After the first weekend of the sixth annual Zippy Open Rifle Tournament, the Akron rifle team has taken the lead in both air rifle and smallbore.

For the 2017 Zippy Open Rifle Tournament, the Akron rifle team took the championship in both air rifle and smallbore. (Image via Akron Zips)

According to GoZips.com, the first round of competition occurred on Oct. 27-28 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the final weekend of competition will happen on Nov. 10-11, also from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For air rifle, junior Kera Kaufman (Delmon, S.D.) took the lead by scoring 590 out of the possible total 600.

Head coach Newt Engle told GoZips.com that this type of performance was what he was looking for before the team’s next match against Morehead and Nebraska.

“I was glad to see this performance by Kaufman because she has been creeping up on greatness and now that she is over the 590 hump, I expect she will never look back,” Engle said.

The Zips success continued on the smallbore range, where junior Anthony Jackson (Seven Valleys, Pa.) scored a season-high of 579 and junior Cierra Terrizzi (Dallastown, Pa.) beat her personal best with 581 out of the possible 600.

“Both Terrizzi and Jackson have been working overtime on the ranges to improve their scores to benefit the team,” Engle said. “Yet again, this high level of performance is coming at a critical time with the big weekend matches coming up next weekend.”

The current members and coaches of the Akron rifle men’s and women’s teams. (Image via Akron Zips)

While the last weekend of the Zippy Open is still over a week away, the Akron rifle team is hosting Morehead and Nebraska on Nov. 3-4.

For the final weekend of the Zippy Open Rifle Tournament, the remaining members of the Akron rifle team will face almost 130 competitors, according to GoZips.com.