Falcons host No. 2 West Virginia/No. 19 UTEP

This Week: Air Force, tied for second in the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association national poll, hosts No. 2 (tied) West Virginia and No. 19 UTEP for a pair of matches, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 15-16, at the Cadet Rifle Range. The match is scheduled to begin at 9:00 am MT each day. Live scoring will be available at MegaLink.

More on the Opponents: West Virginia improved to 2-0 on the season by defeating No. 5 Ole Miss, 4723-4696. The Mountaineers bested the Rebels in smallbore, 2340-2326, and air rifle, 2383-2370, in the match. Senior Mary Tucker led all shooters in each of the three match leaderboards, with season-bests in smallbore (594), air rifle (599) and aggregate score (1193). UTEP opens the season this weekend against Air Force.
Last Match: The fourth-ranked Air Force rifle team suffered a close dual meet loss to No. 1 TCU, 4753-4723, Sunday, Oct. 2, at the Cadet Rifle Range. In the first match of the season, Air Force was just a few points shy of the school records in both smallbore (2358) and air rifle (2385). TCU was just a few points shy of the NCAA team record it set last with of 4758. Sophomore Scott Rockett and junior Peninah D'Souza tied as the top Falcons, each shooting an 1186. Morgan Kreb was third at 1182. Rockett and Kreb tied as the top Falcons in smallbore, fourth overall at 589. In air rifle, D'Souza tied as the top shooter in the match at 599. Rockett was third at 597.

Looking Back: Air Force, 11-4 last season, finished fifth in the NCAA Championships, held at the Air Force Academy, March 11-12. Air Force reached the NCAAs for the eighth straight year and posted the highest finish since 2019. The Falcons set new school records in all three areas: smallbore, air rifle and aggregate during the season. Freshman Scott Rockett became the first Falcon to ever win the NCAA air rifle national championship. Two Falcons, Peninah D'Souza and Lauren Hurley each shot a perfect score of 600 in air rifle, the first Falcons to ever hit that mark. Rockett earned All-America honors in all three disciplines, first team in air rifle, second team in aggregate and third team in small bore. Morgan Kreb earned third-team honors in smallbore and was honorable in air rifle. D'Souza was first team in air rifle and Hurley was second team. Rockett was named the team's MVP.

National Team; Peninah D'Souza and Scott Rockett are scheduled to compete in the 2022 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championships, Oct. 12-25, in Cairo, Egypt. D'Souza, a junior and first-team NCAA All-American in air rifle last season, will compete in the junior women's air rifle match. Rockett, a sophomore who won the NCAA air rifle championship last season, will compete in the junior men's prone match, the junior men's 3-position match, the junior men's air rifle match and the junior men's air rifle team match. The World Shooting Championships features competitors from 110 nations.

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Players Mentioned

Peninah D'Souza

Lauren Hurley

Morgan Kreb

Scott Rockett

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