NCAA announces rifle championships qualifyers

Submitted by Jamie Schanback
Phone: (907) 474-6807
02/23/07

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Rifle Committee announced today the team and individual qualifiers for the 2007 National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Rifle Championships.

The Alaska Nanooks, who are undefeated (12-0) this season, are the top ranked team and have qualified as a team for the smallbore three-position and the air rifle discipline.

"We had the top three scores over the season and the best qualifier scores so it’s no surprise we’re ranked no. 1 going in," said Alaska head coach Dan Jordan.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks will host the championships, which will be held March 9-10 in Fairbanks, Alaska at the Patty Center.

A total of 48 competitors were selected for the championships. The top eight teams in both the smallbore three-position and air rifle events were selected based on the average of the three highest regular-season aggregate scores with no more than one match at any given site. The average of the three highest scores was added to the aggregate scores from the designated qualifiers to determine the top eight teams.

Each team that qualifies is allowed to bring four or five shooters to compete on the four-member team. After the eight qualifying teams have designated how many shooters they will bring, the remaining spots are filled by individuals until the field of 48 competitors is complete.

Freshman shooter Layne Lewis (Fairbanks, AK) qualified as an individual for the smallbore. His smallbore performance at the Nanooks qualifying match against the University of Missouri Kansas City on Feb. 9-10 secured his bid. Freshman Jace Bures (Odell, NE) was just one point shy of qualifying as an individual.

"Layne had been shooting really well in the last few matches," said Jordan. "It was nice to see him rise to the occasion on the day it needed to be done."

Team Qualifiers (Smallbore Three-Position and Air Rifle)
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Jacksonville State University
University of Kentucky
Murray State University
University of Nebraska
Texas Christian University
United States Military Academy
United States Naval Academy

Individual Qualifiers (Smallbore Three-Position)
Matthew Hamilton, United States Military Academy
Jennifer Lorenzen, University of Mississippi
Layne Lewis, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Lee Lemenager, University of Nevada, Reno
Meghann Morrill, University of Nevada, Reno

Individual Qualifiers (Air Rifle)
Erica Burnham, Tennessee Technological University
Shannon Wilson, University of Mississippi
Ashley Jackson, University of Kentucky
Wesley Hess, United States Military Academy
Keegan Singleton, University of Memphis
Leah Wilcox, University of Texas at El Paso

"Jacksonville State, Kentucky and Army are three teams I see as being our toughest competition," said Jordan.

Individual and team competitions in smallbore three-position (60 shots) will be held Friday, March 9 in the E.F. Horton Rifle Range, located on the ground floor of the Patty Center. Individual and team competitions in air rifle (60 shots) will be held Saturday, March 10 upstairs in the Patty Center gymnasium. The overall team champion will be determined by combining the smallbore and air rifle team totals into one aggregate score for each institution.

In 2006, Alaska Fairbanks claimed its eighth NCAA national title and seventh in the previous eight years. The Nanooks scored 2353 in air rifle and 2329 in smallbore for a first-place total of 4682. Nebraska Husker Kristina Fehlings shot a final score of 100 to finish with a 692 to win the 2006 air rifle national title. Nebraska finished second with a 4666 total followed by Army at 4650.

For more information about the 2007 National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Rifle Championships, go to www.ncaasports.com/ or www.alaskananooks.com.