Rifle Preview: West Virginia

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis rifle squad welcomes No. 1 nationally-ranked West Virginia to the Bluff City Sunday, Nov. 3 for a Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) match.

Memphis is No. 12 in this week's Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) poll, and the Mountaineers are tied with TCU for the poll's top spot. Sunday's match, which starts at 9 a.m. (CT), is set for the R.F. Fogelman Rifle Range on the UofM campus.

West Virginia is the third-straight, top-10 foe for the Tigers. Three weeks ago, Memphis traveled to Annapolis, Md., and faced No. 7 Navy. Last Sunday, the Tigers hosted No. 8 Army West Point.

Sunday's encounter versus West Virginia is the second of three-consecutive home GARC matches for the Tigers. After Sunday, Memphis hosts No. 16 NC State Nov. 9. The Tigers shot against No. 8 Army West Point Oct. 27.

Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) Poll

Rank	Team	Rank	Team
1.	West Virginia	11.	Ohio State
t.	TCU	*12.*	*Memphis*
3.	Kentucky	t.	Nebraska
4.	Air Force	14.	Murray State
5.	Army West Point	15.	Jacksonville State
6.	Akron	16.	NC State
7.	Navy	17.	North Georgia
8.	Ole Miss	18.	UT Martin
9.	Alaska-Fairbanks	19.	UTEP
10.	Morehead State	20.	Coast Guard

Tigers Tidbits

Top-ranked West Virginia makes the first of two trips to the Bluff City in 2019-20 this weekend. The Mountaineers, along with the rest of the Great America Rifle Conference (GARC), return in late February for the 2020 GARC Championships. The event is set for the Larry O. Finch Center on Feb. 28-29, 2020.
Last year, the Tigers fell to then-No. 2 West Virginia in Morgantown, W.Va. Levi Clark led the way for Memphis with a 1167 aggregate. Two years ago on their last visit to Memphis, the Mountaineers defeated the Tigers.
Memphis head coach Dan Hermsmeier is facing a program Sunday that he helped lead to consecutive NCAA titles in 2014-15 and 2015-16. Hermsmeier, a 2014 Memphis graduate and Tigers All-American, moved on to West Virginia, where he served as a graduate assistant on the Mountaineers' staff those two seasons.
Sunday's match provides a reunion of three of the top-10 shooters from the smallbore competition at the 2019 NCAA Championships. Memphis senior Levi Clark placed sixth in the discipline, and West Virginia's David Koenders and Morgan Phillips were third and seventh, respectively.

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Players Mentioned

Levi Clark

University of Memphis Athletics