Tidmore Wins First NCAA Championships in Air Rifle,

[NCAA]

Army Stops UAF From Winning Seven Straight

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - University of Memphis junior Beth Tidmore (Decatur, Ga.) won her first NCAA individual air rifle title Saturday at the U.S. Olympic Shooting Center in Colorado Springs.

Tidmore finished the event with a total score of 694.2, just over four points ahead of her next competitor, University of Nebraska's Andrea Franzen (Ostersund, Sweden). In fact, Tidmore led the individual competition throughout, but really made her mark in the finals, scoring an impressive 104.2 to clinch the event.

In third place, Matt Rawlings (Wharton, Texas) of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF) shot a 688.4. Rawlings secured yesterday's smallbore title and was named the best overall shooter of the NCAA Championships. His team, however, was not so lucky.

The United States Military Academy was able to break the UAF's six-time winning streak, and take home its first NCAA Championship title in any sport in over 50 years. Coach Ron Wigger, in his fifth season of coaching the rifle squad, couldn't believe the outcome.

"I am honestly lost for words," Coach Wigger said. "I really thought that next year we would be in contention, but this year just seemed a bit too early. We went through a roller coaster ride these last couple of weeks, after a loss to Navy so late in the season. I am just thrilled to be able to coach such a great group of cadets. That in it self is rewarding enough, but to actually coach them to an NCAA Championship is unbelievable."

Jacksonville State University took second place in the overall team event, finishing just one point behind Army. Third place went to the University of Nebraska, while last year's champion, UAF, finished in fourth.

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