MURRAY, Ky. – Graduate Nick Fares put together arguably the best performance of his five-year University of Tennessee at Martin rifle career as the Skyhawks took part in their annual NCAA Qualifier at the Pat Spurgin Rifle Range on the campus of Murray State University.
A Springboro, Ohio native, Fares led UT Martin in aggregate scoring for the second time in 2023-24 and topped the Skyhawks in smallbore points for the first time this season. He fired a career-high score of 586 (99-97 kneeling, 100-99 prone, 98-93 standing) in smallbore and finished only one point shy of equaling his career-best tally in air rifle with a 591 (100-97-97-99-100-98). His aggregate score was 1,177 – six points higher than any other match during his graduate campaign.
Alayna Walther’s combined score of 1,176 points was right behind Fares as she paced UT Martin in air rifle scoring (592, 99-97-99-99-100-98) for the 10th consecutive match. The junior from Avella, Pa. also delivered 584 points in smallbore (96-96 kneeling, 100-99 prone, 97-96 standing).
Finishing third for the Skyhawks in both events was Joey Kovach, whose 1,158 aggregate score included 580 smallbore points (96-96 kneeling, 100-99 prone, 92-97 standing) and a score of 578 in air rifle (97-95-97-98-97-94).
Jesse Chamberlain’s 558 in smallbore (94-96 kneeling, 99-98 prone, 82-89 standing) was the fourth countable score for UT Martin while Jeffrey Bourassa managed a 577 (95-96-97-98-96-95) as the final countable tally in air rifle.
Chamberlain tacked on 560 air rifle points (90-93-95-94-96-92) for an aggregate score of 1,118 points while Bourassa (552; 90-89 kneeling, 96-97 prone, 90-90 standing) was part of the Skyhawks’ smallbore lineup on the way to a combined 1,129 points. Freshman Aubrey Summers was a member of UT Martin’s air rifle scoring five (576, 94-95-97-96-97-97) and added 550 smallbore points (94-91 kneeling, 93-93 prone, 90-89 standing) for a composite tally of 1,126 points.
As a team, the Skyhawks piled up 4,646 points – their second-highest scoring output of the season. UT Martin posted 2,308 points in smallbore and 2,338 points in air rifle – also both the second-best point totals per event of the 2023-24 campaign.
The Skyhawks will now have to wait to see if any individuals make the national field as the NCAA Rifle Selection Show airs live on Monday, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.
