Jan. 19, 2007
Complete Results
ANNAPOLIS, MD - The Alaska Nanooks rifle team took down the United States Naval Academy 4,660-4,648 in a rematch of the first match of the season. The Midshipmen got closer this time thanks to their best performance of the season but the Nanooks pulled out the victory to stay undefeated on the season.
"Things went well," head coach Dan Jordan said. "Navy shot its season-high and a couple of their shooters had personal bests."
The Nanooks beat Navy 2321-2297 in the smallbore but were edged by the Midshipmen 2351-2339 in the air rifle.
Freshman Patrik Sartz (Stora Sundby, Sweden) took the top spot in the air rifle with a score of 593 and Matthias Dierolf (Uttenhofen, Germany) was second by way of a 592. Albright and teammate Lisa Kunzelman both finished third with marks of 590 each but the Midshipmen were able to pull out the team win in the event.
As in their last match against the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Jordan used senior Kimberly Harris (Fairbanks, AK) and freshman Becky Hersberger (Bedford, PA) in the air rifle lineup to get more experience as the season's end nears.
"They both struggled a little bit," Jordan said. "A strong smallbore carried the team through, though, and we pulled out the win."
Seniors Christian Lejon (Umea, Sweden) and Dierolf both posted the top score of 583 in the smallbore, while fellow senior Matt Rawlings (Wharton, TX) tied with Navy's Josh Albright for second at 580.
Alaska defeated Navy in the Nanooks season-opener by a score of 4,651-4,583 Oct. 28, 2006 in Fairbanks. The win in Annapolis concludes a six-day, four-match East Coast road swing for Alaska, who return home after missing the first week of second semester classes.
"The team has a week off, then they will be hitting it hard going into the next couple of months," Jordan said.
The Nanooks will host the University of Missouri - Kansas City in an NCAA Qualifier match at the E.F. Horton Rifle Range Feb. 9 and 10. The action begins both days at 9:00 a.m. AST. They then have a month off to prepare for the NCAA Rifle Championships, which the eight-time national champs will host in Fairbanks March 9 and 10.
