U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The No. 5 Alaska Nanooks rifle team hits the road this week to compete at the U.S. Air Force Academy's Falcon Rifle Range this Friday, Feb. 2, Saturday, Feb. 3 and Sunday, Feb. 4. The Nanooks will compete in a tri-team match against the No. 9 Air Force Falcons and the No. 20 University of Texas at El Paso Miners on Friday, before competing at the same location in the Patriot Rifle Conference Championships on Saturday and Sunday.    

Opponents	#20 UTEP Miners | #9 Air Force Falcons | Patriot Rifle Conference Championships
Dates & Times	Friday, Feb. 2 through Sunday, Feb. 4 | 6am AKST all three days
Location	Falcon Rifle Range | U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado
Follow Along	Live Results | Final Results
Social Media	Twitter | Facebook

Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks rifle team was last in action on Saturday, Jan. 27 when they took on the No. 7 Nevada Wolfpack at the E.F. Horton Rifle Range. The Nanooks defeated the Wolfpack 4701-4646 for their ninth win of the season.

Record Breakers
In one week's time, the Alaska Nanooks broke all three team program records in smallbore, air rifle and aggregate total. Alaska set a new program record in aggregate (4725) and smallbore (2350) against the Ole Miss Rebels on Jan. 19 before breaking the program's team record in air rifle (2378) against Nevada on Jan. 27.

Ranked Nooks
The Alaska Nanooks rank third in the nation in air rifle team average, collecting a 2370.2 through 10 matches this season. West Virginia and Texas Christian University rank first and second, posting averages of 2382.583 and 2379.5, respectively.

Alaska ranks fifth in both team smallbore and aggregate averages, tallying a smallbore average of 2322.1 and an aggregate average of 4692.3.

Leader of the Pack
Redshirt-senior Sagen Maddalena ranks second individually in air rifle average, posting a 597.6 average through 10 matches this season. The only other shooter in collegiate rifle who ranks higher than Maddalena in air rifle is TCU's Mindy Miles, who averages an air rifle score of 598.

Furthermore, Maddalena ranks third individually in both smallbore and aggregate shooting, collecting a 586.2 in smallbore and an aggregate average of 1183.8.

Stiff Competition
The Alaska Nanooks rifle team will be taking on the No. 2 TCU Horned Frogs, the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes, the No. 7 Nevada Wolfpack, No. 9 Air Force Falcons and the No. 20 UTEP Miners in the Patriot Rifle Conference Championships this Saturday, Feb. 3 and Sunday, Feb. 4. Alaska has defeated each of their opponents at least once already this season, except the No. 2 TCU Horned Frogs, who Alaska has yet to face throughout the 2017-18 campaign.

Back For More
Last season, the Alaska Nanooks rifle team finished second at the PRC Championships to the TCU Horned Frogs for the second-straight year. Maddalena was the top-overall individual shooter throughout the weekend, collecting a smallbore score of 589 and an air rifle score of 597 to tally a match-high aggregate of 1186. Former Alaska Nanook Soren Butler was also named the PRC Conference Champion in smallbore after beating out the conference competition in the head-to-head finals.

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