UAF Rifle Team Qualifies for NCAAs, Will Shoot for Record Seventh Title
INDIANAPOLIS, IN-The University of Alaska Fairbanks rifle team has taken the first step towards defending their NCAA championship and shooting for a record seventh consecutive title.
The Nanooks are one of six teams that have qualified in both small-bore and air rifle for this year's NCAA Championships.
UAF will join Army, Jacksonville State, Kentucky, Navy and Nebraska in the NCAAs. Texas-El Paso and Xavier also qualified in small-bore, and Memphis and Nevada qualified in air rifle, but those teams will shoot only in the disciplines in which they qualified for. As a result, they will not amass enough points to challenge for the title.
All four of the Nanooks' qualifiers also qualified for the individual small-bore championship, while two of the four also qualified for the individual championship in air rifle. Junior Jamie Beyerle (Lebanon, PA) and sophomore Matt Rawlings (Wharton, TX) qualified in both guns, and seniors Joe Hein (Mason, MI) and Matt Wallace (Fairbanks, AK) qualified in small-bore.
UAF has won seven NCAA titles. The last six have come in succession, since the 1999 season. The Nanooks and West Virginia have each won the championship six times in a row and UAF can break that record with a victory this year.
Last year, UAF won with a score of 6273. Nevada was second at 6185 and Navy third at 6182.
"It (qualifying) is something that you almost take for granted," said UAF Head Coach Glenn Dubis. "You're almost never 100 per cent satisfied, and that's probably healthy. During the next two weeks, we have to focus on training for the championships, as well as taking care of our academic obligations."
Dubis said that the protocol for nationals is a bit different than what his team is used to. "In small-bore, the three positions will be times separately, rather than as a block," said Dubis. "That's something that we will have to practice, and get used to."
The NCAA Championships are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 11th and 12th at the United States Olympic Committee Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO.
-UAF RIFLE-
