Rifle Team Heads to Ohio for Two Matches

Lincoln -- The Nebraska women's rifle team heads to Ohio this weekend for the Walsh Invitational in Cincinnati, Ohio, this Saturday, Nov. 22, at 8 a.m. (CST) followed by a match against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 8 a.m.

The Wash Invitational, hosted by Xavier, consists of three weekends of shooting. Five teams competed the weekend of November 8, and new teams will shoot the weekend of November 15 before NU competes on the 22nd.

After all teams have competed, results will then be totaled from the previous weekend's matches, and overall team standings will be determined.

Following the invite on Saturday, NU will travel from Cincinnati to Columbus to face Ohio State.

After going to Alaska for its last match, the team feels it will be better prepared to compete away from home this weekend.

"We gained the experience of going on the road and shooting away from home," said Head Coach Launi Meili. "We now have a better idea of when to go to sleep and how to prepare for the match than we did before going to Alaska."

Meili hopes that experience, combined with the training the team has done since its last match nearly a month ago, will pay dividends this weekend.

"We've really prepared well," Meili said. "Hopefully, we've prepared to the best of our ability and all of the team's hard work will pay off with a good showing in both matches this weekend."

Team Hopes to Benefit from Time Off
This weekend's Walsh Invitational marks the first time the Huskers have shot competitively since falling to defending national champion Alaska-Fairbanks on Oct. 26. Head Coach Launi Meili hopes the time off will prove beneficial for the team.

"I think we learned a lot in Alaska," Meili said. "We've been training steadily and consistently and the schedule is getting grueling, but we'll taper it down this week heading into the meet, which will hopefully allow us to be eager to compete this weekend."

Newcomers Off to Great Start
The four eligible newcomers to the Nebraska women's rifle team have made their mark in a short period of time. Only four matches into the season, freshman Kristina Fehlings and sophomore Misty Chanek have proven to be two of the most consistent Husker shooters.

Fehlings' season average aggregate score of 1,552.75 is tops on the team, followed by another newcomer, sophomore Misty Chanek who averages a 1,549. Either Fehlings or Chanek has been the top Husker scorer in smallbore, air rifle and aggregate score in each of the Huskers' first four matches.

Besides Fehlings and Chanek, newcomers Stacy Underwood and Sarah Quinn have also made a positive impact on the team. Underwood, a freshman, is fourth on the team with an aggregate season average of 1,516.25 and Quinn is close behind with an average of 1,514.75.

The fifth newcomer of this year's incoming class is sophomore Sherri Gallagher who is unable to compete this year due to NCAA transfer rules and will have three seasons of eligibility. According to Head Coach Launi Meili Gallagher has already posted the highest scores on the team in practice matches.

Looking Ahead
This weekend's matches mark the second-to-last competitions of the 2003 calendar year for the Nebraska women's rifle team. Following this weekend's trip to Ohio, the Huskers will be off for two weeks before returning to competition for their second home match of the season against Missouri-Kansas City at 9 a.m. on Dec. 6. in the NU Rifle Range.