WEST POINT, N.Y. – The #8 Navy rifle team (9-4) posted 5904-5839 victory against #16 Army (4-11) in the annual Star Match, which is part of the overall Army-Navy Star Series, presented by USAA, on Saturday at the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center in West Point, N.Y.
The win gave the Midshipmen their fifth straight Star win and the seventh in the last eight Star matches.
"We had a great match against Army," head coach Mike Anti said after the match. "Taking the win for the fifth year in a row! This was a total team victory. This is a big deal for our team winning the Star, especially for our seniors defeating Army every year of their collegiate career and being able to sew four stars on their letter sweater."
The Midshipmen claimed the top three performances with six Navy shooters finishing in the top 10 in on the day. Isabella Baldwin, who led all scorers, earned the Josh Watson Memorial Trophy for being the Midshipmen's top finisher. It was the second consecutive time the junior claimed the honor.
"Our MVP was Isabella Baldwin shooting an amazing combined score of 1189. She is also the winner of the Josh Watson Memorial Trophy, which goes to the top Navy athlete in the Star Match.
"We had a number of our younger athletes shoot personal records in a high-pressure situation, which bodes well for the future," Anti continued. "Preston Everette, one of our freshmen, shot 10 points over his personal best which is very impressive. Our top three shooters all shot a 590 or better in smallbore and also shot 595 or better in air. I am very proud of everyone on the team. Today, they showed their toughness and grit in a very high-pressure event."
Scoring for the Star Match featured eight starters for each team in smallbore and air rifle with the top-five scores counting toward each team's final score. The NCAA scoring model of starting five shooters in each event with the top-four scores counting was still used for NCAA Championship qualification purposes.
The Mids tallied 2933 in smallbore and 2971 for its 5904 points in Army-Navy scoring. In addition, the Midshipmen topped the Black Knights in the NCAA scoring format, 4733-4674. The 4733 was the second-best score in program history. The Mids' NCAA smallbore score of 2354 tied for second-best in the record book, while the air rifle score of 2379 was one point shy of cracking the Mids' top 10 in the discipline.
Baldwin led all shooters on the day with an aggregate score of 1189. The score matched her career-best performance and tied for the fifth-best in program history. The junior started the day with a score of 591 in smallbore, but elevated her aggregate total with a 598 in air rifle.