North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
AMU Invitational
NC State Rifle Moves to 3-0 on the Season
9/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Rifle
Sept. 24, 2004
NC State moved to 3-0 on the season after wins over The Citadel and Wofford. NC State was paced by a school record by a newcomer, freshman Tom Knight on Saturday against Wofford, and sophomore Jennifer Marshall, who topped Knight's record on Sunday against The Citadel and Wofford. Matthew Gifford and Ryan Dorety alternated on the scoring team, while Kirk Freeman was among the top-four both days.
"Because of the new 60-shot format, we knew records would be set this weekend," head coach Keith Miller said. "Even if we were shooting the old format of 40 shots, we would have set records still."
On Sept. 18, Freeman, Marshall, Knight and Gifford opened the season with a 2,266 in the 60-shot format air rifle match against Wofford. Wofford fired a 1,610, as NC State was too much a year removed after a record setting 2003-04 season. That continued as Knight, in his first collegiate match, produced a 574, setting the school record for 60-sho air rifle. Despite starting with an decent score of 92 on his first collegiate target, he shined with a string of 98, 97 and 98 en route to his record match.
"Tom came in an fit in well with the team and into collegiate rifle," Miller remarked. "There is a ton of competition at the top of our lineup, which makes everyone, including Tom, that much stronger across the board."
Marshall fired a 568 after four rounds of 95 or higher. Freeman was close behind with a 567, starting off strong with four 95's and a 97. Gifford rounded out the scoring team with a 557, while Dorety put up the top score outside of the top-five, posting a 558. Bill Reynolds shot a 527 while Tammy Montgomery fired a 524.
"Having five strong shooters is a good problem to have, even though it is hard to pick the top-four each time," Miller said.
Marshall was strong on Sept. 19, as NC State finished off The Citadel and defeated Wofford again. She set the school record with a 575, including one 99 target, topping Knight's score by a single point. Dorety provided a spark in her turn in the lineup, shooting a 569, second best during the match. Knight was third with a 567, while Freeman finished with a 553.
Freeman would provide an impressive display in a "guts match" later on in the day. A guts match consists with each shooter shooting one shot at a time, slowly eliminating those shooters who don't shoot a good enough score. After 16 shots had been fired, Freeman came out victorious in an impressive display.
"Kirk's performance was fun to watch, and it really showed the type of shooter he is," Miller said. "He showed that he can really perform under intense pressure, which is what a `guts match' is all about."
NC State 2,266, Wofford 1,610 *Freeman 567 *Gifford 557 *Knight 574 *Marshall 568 Dorety 558 Montgomery 524 Reynolds 527NC State 2,264, The Citadel 2,223, Wofford 1,857 *Dorety 569 *Freeman 553 *Knight 567 *Marshall 575 Gifford 560 Montgomery 503 Reynolds 533
