Rifle Team Finishes Fourth at Walsh Invitational

Cincinnati -- Behind the steady hand of junior Amanda Trujillo, the Nebraska rifle team earned a fourth-place finish at the Walsh Invitational rifle match hosted by Xavier. The match, which took place over three weekends, featured six of the nine teams that qualified for the 2001 NCAA Championships. The Huskers, who fired on Nov. 11, finished third in the air rifle (1,546) and sixth in the smallbore (4,588) to tally 6,134 points - their second-highest total of the season behind only the season-opening score of 6,138.

Trujillo led the Huskers in the air rifle firing a 390, including 24 center shots, to finish eighth among the 165 competitors. Freshman Alicia Sawyer also fired a 390, but placed 10th overall with 17 center shots. Sawyer's score was a career high, bettering the 389 she fired against Kentucky on Nov. 10. Meanwhile sophomore Melissa Downsbrough fired a 384 and senior Rachel Spiry shot a 382.

In the smallbore competition, Downsbrough fired a team-high score of 1,156 to finish 20th overall, while Trujillo shot a 1,152. Sawyer and Spiry rounded out the scoring for Nebraska, shooting scores of 1,149 and 1,131, respectively.

Two Huskers competed unattached in the match, including senior Terim Richards. Richards, who shoots only air rifle, fired a season-high 385 with 21 center shots to finish 29th overall. Sophomore Karen Aspden competed in both competitions, firing a season-high 376 in the air rifle and a 1,066 in the smallbore.

Alaska-Fairbanks won both the air rifle (1,563) and smallbore (4,663) competitions behind NCAA Champion Matt Emmons', who won both individual competitions with scores of 1,178 in the smallbore and 397 in the air rifle.

Nebraska will rest during the Thanksgiving break, before hosting Wyoming and UMKC in a triangular at the Nebraska Rifle and Pistol Range on Dec. 1.