Men's and Women's Rifle | 1/9/2017 6:32:00 PM

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – After over a month-long hiatus, the No. 7th-ranked Alaska Nanooks coed rifle team returns to competition this week, taking on the No. 2 West Virginia Mountaineers on Tuesday, Jan. 10 before facing the Coast Guard Academy at the Palmyra Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 14.

Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks are currently on a five-meet winning streak, most recently defeating North Carolina State University 4,674-4,647 on Nov. 20 at the E.F. Horton Rifle Range. Redshirt-junior co-captain Sagen Maddalena was the highest-ranking shooter against NC State, posting an aggregate score of 1,182.

Ranked Nooks
After the holiday break, the Nanooks sit in the No. 7 spot in the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association Poll released on Tuesday, Jan. 3. Alaska's upcoming opponent West Virginia currently ranks in the No. 2 spot. The Nooks have already faced a plethora of top-20 competition this season, including Texas Christian University (first), Air Force (fourth), Kentucky (fifth), Ohio State (sixth), Nevada (ninth), NC State (11th) and UTEP (17th).

Nooks Sit Sixth in Team Averages
As of Monday, Alaska ranks sixth in the NCAA in team averages with a combined aggregate average of 4,673.43. In their seven matches this season, the Nooks have combined for a smallbore team average of 2,316.29 (sixth) and an air rifle team average of 2,357.14 (eighth).

Maddalena Ranked Third in the Nation
Redshirt-junior Sagen Maddalena currently ranks third individually in the entire NCAA, posting an aggregate average of 1,180.86. Maddalena sits behind Olympic Gold Medalist Ginny Thrasher from West Virginia (1,185.8) and Murray State's Ivan Roe (1,181.86).

Maddalena is Alaska's top-shooter in all three of the NCAA shooting averages, ranking third overall in aggregate (1,180.86), tied for third overall in smallbore (585.29) and fourth in air rifle (595.57).

 In Alaska's seven matches this season, Maddalena has been the meet's top-scorer on five separate occasions.

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. 2 West Virginia
The Nanooks will face an undefeated West Virginia team on Tuesday, who boast a 7-0 overall record and 5-0 conference mark. The Mountaineers were last in action on Nov. 13 where they posted a 4,712-4,657 win over the Army at West Point. As a team, WVU ranks first among all NCAA schools with an aggregate team average of 4,713.86. Furthermore, West Virginia ranks first in the NCAA in team smallbore average with a 2,341.57 and second in team air rifle average with a 2,372.29. Alaska is 7-11 all-time against the Mountaineers, with their last meeting coming as a 4,724-4,697 loss for the Nanooks last season.

Individually, the Mountaineers are led by Olympic Gold Medalist Ginny Thrasher, who ranks first in the NCAA with an individual aggregate average of 1,185.8, smallbore average of 590 (first) and an air rifle average of 595.8 (third).

Scouting the Opponent – United State Coast Guard Academy
This will be the first time the Nooks will take on the Coast Guard Academy in over 20 years, with the CGA Bears recording a 3-3 overall mark this season. As a team, the Coast Guard has produced a team aggregate average of 4,443.17, a smallbore average of 2,193.83 and an air rifle average of 2,243.33.

The Bears are led by Nicholas Paisker, who leads the team individually in aggregate average (1,126.83) and air rifle (572.167), while Alexandria Harrington leads the Coast Guard individually with a smallbore average of 557.5.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's and women's rifle team, follow @NanooksRifle on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Rifle team page on Facebook.