MORGANTOWN, W. Va. (November 22, 2014) � The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team defeated Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) foe No. 11 Navy, 4702-4577, today, at the WVU Rifle Range.

The Mountaineers (7-0, 5-0 GARC) retain their perfect record in conference play this season.

�There is rarely a match where everything goes smoothly,� said coach Jon Hammond. �They all had to battle a little bit today. There were a lot of performances that were hard fought, and that�s a credit to them at this stage in the semester.�

WVU outshot the Midshipmen in both guns, winning smallbore, 2330-2258, and air rifle, 2372-2319.

Junior Michael Bamsey and sophomore Jean-Pierre Lucas tied for first in smallbore with 587 scores. The shot was a career high for Bamsey and matched Lucas� season high.

Junior Garrett Spurgeon placed third with 586 and shot 200 prone for the second match in a row, matching a school record.

�Back-to-back 200 prone scores are really nice,� Hammond said. �Garrett had great focus and intensity today also. Today will be a great confidence boost for him and shows that his hard work is paying off.�

Senior Ziva Dvorsak and freshman Elizabeth Gratz tied for fourth with 582 scores.

Lucas, Dvorsak, Gratz, senior Maren Prediger (579) and classmate Thomas Kyanko (576) completed the Mountaineer counting squad.

Continuing to lead the Mountaineers in air rifle, Dvorsak placed first with 597 (99-100-100-100-98-100), one short of her career high. Spurgeon followed in second matching a career-high 596 score, also his best this season.

Bamsey placed third with a 594 score, while Prediger and Gratz tied for fourth with 592.

Lucas tied with junior Patrick Sunderman for sixth with a 591 score. The shot was one short of Lucas�s career high.

Dvorsak, Gratz, Prediger, Lucas and Kyanko (585) contributed to the air rifle victory.

Today�s victory pushes WVU to 24-9 all-time against Navy.

The Mountaineers continue the weekend with another match against GARC foe No. 13 NC State, tomorrow, at the WVU Rifle Range.

�We will take some momentum into tomorrow,� Hammond explained. �The team is performing well, and many of them had strong performances today. They will be excited to come back for another match.�

A link to full results can be found at WVUSports.com.