No. 8 NC State Rifle Wins GARC Match at No. 16 Akron

Saturday, October 22

Akron, Ohio

ALL DAY

NC State

4650

4627

#16 Akron

Photo by: Chris Baird

No. 8 NC State Rifle Wins GARC Match at No. 16 Akron

10/23/2016 8:59:00 PM | Rifle

Results

Kozeniesky breaks program record in air rifle with a score of 597

Sunday Results | Saturday Results

AKRON, Ohio – The eighth-ranked NC State rifle team picked up its first Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) win Sunday afternoon with a narrow 4650-4648 victory against No. 16 Akron inside the Robert A. Pinn Shooting Range.

With the win, the Wolfpack moves to 2-2 on the season after splitting Saturday's matches, defeating Akron in a nonconference match and losing to No. 2 West Virginia.

Ironically, NC State fired the same team score on Saturday and Sunday with a 4650 clip, while Akron charted a 4627 Saturday and WVU fired a team total of 4724.

Miller's Minute
Thoughts on the weekend…
"Overall it was a decent first road match," said head coach Keith Miller. "We had a few things that went really well, but also found a few things to work on. What we saw this weekend was lots of promise by a couple of our freshmen - in particular Claire [Zanti], and a great overall weekend from Will [Marciniak].

"We need to solidify our number three through six shooters to the point where one or two of them can be a few points off and not have it hurt our team score. That's the kind of balance and depth that you need to be an NCAA Championship team. That's what we're working towards, so those bright spots show promise."

On heading to The Citadel next weekend…
"Next week we're heading to The Citadel for a match with Navy. Since that's the site where we'll shoot our NCAA Qualifier, we're going to approach this as a chance to put up a good score at our qualifier range. Since it's a great range and one that we are very familiar with, we expect to see better and more balanced scoring than our matches at Akron. That's one of our main goals, to get that balance."

Sunday's Recap
Smallbore
- Akron fired a strong team score in the smallbore competition with a 2316, while NC State tallied a 2298.
- Sophomore William Marciniak collected the Wolfpack's best score with a personal record 579, topping his previous mark by nine (570).
- Lucas Kozeniesky and Lauren Phillips each charted scores of 574, while Caitlyn Ford and freshman Claire Zanti rounded out the Pack's counting lineup with a 571 and 551, respectively.
- Also taking part in the event for the Wolfpack were Derya Pekari (562), Zach Eisenberg (550) and Tyler Lefebvre (546).

Air Rifle
- Kozeniesky fired the top mark in the air rifle competion with a score of 595, highlighted by perfect 100s on his second, third and fifth series.
- Phillips claimed second in the event with a 591 result, including a 100 on her third series.
- Zanti fired a personal best 588 in just her second collegiate match to finish. Pekari notched an identical score, but was not part of the Pack's counting lineup.
- Eisenberg shot a 578 and Ford tallied a 568, as the final member of the NC State counting squad.
- Marciniak also competed in the event, charting a total of 577.
- NC State's counting lineup compiled a score of 2352 to secure the win, as Akron collected a team total of 2332.

Aggregate
- Kozeniesky was tied with Akron's Zach Strohl for the top aggregate score with an 1169 clip and Phillips secured the third highest at 1165.
- Marciniak notched an 1156 and Pekari logged an 1150 in aggregate.

- Marciniak tallied a career best in air rifle, smallbore and aggregate total.

Saturday's Recap
Smallbore
- The Wolfpack recorded a team score of 2297 in the smallbore discipline, headlined by Phillips' tally of 581. She tallied a perfect 100 on her first series in the prone position and a 99 on her second series of prone.
- Ford was NC State's second-best shooter with a 575 and Kozeniesky charted a score of 572.
- Marciniak was the final member of the Pack's counting lineup with mark of 569.
- Zanti registered a 573, Lefebvre earned a 570 and Eisenberg notched a score of 558.

Air Rifle
- Kozeniesky was locked in during the air rifle competition and broke the individual program record with a 597 to finish tied for second. NCSU's Olympian logged a perfect 100 on his final three series and a 99 on his first three series.
- Phillips achieved a result of 595 to take fourth place, matching her personal record she fired at the Wolfpack's season opener.
- Ford collected a 581, Pekari a 580 and Marciniak rounded out the counting squad with a 575 clip.
- Zanti competed in the event logging a score of 583, while Eisenberg tallied a 581. Lefebvre registered a 566.

Aggregate Total
- Phillips scored an 1176 to lead NC State in the aggregate with a third-place finish and Kozeniesky earned an 1169.

Up Next
NC State returns to action Saturday, Oct. 29, when the squad heads to Charleston, S.C., for a GARC match against Navy. The Citadel will host the event inside the Inuoye Marksmanship Center.

#STATEment