Rifle Opens Season With Victory Over Wentworth

BRAINTREE, Mass. – It was a strong start to the 2011-12 season for the MIT rifle team today as the Engineers defeated Wentworth by a score of 4,323-4,207 in a match held at the Braintree Rifle and Pistol Club. MIT won both the smallbore (2,137-2,075) and air rifle (2,186-2,132) portions of the competition.

Junior Elizabeth Phillips (Anchorage, Alaska) led the way for MIT in both disciplines, shooting a career-best 557 in smallbore and a 561 in air rifle to lead all competitors in both categories. Senior Nigel Kojimoto (Honolulu, Hawaii) fired a 535 in smallbore to record the third-best total among all shooters. Junior Timothy Jenks (The Woodlands, Texas) had a 535, while senior Michael Batista (Melbourne, Fla.) added a 518 for the Engineers.

In the air rifle portion Batista was forced to use a gun he had never fired before after encountering difficulties with his own rifle, recovering to shoot a 544, the second highest score on the team behind a 561 from Phillips. Kojimoto also fired a 544, while senior Jennifer de Bruijn (Harare, Zimbabwe) added a 537.

MIT will be back in action again on October 15 when it hosts Wentworth and John Jay in a 9:00 a.m. start.