University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

FAIRBANKS – The third-ranked Alaska rifle program hits the road this week and will be battle-tested with high-pressure matches as it takes on top-ranked West Virginia in Morgantown, W.Va., before heading up to Columbus, Ohio, to compete in the inaugural Patriot Rifle Conference Championship.
 
The Nanooks (9-0, 3-0 PRC) will first face the No. 1 Mountaineers (8-0, 6-0 GARC) Thursday at 8 a.m. EST from the Mountaineer Rifle Range before trekking up to Ohio State to shoot at the PRC Championship Saturday and Sunday at the Lt. Hugh W. Wylie Range.
 
Last week, WVU jumped both Alaska and Kentucky for the nation's top spot in the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association poll after firing team scores over the previous two weeks of 4707 at home, 4710 at Murray State and 4690 at Memphis. Alaska is a little more than four points on average off from second-ranked Kentucky's score. Fans can follow along with live targets on Thursday.
 
The national ranking is made up of a team's top three scores on the season, but the three scores used must be from different venues. The Nanooks' top three scores toward their average are 4702 (Nov. 23 at home versus Kentucky), 4692 (Nov. 9 at Texas Christian) and 4680 (Jan. 9 at U.S. Air Force Academy).
 
Formed last summer, the PRC is made up of six collegiate teams. In addition to Alaska and Ohio State, the makeup of the six-team conference includes Air Force, Nevada, TCU and Texas El Paso (UTEP). This is the first season in program history the Nanooks have been a member of a conference.
 
Mirroring the NCAA Championship format, the six teams will shoot the smallbore portion of the match on Saturday, followed by air rifle on Sunday to determine the first Patriot Rifle Conference champion. Saturday's session begins at 9 a.m. EST with Sunday's match starting at 8 a.m. EST.
 
Live targets will be available for the PRC Championship:
·         First Smallbore Relay
·         Second Smallbore Relay
·         First Air Rifle Relay
·         Second Air Rifle Relay
 
On the road this week representing Alaska is senior Mike Liuzza (New Orleans, La./Business Administration), juniors Ryan Anderson (Great Falls, Va./Biological Sciences) and Mats Eriksson (Malung, Sweden/Business Administration) and sophomores Tim Sherry (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mechanical Engineering) and Lorelie Stanfield (Fairbanks, Alaska/English).