There’s really only one word for Day 1 of Bianchi Cup 2015: Miserable. I love this match, but sometimes Missouri is downright cruel. It was cold and rainy yesterday – Columbia saw a high of only 55 degrees. When you come out to this match expecting sunshine, being faced with pouring rain and 50-degree weather is a little disheartening. Of course, that may just be me, I had an impressively bad day. I got lost on the way to the range, missed my shooting time, and shot my worst Plates score on record, hitting only 17 plates. The rain also made it difficult to get good photos, Becky Yackley and I were both struggling with focus and lens issues throughout the day. Fortunately, Michael Voigt spared me some hand warmers, and that was the best part of my day. (Okay, it got better in the evening when I left the range).
That’s not true for everyone though – Dave Sevigny and Maggie Reese were among the shooters I spoke to who were feeling incredibly positive after the first day of the match. Maggie cleaned the Plates and then, after last year’s devastating time-out, dropped only one eight on the Mover for a score of 478, putting her in an excellent standing in the Women’s championship. Dave only dropped 8 points on the Practical, leaving him feeling positive about the Production match. There could be some interesting upsets this year, and I’m excited to keep following the progress. I haven’t seen scores yet, but I’ll look for them at the range today and keep you all posted.
Until then, some photos:
Keep us posted! I look forward to seeing how everyone’s doing and more pictures! Sending you some sunshine and warmer weather from South Carolina! 🙂 Maybe someday I’ll get there, or at least attend as a spectator! Falling in love with this sport! 🙂
It’s so much fun! Totally worth going to, even as a spectator! (But definitely shoot.)