Men's and Women's Rifle | 1/31/2017 6:59:00 PM
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The No. 7th-ranked Alaska Nanooks rifle team returns to competition this week, taking on the No. 8th-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers on Thursday, Feb. 2 before heading to Columbus, Ohio to participate in the Patriot Rifle Conference Championships on Saturday, Feb. 4 and Sunday, Feb. 5.
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks are coming off of a 4,666-4,381 win over the Coast Guard at the Palmyra Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 14. Led by redshirt-junior
Sagen Maddalena, Alaska swept the top-five individual aggregate score slots against the Coast Guard to bounce back after a tough 4,688-4,717 loss to No. 2 West Virginia four days prior (Jan. 10).
Maddalena Shines on International Stage
Last week, redshirt-junior
Sagen Maddalena represented Team USA in the women's air rifle discipline at the Meyton Cup in Innsburk, Austria and the IWK Hochbruen match in Munich, Germany. Maddalena cruised through the qualifying round of the Meyton Cup, only to beat out her competitors head-to-head in the final rounds to be named the Champion in Austria. In Germany, Maddalena placed 34th overall in the IWK Hochbruen.
Maddalena's performance earned her the honor of being named the Ravn Alaska Nanook of the Week on Monday.
Ranked Nooks
As of Monday, Alaska ranks seventh in the NCAA in team averages with a combined aggregate average of 4,674.22. In their nine matches this season, the Nooks have a combined smallbore average of 2,317 (fifth) and a combined air rifle average of 2,357.22 (eighth).
Maddalena's individual aggregate average of 1,180.223 ranks her fourth in the NCAA individually, behind West Viriginia's Ginny Thrasher (1,185.75), Murray State's Ivan Roe (1,182) and TCU's Mindy Miles (1,180.556). Maddalena's smallbore average of 584.556 ranks her fifth individually, while her air rifle average of 595.667 ranks her third in the discipline.
Record Breakers
Three Nanooks had record scores in Alaska's last two meets, including junior
Luke Johnson, who broke and reset his career personal-best aggregate and smallbore scores agains West Virginia on Tuesday, Jan. 10. Johnson's previous career-high aggregate of 1,172 (Feb. 18 vs. UTEP) improved to 1,180 against the Mountaineers. Additionally, Johnson's smallbore personal-best of 587 moved to 588 on the same day.
Against the Coast Guard on Saturday, Jan. 14, freshmen
Amy Gentry and
Grace Nelson both set new career-highs. Gentry collected a new career-high aggregate score of 1,165, while Nelson posted a career-high aggregate of 1,149.
Tough Competition
The Patriot Rifle Conference Championships will feature the Nanooks, Air Force, Nevada, the host school Ohio State, Texas Christian University and the University of Texas at El Paso, all of which are ranked within the top-20 nationally. Furthermore, five of the six PRC teams are ranked within the top-10, with TCU ranked the No. 1 team in the country.
Out for Revenge
After claiming the Patriot Rifle Conference Championship for three consecutive seasons (2012-13, 2013-14 & 2014-15), last year the Nanooks placed second to TCU in the final day of shooting 4,690-4,687. The victory marked the first-ever conference title for the Horned Frogs.
Scouting the Competition – Nebraska
The Huskers most recently faced JSU and Memphis in a three-team match on Jan. 28, defeating both with an aggregate score of 4,656, while Memphis placed second (4,650) and JSU ranked third (4,628). Historically, the all-time series between the Huskers and the Nanooks sways in favor of the Nanooks, with Alaska posting a 29-2 mark over Nebraska. Despite the Huskers winning their last match against the Nanooks in 2012, Alaska has won the last five meetings.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks coed rifle team, follow @NanooksRifle on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Rifle team page on Facebook.
