The West Virginia rifle team came up short in its bid for a second-consecutive national title as it finshed third at the NCAA National Championship Saturday.
The Mountaineers were dominant in the regular season, finishing with an unblemished record of 11-0 (7-0 Great American Rifle Conference) and a GARC conference championship.
The team's regular season success didn't translate over to this weekend, though.
"We were definitely disappointed in the end result," said WVU head coach Jon Hammond. "They didn't perform the way they had wanted to, but we still had a successful season."
West Virginia's combined score of 4,641 placed the team third behind TCU and Alaska, who finished with scores of 4,675 and 4,653 to place first and second, respectively.
TCU hosted the event and for the first time in its program history, held the national title at the end of the competition.
The Horned Frogs' combined score of 4,675 was compiled of a second-place 2,314 smallbore performance Friday and a first-place 2,361 finish in air rifle Saturday.
"We want to be able to go to the NCAA Championships on a regular basis," Hammond said. "When we do that, we want to have a good chance to compete and win the title. There are great teams out there, and we realize we can't win it every year."
Redshirt senior Bryant Wallizer paced the Mountaineers Friday, finishing with a 583 relay score. Junior Brandi Eskew joined Wallizer in the smallbore finals, marking her second appearance in the finals.
Wallizer finished sixth with a score of 679.3 while Eskew's score of 677.8 placed her in eighth.
Junior Andy Lamson led the Mountaineers in air rifle, finishing tied for 12th overall with a 587 score.
Sophomore Michael Kulbacki shot 584 while Wallizer finished with a score of 582. Junior Tommy Santelli rounded out West Virginia's total with his score of 580.
West Virginia was without junior-transfer Nicco Campriani, who led the team in both air rifle (596) and smallbore season averages. Campriani was not with the team, but was in Norway defending his title at the 2010 European Championships.
Hammond thinks his team will be able to come back next year and compete for another national championship.
"This is obviously going to be a motivation factor for next year," Hammond said. "I feel like we learned more and even gained more experience than last season, because there were so many more expectations.
"We'll definitely come back hungry next year, and hopefully will be able to shoot against TCU next season."
Even though the Mountaineers were unable to win its second straight title, the season is still a success, Hammond said. For the first time since 2000, WVU won the GARC championships.
The season also brought new team records and individual records.
"Third place in the NCAA championships is still a real success," Hammond said. "We were disappointed, and I feel like it will take a few days to sink in, but we'll reflect and realize this season was real successful."
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