WEST POINT, N.Y. – Marleigh Duncan scored a Navy program-record 1,188 points to lead the No. 10 Navy rifle team to a 5,885-5,823 Star Match victory over No. 14 Army Saturday at the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center. The victory marks the third time in the last four seasons Navy has defeated Army for the Star.
"This was an amazing performance by our Midshipmen," said head coach Mike Anti. "It was truly a team effort and victory from every athlete. A win is always great, but a win against Army is even more special for everyone on the team. We know every year that Army is going to bring their 'A' game and they did that in the start of the match. After two stages of the match we only led by one point but our team shot an awesome standing and air rifle for the 62-point win."
The 5,885-point overall score by the Midshipmen is the highest-aggregate score in a Star Match during the 60/60 era (since 2006). Additionally, Navy set a new program-best score in smallbore with an NCAA four-count mark of 2,346 points, besting the previous high total of 2,331 points set in 2006.
Navy also set a new program record in four-count aggregate scoring for the second-consecutive week, cracking the 4,700-point plateau with a total score of 4,719 in the NCAA Championship scoring format.
Leading the way for Navy was Duncan, who tied a program-best mark in smallbore at 592 points along with recording a score of 596 in air rifle, just three points shy of her career-high in the discipline set earlier this season. For her efforts, Duncan garnered match Most Valuable Player honors and was selected as the Josh Watson Memorial Trophy winner.
"We also broke numerous program records and individual records along the way," Anti continued. "We placed new team records in smallbore and overall team score, along with setting a new record for overall scoring in a Star Match.
"Marleigh Duncan set a new individual record in smallbore and backed that up with a 596 in air rifle for a new total score record of 1,188. Her performance was the top score of the entire match, earning her the MVP award and the Josh Watson Memorial Trophy."
Team captain Michael Zanti posted scores of 586 points in smallbore and 592 in air rifle for the second-highest overall score in the competition at 1,178 points, sitting just outside the top-five scores in program history in the aggregate category.
Following closely behind Zanti was Stephanie Milvain who totaled the third-highest overall score in the competition at 1,176 points on marks of 587 in air rifle and 589 in smallbore. The overall score and smallbore total by Milvain set new career-best scores in the disciplines for the freshman.
"Michael Zanti continued his outstanding season performance with a 586 in smallbore and a 592 in air rifle," continued Anti. "A standout performance came from one of our freshmen, Stephanie Milvain, with an incredible 589 in smallbore. These are just a few of the highlights from today's competition."
Rounding out the Midshipmen presence in the top-five performers of the competition was Clarissa Layland who posted scores of 578 in smallbore and 594, both being new career-high marks, for an aggregate mark of 1,172 points which was just three points short of her career-best overall score.
Mark Amdahl recorded a 579-point total in smallbore in addition to tallying 588 points in air rifle en route to finishing with the sixth-best overall score in the match at 1,167 points. McKenzie Shedd finished eighth in the overall standings with a score of 1,164 on 573 points in smallbore and 591 in air rifle. The 573 smallbore points for Shedd marked a new career-high score in the discipline for the newcomer.
Deonte Hayes turned in a respectable 1,152-point overall mark on 565 points in smallbore and 587 in air rifle. All three of the scores were new career-bests for Hayes who contributed to the air rifle scoring effort for the Midshipmen as one of the eight starters.
Brianna Feerick netted an overall score of 1,148 after scoring 567 points in smallbore and 581 in air rifle while Joshua Potts scored 1,141 points on scores of 566 in smallbore and a mark of 575 in air rifle.
Rounding out the participating Midshipmen in the Star Match was the trio of Mark Dely (So., Fort Wayne, Ind.), Laurel Kuhne and Mason MacKenzie. Each of the three only participated in the air rifle portion of the competition, with Dely and MacKenzie scoring 574 points apiece while Kuhne recorded a score of 588.
"We are so very proud of our team," said Anti. "We look forward to our NCAA Qualifier in two weeks and building off this momentous victory."
Army was led on the day Anusha Pakkam who recorded the fifth-highest overall score in the event at 1,168 points. Maty Espenshade finished just behind Pakkam with an overall score of 1,167.
