 | The Cavalier daily Tuesday, March 9, 1971 |  |
Gunners Place First In Virginia;
Duckworth, Hewitt Pave Way
Cavalier hand gunners took
first place in the Expert-Class
22-caliber Team Match during
the Virginia State Indoor
Championships at Quantico
this weekend. Team Captain
George Duckworth and
teammates Preston Hewitt,
Dave Smathers, and Eric
Helvestine fired 1123 out of
1200 to defeat six other
Expert-class teams for the state
title.
In addition to the
unprecedented team upset, the
U.Va. firers claimed numerous
individual awards in
competition with about 90 of
the state's top shooters. The
tournament consisted of a
series of 19 matches using pistols
from .22 to .45-caliber.
Competitors were grouped into
Marksman, Sharpshooter, Expert,
and Master classifications based on
previous score averages, and divided
according to civilian or military
status.
Hewitt Takes First
Preston Hewitt took first place
in the Civilian Expert class in the
.22-caliber "Rapid Fire" and
"Aggregate" matches. Hewitt also
placed second in four other
matches and scored a total of 2434
out of 2700 points.
Dave Smathers won the
.22-caliber 'Rapid Fire" in the
Civilian Master class, and took
second in two more matches.
Smathers' tournament total was
2520 out of 2700.
George Duckworth was first in
.22-caliber "Slow Fire" in the
Service Master class, and placed
second in the "National Match"
course. Duckworth had a grand
total of 2525 out of 2700.
Team member Eric Helvestine
and team alternate Don Anderson
were commended by match
officials for good performances in
their first 2700 tournament.
Helvestine fired 2106 as a
Sharpshooter and Anderson scored
2081 in the Marksman class.
An added attraction of the meet
was the Virginia State Lady
Champion award won by Elizabeth
C. Gathright (Mrs. T.M.Gathright),
a special student at the University
and a member of the U.Va. Rifle &
Pistol Club. She placed first out of
five lady competitors with 2480
out of 2700 to take the trophy and
title. Mrs. Gathright, who has won
many shooting awards, will be the
coach for a U.Va. Women's Pistol
Team if some of the women
students at the University can be
interested in coming out for the
complete training course offered.
Pistol Course
The U.Va. Club will conduct a
Basic Pistol Marksmanship course
open to any interested student,
regardless of experience, on
Thursday evenings at Maury Hall
beginning March 18. The course
will be taught by NRA Certified
Instructors, and the Club will
provide .22-caliber pistols and
ammunition for $5 membership
dues. Additional information will
be published in University Notices,
or anyone interested can call
George Duckworth at 295-3291.
| The Cavalier daily Tuesday, March 9, 1971 | |