West Virginia’s Zublasing Completes Sweep of 2013 NCAA Rifle Individual Titles
NRAblog 03.10.13
Zublasing throttles competition in Air Rifle on way to individual title sweep at NCAA Rifle Championship
Carrying her superior performance into the second day of the NCAA Rifle Championships, West Virginia University’s Petra Zublasing completed her sweep of the individual titles with a first place finish in Air Rifle.
Starting the day with a near-perfect 598-48x out of 600, Petra advanced to the finals in first place, four points up on second place Hannah Black from Texas Christian University.
Like yesterday’s Smallbore Championship final, Petra never relinquished the lead once the first shot of the finals was recorded. Unlike yesterday, however, the West Virginia shooter never allowed it to get too close, ultimately winning by a 6.4 point margin and a 701.7.
As Petra sailed toward her sweep, the other finalists battled it out for second and third. Texas Christian’s Sarah Scherer, who began in fourth with a 591-42x, and Cole Tucker of Jacksonville State, who started sixth with a 591-39x, climbed their way to a tie at second after the tenth shot.
The other six shooters were dismissed, their work done, but not these two. It was time for a shoot-off. Scherer, an Olympian from the recent 2012 London Olympics would emerge victorious, shooting a 10.5 to Tucker’s 9.8.
Zublasing, who won the Air Rifle Championship in 2012, continued the streak of the title going to West Virginia shooters since 2011.
Originally from Appiano, Italy, the other half of Petra’s sweep came yesterday at the Smallbore Championship after a close win in the finals over University of Kentucky’s Henri Junghanel. West Virginia’s recent smallbore showings have not been as glamorous. The last individual smallbore win by a Mountaineer had come in 1997.
A senior who will graduate at the end of the year, Petra is an exceptional shooter and formidable opponent who very clearly left her mark on West Virginia, a program teeming with history.
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