Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Ole Miss
Rifle Defeats Ole Miss In Season Debut
October 17, 2015 | Rifle
OXFORD, Miss. - Alyssa Gestl earned medalist honors in smallbore  and tied for third in air rile leading  the Army West Point rifle team to a 4642-4626 season-opening victory over Great America Rifle Conference rival Ole Miss Saturday in first-year coach Web Wright's debut.
 It is eighth time in the last 10 years the Black Knights have won their season opener and first since 2013-14.
The Black Knights (1-0, 1-0 GARC) swept the Rebels in both disciplines, outpointing them 2300-2288 in smallbore and edging Ole Miss in air rifle (2342-2338).
"It is a really good feeling to come out of my first match as coach with a win," said Wright. "The team has been working hard and it paid off. Ole Miss ran a great match and their shooters did well. They had two phenomenal air rifle scores."
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Gestl, firing individually in smallbore, recorded the highest score in that disciple with a 584. The Black Knight senior recorded a perfect score of 200 in prone and tied for first in standing (192). She tied with teammate Josh Martin for third in air rifle as both recorded 586s.
Martin, who earned runner-up honors in smallbore (580), fired the highest mark in kneeling posting a 196. Plebe Nathan Brewer tied for third with a 579 as the Black Knights claimed three of the top four spots.Â
"Josh (Martin) had a really good kneeling performance today and it helped carry him through the smallbore phase of the competition," noted Wright. "Alyssa (Gestl) had a great prone performance too. She has been working hard to iron out some things and was able to put it together when it counted."
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Joining Martin and Brewer on the Black Knights' four-man scoring unit were Danielle Cuomo (571) and Allen Solida (570).Â
Ole Miss claimed the top two individual spots in air rifle, but Army took the next five en route to edging the Rebels by four points in that discipline for a combined 16 points in the victory. Martin and Gestl each turned in 586s in tying for third with Brewer and Marvin Lewis just a point behind at 585 to share fifth place. That relay firing foursome combined for a 2342 with Cuomo and Solida recording respective scores of 584 and 582.
"I was most pleased with our air rifle scores," noted the first-year coach. "To put all six of our travelers up, and all break 580, that's a great accomplishment and a testament to the effort they have put in. It also shows the depth this team has.
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"We were a little shaken in kneeling overall. We have some things to work on, but I was pleased with this match. I am looking forward to to Sunday against Memphis. They are a little tougher, and we will need to stay focused and get the job done."
The Black Knights close out their first road trip of the year visiting GARC opponent Memphis Sunday. Click onto Army's schedule for live scoring against the Tigers.
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Players Mentioned
