Huskers Qualify For NCAA Championships

Lincoln - The Nebraska women’s rifle team learned Monday that they have qualified as a team for the NCAA Championships in both smallbore and air rifle. The competition will be held on Friday and Saturday, March 12 and 13, in Murray, Ky., with the team events occurring on the second day.

The Huskers’ appearance marks the third time in the program’s six-year existence that the team has made it to the NCAA Championships, and the first time since 2001. That year the team finished eighth overall, taking sixth in smallbore and second in air rifle. In 2000, Nebraska finished third overall in the team competition at its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championships, taking fourth in smallbore and second in air rifle.

The Huskers finished fourth overall in the NCAA Qualifiers in smallbore (4,633) and seventh overall in air rifle (1,545). The top eight teams in both events made the championships.

NU Head Coach Launi Meili feels good about the opportunity that the NCAA Championships provide her team.

"At the NCAA Championships, we all start at zero again, so we have one last chance this year to perform at our full potential," Meili said. "We were about 15 points off our team goal for the year at the qualifier, so hopefully that will make us hungry and motivated to put it together for the big show."

In addition to qualifying as a team, Husker sophomore Misty Chanek qualified in both events as an individual, and freshman Kristina Fehlings qualified in air rifle. Chanek finished 12th in smallbore as an individual last year as a freshman at Tennessee Tech before transferring to Nebraska.

Last year, Alaska-Fairbanks took home its fifth consecutive team title, firing NCAA records in smallbore (4,717) and in aggregate scoring (6,287). Alaska-Fairbanks, which has defeated NU twice this season, again leads the field this year, firing a 4,724 in smallbore and a 1,570 in air rifle at its NCAA qualifier.