Men's and Women's Rifle | 11/17/2016 5:22:00 PM
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - A trio of top-ranked rifle teams will flood the E.F. Horton Rifle Range at the Patty Center this weekend, as the No. 10 Alaska Nanooks men's and women's rifle team hosts the No. 4th-ranked University of Kentucky and the No. 12th-ranked NC State this weekend in Fairbanks. The Nanooks will face Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 9am AKST before taking on NC State on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 9pm AKST. Kentucky and NC State will face each other on Friday, Nov. 18 at 9am AKST.
Schedule
Friday, Nov. 18:
9am: Kentucky vs. NC State
Saturday, Nov. 19:
9am: Alaska vs. Kentucky
Sunday, Nov. 20:
9am: Alaska vs. NC State
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks had a two week break after successfully sweeping the University of Texas at El Paso and the University of Nevada on the road Nov. 4 and 6, respectively. Alaska defeated UTEP 4,662-4,600 in El Paso before beating Nevada 4,666-4,654 in Reno.
Ranked Nooks
With the two-week break, the Nanooks sit in the No. 10 spot in the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association Poll released on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Alaska has already faced four other top-10 opponents in TCU (first), Air Force (fifth), Ohio State (sixth) and Nevada (eighth), before facing two more top-20 ranked teams in Kentucky (fourth) and NC State (12th).
Maddalena Ranked Second in the Nation
Redshirt-junior co-captain Sagen Maddalena currently ranks second individually in the entire NCAA, posting an aggregate average of 1,181.6. Maddalena only ranks behind Olympic Gold Medalist Ginny Thrasher from West Virginia, who's recorded an aggregate average of 1,185.8. In the Nanooks' five matches this season, Maddalena has combined for a smallbore average of 585.5 (fifth) and 595.8 in air rifle (third). Maddalena has placed first overall individually in the Nanooks' past four-straight matches.
Nooks Sit Sixth in Team Average
As of Thursday, Alaska ranks sixth in the NCAA in team averages with a combined aggregate average of 4,673.8. In their five matches this season, the Nooks have combined for a smallbore average of 2,316.6 (sixth) and an air rifle average of 2,357.2 (eighth). West Virginia holds the best team aggregate average in the nation currently with a 4,711.750.
The Kids are Back
Six of the nine shooters on this year's roster are returners from the 2015-16 season, including four of the five student-athletes who participated in the NCAA Rifle Championships last March. The Nooks welcome back sophomores Nathan Taylor and JT Schnering, redshirt-sophomore Robert Scott, junior Luke Johnson , redshirt-junior Sagen Maddalena and redshirt-senior Soren Butler.
New Faces on the Range
The 2016-17 Nanooks rifle team welcomes three newcomers, including two from the Fairbanks area. Freshman Grace Nelson hails from Lititz, Pennsylvania, while fellow rookies Liam Eberhart and Amy Gentry graduated from high schools within the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District last May.
Scouting the Opponent – No. 4 Kentucky
Kentucky currently holds a team aggregate average of 4,681.166, ranking them fifth on the NCAA Rifle statistics page. The Wildcats enter this weekend 9-1 and currently on a four-match winning streak against ranked opponents. The Wildcats defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers two weeks ago in their last match 4,683-4,675. Heather Kirby set a new personal-best in air rifle and matched a team-high score for the season against Nebraska.
Scouting the Opponent – No. 12 NC State
Coming into the weekend with a 6-2 overall record, the NC State Wolfpack is also 3-1 in conference competition. In their last match, NC State defeated Memphis 4,642-4,632 with Olympian Lucas Kozeniesky registering an almost perfect score in air rifle with a 599, breaking and setting a new program record.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks rifle team, follow @NanooksRifle on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Rifle team page on Facebook.
