Huskers Travel to Ohio

The Nebraska rifle team will depart for Cincinnati, Ohio this weekend to participate in the second week of the Walsh Invitational, and to take part in conference matches against Memphis and Army.

The Walsh Invitational, hosted by Xavier, spans three weeks and features many of the nation’s top teams. Final standings in the tournament will not be determined until after the final week of competition. In the 2003 Walsh Invitational, the Huskers placed 4th out of 14 teams.

Nebraska Head Coach Launi Meili looks forward to measuring up against the nation’s premier teams in the tournament.

"All of the top schools will eventually cycle through the Walsh Invitational," Meili said. "I will be looking at putting our top team together, but with everybody shooting well, I feel that I could use anyone."

Nebraska will also count its Saturday score for a conference match with Memphis. This will be the first time the two teams have faced off, and will represent the Huskers’ first-ever Great American Rifle Conference match.

On Sunday, the Huskers will face Army in another GARC match-up. The Black Knights finished fourth in the final 2004 rifle rankings. Led by three-time All-American Paul Charbonneau, the team defeated Kentucky and West Virginia in early-season contests, and finished runner-up to Navy in the President’s Trophy Match on Nov. 6.

"Both of these teams will be tough," Meili said. "They both have some very experienced shooters. We will need to be on top of our game to pick up wins in the matches."

Last Action: Huskers Defeat Horned Frogs

The Nebraska rifle team defeated TCU in an air rifle-only shoot on Nov. 6 at the NU Rifle Range, 2,310-2,199. The Huskers used the match against the Horned Frogs as an opportunity to engage many of the younger shooters in team competition, and the experiment proved successful.

Freshman Kim Chrostowski led the way for the team, recording a 583 in the regulation shoot. Sophomore Kristina Fehlings won the individual crown, shooting a match-high 588 in regulation and recording a 99 in the finals. The six Husker shooters held the six top spots in the individual competition against a young TCU team.

Head Coach Launi Meili was pleased with the performance, noting the strong efforts of the freshman.

"I put the freshman in just to get them some good experience, and two of them ended up shooting better than their goals," Meili said. "I feel really great about that. They got some more good experience representing the school. I now feel really confident about using our freshman in regular match competition."

New This Season: Olympic Final

This season, collegiate rifle has added an Olympic final to add further excitement to the matches. In addition to the shortened regulation shoot, there is a 10-shot shootout at the conclusion of the match where each shot is timed and scored and the score of each shooter is continually updated.

"The Olympic final makes the shooters better prepared for what international competition will be like, and it makes our competition here much more exciting," Meili said. "It used to be just a four-hour shoot and then we were done and the scores were totaled. Now the shooters are on the line and they are shooting shot-by-shot to determine the winner."

While team scores are based upon only the regulation shoot, final’s scores are added to regulation scores to determine individual winners. This allows shooters to influence their final standing with strong final’s performances.