WEST POINT, NY - The Norwich Rifle team opened their season on Saturday, October 21st as they traveled to West Point. For the first time in 18 years, Norwich competed against the United States Military Academy which entered the competition ranked #14 in the country. In addition to the competition against West Point, Norwich also faced off against the United States Coast Guard Academy.
The trip culminated in a split result. The Cadets were able to successfully top conference foe Coast Guard by the aggregate score of 4223 to 4111 in the first competition for both teams this year. Unfortunately, the Cadets fell to Army by the aggregate score of 4674 to 4223. In the competition, Norwich scored 2097 in Smallbore and 2196 in Air Rifle.
Sophomore
Aiden Burris led the Cadets with a personal best score, recording a total of 1117 points (554 in .22 Smallbore, 563 Air Rifle). Freshman Ben Kelly began his Norwich career with an excellent score of 1055 (522 in .22 Smallbore, 533 Air Rifle). The team rounded out their scoring with junior
Jasmin Mann finishing with 1027 points (503 Smallbore, 524 Air Rifle) and sophomore
Brady Simmons closely behind with a score of 1024 (518 Smallbore, 506 Air Rifle).
"We had a great learning experience and gained important knowledge about where we need to go from here," stated Norwich Head Coach
Patrick Knapp. "Our athletes were able to get their nerves out and will be aiming at much higher scores the rest of the season."
Although this was the first time since the early 2000's that Norwich had traveled to or competed against West Point, it will not be the last time this season. The Cadets will return to West Point on February 17th to compete in the NCAA qualifiers.
The Cadets will travel to compete against MIT on November 4th to continue their budding rivalry. Last season, the two teams met three times and were separated by only 202 total points as MIT won the season series 2-1. The first home match of the season will be a week later, on Veterans Day, when Norwich will welcome John Jay College on November 11th.
