Results

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks coed rifle team defeated the University of Alabama at Birmingham Dragons 4688-4519 in an NCAA National Chamionship qualifying match at the E.F. Horton Rifle Range on Saturday afternoon.

The Nanooks outshot their opponent in both disciplines on Saturday, shooting a 2327 in smallbore to their opponent's 2220 and a 2361 in air rifle to UAB's 2299.

"Today's performance was just alright, with our smallbore ranking about average for us," head coach Layne Lewis said on Saturday. "Our air rifle was a couple points lower than normal but we have a couple of weeks before Championships to get it back up. It was fun shooting against UAB today, it's been several years since they were last up here and we look forward to competing with them again sometime in the future. Now is the time of buckle down and start prepping for NCAA Championships in March."

Individually, Alaska swept first through ninth place in aggregate scoring, led by redshirt-senior Sagen Maddalena, who collected an 1187. Maddalena tallied a match-high 591 in smallbore and another match-best 596 in air rifle to lead all shooters.

Junior JT Schnering was the second-highest individual shooter on Saturday, collecting an aggregate of 1173. Schering placed second in air rifle with a 594, tying his career-best, before placing fifth in smallbore with a score of 579.

Alaska's third individual shooter on Saturday was junior Nathan Taylor, who combined for an aggregate total of 1168. Taylor placed sixth in air rifle with a score of 585 before shooting a career-high 583 in smallbore to place third.

Sophomores Liam Eberhart and Grace Nelson tied for fourth in the individual aggregate score, both shooting a 1165. Eberhart placed second in smallbore with a 584, while Nelson posted a career-high 577 in the same discipline. Nelson also shot a 588 in air rifle to place fourth.

The Alaska Nanooks coed rifle team will wait patiently for the NCAA Rifle National Championships selection show before hopefully punching a ticket to the Big Dance, which will take place on Friday, Mar. 9 and Saturday, Mar. 10 at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina.

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