million renovation, the NC State rifle team now has a venue to host matches. Saturday's contest will be the first match ever held on the court inside Reynolds Coliseum.

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No. 13 NC State Rifle Hosts West Virginia Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum

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Players Mentioned

Caitlyn Ford

Lucas Kozeniesky

Lauren Phillips