Army West Point Athletics
Rifle Hosts Navy in Star Match Saturday
February 01, 2024 | Rifle
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point rifle team, off to its best start in several years, plays host to Navy in the annual "Star" match, presented by USAA, Saturday morning at Tronsrue Marksmanship Center.
The No. 14th ranked Black Knights will be looking to snap No. 13 Navy's two-match win streak, along with claiming their first home win over their counterparts since 2018. Army's last win over the Mids was a 5820-5799 decision in Annapolis (2021).
As members of the GARC (Great America Rifle Conference), the Black Knights show a 2-3 conference record and stand 6-4, while Navy is 0-5 and 5-9 overall.
In conference competition, both lost to No. 1 West Virginia, No. 2 Kentucky and No. 6 Ole Miss, with Army besting No. 11 Akron and Memphis.
The scoring system for academy matches uses the top five marks from eight predetermined starters, while the system of five shooters with the top four counting will be used for NCAA qualification.
The Black Knights will be looking to snap Navy's two-match win streak under coach Leighton Dempster, who has elevated the program to new heights in just her second year at the helm.
Heading into the competition, Navy has the highest average in smallbore (2331.111), air rifle (2365.44) and aggregate (4696.555). Army shows a 2326.6 smallbore, 2356.8 air and 4683.4 overall.
Comparing team scores, Army's highest smallbore mark (2335) is just three points shy of Navy's, 2338. In air rifle, the Black Knights' top showing is a 2365 to Navy's 2375 with just eight points separating the aggregate scoring - the Mids with a 4704 and the Black Knights at 4696.
Individually, Navy's Isabella Baldwin is averaging 587.889 in smallbore, 593.333 air and 1181.22 aggregate. Army will counter with Anusha Pakkam (582.7 SB, 591.7 air and 1174.4 aggregate) along with a plethora of Black Knights. Kyle Kutz is averaging 1169.389 aggregate and 586.889 mark in air rifle. Briggs Moore shows a 588.6 air along with 586.9 marks from Claudia Sigel and Chris Jennings, respectively.
Jennings' top score in smallbore is a 589 with Pakkam (588), Sigel (588) and Kutz (587) close behind. In air, Pakkam has posted a 596 with Moore a point behind at 595 followed by Sigel (593) and Kutz (592).
Army set a pair of school records in smallbore (2335) and aggregate (4696) in a close loss to conference foe Ole Miss in its last outing, while Navy nipped Akron (4697-4696) but fell to unbeaten West Virginia (4739-4697) in a tri-match. Navy's score against the Zips doesn't count in the GARC as it had lost to them in head-to-head during the fall (44695-4682).
Records however are thrown out the window and made to be broken when Army and Navy meet on the fields of friendly strife as they vie for bragging rights. In the "Star" series for 2023-24, Army holds a 6-5-1 lead and are 8-7-1 overall.
The competition begins Saturday morning, 8:30 a.m., at Tronsrue Marksmanship Center. Fans unable to attend the match can follow along on Megalink MLLiveArena Web.
The No. 14th ranked Black Knights will be looking to snap No. 13 Navy's two-match win streak, along with claiming their first home win over their counterparts since 2018. Army's last win over the Mids was a 5820-5799 decision in Annapolis (2021).
As members of the GARC (Great America Rifle Conference), the Black Knights show a 2-3 conference record and stand 6-4, while Navy is 0-5 and 5-9 overall.
In conference competition, both lost to No. 1 West Virginia, No. 2 Kentucky and No. 6 Ole Miss, with Army besting No. 11 Akron and Memphis.
The scoring system for academy matches uses the top five marks from eight predetermined starters, while the system of five shooters with the top four counting will be used for NCAA qualification.
The Black Knights will be looking to snap Navy's two-match win streak under coach Leighton Dempster, who has elevated the program to new heights in just her second year at the helm.
Heading into the competition, Navy has the highest average in smallbore (2331.111), air rifle (2365.44) and aggregate (4696.555). Army shows a 2326.6 smallbore, 2356.8 air and 4683.4 overall.
Comparing team scores, Army's highest smallbore mark (2335) is just three points shy of Navy's, 2338. In air rifle, the Black Knights' top showing is a 2365 to Navy's 2375 with just eight points separating the aggregate scoring - the Mids with a 4704 and the Black Knights at 4696.
Individually, Navy's Isabella Baldwin is averaging 587.889 in smallbore, 593.333 air and 1181.22 aggregate. Army will counter with Anusha Pakkam (582.7 SB, 591.7 air and 1174.4 aggregate) along with a plethora of Black Knights. Kyle Kutz is averaging 1169.389 aggregate and 586.889 mark in air rifle. Briggs Moore shows a 588.6 air along with 586.9 marks from Claudia Sigel and Chris Jennings, respectively.
Jennings' top score in smallbore is a 589 with Pakkam (588), Sigel (588) and Kutz (587) close behind. In air, Pakkam has posted a 596 with Moore a point behind at 595 followed by Sigel (593) and Kutz (592).
Army set a pair of school records in smallbore (2335) and aggregate (4696) in a close loss to conference foe Ole Miss in its last outing, while Navy nipped Akron (4697-4696) but fell to unbeaten West Virginia (4739-4697) in a tri-match. Navy's score against the Zips doesn't count in the GARC as it had lost to them in head-to-head during the fall (44695-4682).
Records however are thrown out the window and made to be broken when Army and Navy meet on the fields of friendly strife as they vie for bragging rights. In the "Star" series for 2023-24, Army holds a 6-5-1 lead and are 8-7-1 overall.
The competition begins Saturday morning, 8:30 a.m., at Tronsrue Marksmanship Center. Fans unable to attend the match can follow along on Megalink MLLiveArena Web.
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