Huskers Open 2004-2005 Campaign at Home

Lincoln, Neb. - The University of Nebraska rifle team will kick off its year with a pair of matches against the Air Force Academy Friday, Oct.22, and Saturday, Oct. 23, beginning at 8 a.m. each day. The Huskers return three out of five NCAA participants from last season's sixth-place finisher at NCAAs, including sophomore All-American Kristina Fehlings, junior All-American Misty Chanek, and sophomore Stacy Underwood.

Head Coach Launi Meili is looking forward to the challenge Air Force brings to the match, and sees the competition as an opportunity to get the younger shooters some early experience.

"Air Force has some good returning shooters, so we’ll need to put our freshman to work gaining experience by representing Nebraska right away," Meili said. "They are up for the challenge and look forward to starting off on the right foot."

The Huskers have brought in three freshmen to participate in the fall campaign- Kim Chrostowski (R.I.), Katie Harrington (Wisc.) and Kirstin Weiss (Pa.). Meili is very pleased with the level of talent that each of the newcomers bring.

Chrostowski has placed as high as sixth at the Junior Olympics, while Harrington finished seventh at this year’s Junior Women’s Smallbore National Championships. Weiss won the gold medal in the smallbore event at the Junior International Match in Bisley, England, out-shooting juniors from around the world.

"The freshman bring a lot of good match experience with them," Meili said. "They have worked very hard and have shot some of the leading scores in practice matches."

The Huskers will turn to the newcomers to help them improve on a sixth-place finish last season at the NCAA championships. While the team did not shoot to their full potential at the championships, Meili felt that participating was very beneficial for the team.

"The experience helped develop an emphasis for this year on building quality match preparation and placing higher demands on ourselves everyday to prepare," Meili said. "Once we get started in actual matches, we’ll know better how to put our strengths to work and overcome our weaknesses."

Nebraska Joins Great American Rifle Conference

The University of Nebraska will be competing in a conference for the first time in its seven-year history this season. Joining the Huskers in the Great American Rifle Conference are West Virginia, Xavier, Army, Memphis, and Mississippi.

Meili is very excited about the move, and sees it benefiting the team in two key ways.

"With this move, we now have more teams coming to shoot against us here in Nebraska, so we are not always doing the traveling," Meili said. "Also, there is a conference championship two weeks before the NCAA championships. This gives us a good benchmark to see where we stack up against some quality shooting programs in the country."

In seasons past, the Huskers have faced upwards of a month-long break between qualifiers and the NCAA championship. The conference championship will provide an additional competition to ready the team for the NCAA championships.

Underwood Named Team Captain

Sophomore Stacy Underwood, one of three returnees from last year’s squad, has been named the team captain for the 2004-05 season.

Underwood serves on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee at the university and devotes a great deal of time handling student-athlete issues, including organizing team functions and charity events.

"Stacy brings so much enthusiasm to the team," Meili said. "She sets a great example of what a Nebraska athlete should be. She brings the team closer together and supports each person to help them be the best they can be."