NCAA SCORECARD

STATESBORO - The fifth-ranked Georgia Southern rifle team opened its season in strong fashion, downing North Georgia and Georgia Military Saturday at the Shooting Sports Education Center to claim their fifth straight Georgia Collegiate Championship. The Eagles posted a 4,722 aggregate as a team on the opening day.

In smallbore, freshman Emme Walrath (588) led a contingent of Eagles who took the top six places. She was followed by Emma Pohlmann (586), Ella Goldfaden (584), Tori Watts (582), Zahra Gonzalez Mazo (581) and Bremen Butler (580). Finally, Hailey Singleton put up a 564 in her first match. The Eagles shot a 2,340, tied for the fourth-best team score in SSEC history.

In air rifle, Walrath put up a 597 to lead the way.  Butler (career high 596), Gonzalez Mazo (596), Goldfaden (595), Watts (594), Pohlmann (594) and Singleton (591) all went high as the seven Southern shooters all went above 590. The Eagles shot a 2,382, the third-best team score in SSEC history.

The Eagles were led in aggregate by Walrath, who shot an 1,185 in her first collegiate match. That total is tied for the eighth-best score in program history. Pohlmann took the silver with an 1,180 and Goldfaden took bronze with a 1,179. In all, the Eagles took the top six spots with Gonzalez Mazo (4th; 1,177), Butler (5th; 1,176) and Watts (6th; 1,176) following close behind

As a team, the Eagles shot 19 perfect 100 series and the 4,722 is the fourth-best team score in facility history. The Eagles have now won 23 consecutive SoCon matches dating back to a Oct. 31, 2020 loss to UAB at home.

Words From Coach Soren Butler:
"I'm really proud of the team's performances today. We know there are points to pick up, but I'm pleased with using that outcome to start from. I'm really impressed with the way we carried ourselves today and the individual performances. We've been working a lot on the intangibles and a lot of those came through today. Looking forward to watching our team compete again tomorrow! Hail Southern."

THE SCORES
#5 Georgia Southern: 4,722 (2,340 smallbore; 2,382 air rifle)
#17 North Georgia: 4,614 (2,291 smallbore; 2,322 air rifle)
Georgia Military: 2,693 (543 smallbore; 2,150 air rifle)

THE INDIVIDUALS (Alphabetical Order)
Bremen Butler
Sophomore - Fort Wayne, Ind.
Smallbore - 580 (6th)
Air Rifle - 596 (2nd; CAREER HIGH)
Aggregate - 1,176 (5th)

Ella Goldfaden
Sophomore - Bat Hefer, Israel
Smallbore - 584 (3rd)
Air Rifle - 595 (4th)
Aggregate - 1,179 (3rd)

Zahra Gonzalez Mazo
Sophomore - Logroño, Spain
Smallbore - 581 (5th)
Air Rifle - 596 (3rd)
Aggregate - 1,177 (4th)

Emma Pohlmann
Junior - Nentershausen, Germany
Smallbore - 586 (2nd)
Air Rifle - 594 (6th)
Aggregate - 1,180 (2nd)

Hailey Singleton
Freshman - Bellevue, Ohio
Smallbore - 564 (11th)
Air Rifle - 591 (7th)
Aggregate - 1,155 (8th)

Emme Walrath
Freshman - Kenosha, Wis.
Smallbore - 588 (1st)
Air Rifle - 597 (1st)
Aggregate - 1,185 (1st)

Tori Watts
Junior - Folsom, Calif.
Smallbore - 582 (4th)
Air Rifle - 594 (5th)
Aggregate - 1,176 (6th)

UP NEXT: The Eagles will return to action on Sunday, hosting second-ranked West Virginia starting at 8 a.m. at the Shooting Sports Education Center. The Mountaineers shot a 4,744 at The Citadel on Saturday.