MIT Rifle Edges Coast Guard

NEW LONDON, Conn. – In its last competition before the Mid Atlantic Rifle Conference championship, the MIT Rifle team prepared with a match at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. The Engineers combined score of 4,427 was enough to edge past host Coast Guard, which fired a total of 4,404.

Coast Guard turned in the top small bore score with a 2,194 which was just 11 points ahead of MIT's 2,183. Senior Elizabeth Phillips (Anchorage, Alaska) posted the top individual score with a 570, which included rounds of 99 and 98. She edged past Alexis Chavarra-Aguilar of Coast Guard who was second with a 565. Freshman Sarah Wright (Christchurch, New Zealand) had rounds of 98 and 97 on her way to a 555 for the Engineers, with , junior Kaiying Liao (Issaquah, Wash.) finishing with a 534 and senior Timothy Jenks (The Woodlands, Texas) a 524 to round out the counting scores for MIT.

In the air rifle portion of the match, MIT posted the top team score with a 2,224 with Coast Guard second with a 2,210 and Wentowrth a 2,080. Phillips was the top shooter in air rifle as well, finishing with two rounds of 98 and a total of 578. Liao was second overall in the competition for the Engineers with a 570, with Wright  close behind with a 562. Jenks completed the MIT scoring with a 534.

MIT will compete at the MCA Championships next weekend, traveling to Lexington, Virginia where VMI will host the competition on February 22 and 23.