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The Nebraska rifle team will return to action this weekend when it takes on non-conference foe UMKC in a home match Saturday. The contest, which marks the ninth time the Huskers and Kangaroos have met in head-to-head competition, will begin at 8 a.m. on Dec. 4 at the NU Rifle Range. Nebraska leads the overall series 8-1.
UMKC finished 11th in the Walsh Invitational earlier this season, shooting a 4,533. Nebraska took fourth in the shoot, recording a 4,637. UMKC took second in the Boliermaker Invitational and has picked up head-to-head wins over TCU and Rose-Hulman.
The match will mark the return to Lincoln for former Husker Alicia Sawyer. Sawyer was a regular on the 2002-03 Husker squad as a sophomore before transferring. She has consistently been one of the Kangaroos' top shooters this season.
Nebraska Head Coach Launi Meili looks forward to the level of competition UMKC offers.
"This weekend we will face one of the better teams we have gone up against in UMKC," Meili said. "We are going to have to stay on track and perform to our full potential in order to win."
Last Action: Huskers Hold Back Rebels, Pick Up Win
The Nebraska rifle team returned to the NU Rifle Range Nov. 20 and picked up a solid win over Great American Conference-opponent Ole Miss, 4,661-4,579. Nebraska narrowly edged the Rebels 2,338-2,331 in air rifle, but carried the field in smallbore, winning 2,323-2,248.
Junior Misty Chanek paced the Husker squad in air rifle, shooting a 596 in regulation and adding a 99 in the finals. Sophomore Kristina Fehlings took third in the event, turning in a 587 in regulation and a 95 in the finals.
Fehlings led the way in smallbore, shooting a 591 in regulation to take the individual crown. Husker shooters took six of the top seven places in the discipline. Chanek placed second with a 586, followed by sophomore Stacy Underwood (575) and freshmen Katie Harrington (574) and Kim Chrostowski (574). Freshman Kristen Weiss (572) took seventh in the event.
Nebraska Head Coach Launi Meili was very pleased with the progress the Huskers showed.
"We accomplished our goal to really improve in air rifle," Meili said. "We found out that our score that weekend was only four points off what Alaska-Fairbanks shot at the Walsh Invitational that weekend. We feel like we are slowly reeling in the big teams and we are getting competitive. If we stick to our game plan of consistent shooting and focusing in on improving air rifle we are going to be very competitive."
Huskers Take Fourth, Win Individual Crowns in Walsh Invitational
Nebraska finished in fourth place out of 13 collegiate teams in Xavier’s Walsh Invitational. The Huskers participated in the shoot Nov. 13, and were awaiting results from the final week of the three-week shoot to determine finishes. The team recorded a 4,637 in the competition, a score bested only by first-place finisher Alaska-Fairbanks (4,665), Army (4,643) and host Xavier (4,641).
Sophomore Kristina Fehlings shot a 589 in air rifle to lead the team and finish first out of 168 participants in the individual competition. The Huskers finished third overall in the discipline.
Junior Misty Chanek recorded a 591 in smallbore to finish tied for first place with Alaska-Fairbanks’s Matt Rawlings in the event. Fehlings also placed in the top ten in the discipline, finishing eighth out of 172 participants. The excellent performances by the pair also lead the Huskers to a third place finish in smallbore.
Looking Ahead
The non-conference match with UMKC will be Nebraska’s final match of 2004. The team will return to action on Jan. 14-15 against conference foes West Virginia and Kentucky in Palmyra, Pa.
Meili sees a strong benefit that comes with the extended layoff.
"Shooting is so mental that I think that it is really important to take a break," Meili said. "In my experience, shooters always come back strong after time off. Last year when we returned from the break, we shot out in Palmyra (Pa.) and that was one of our best performances of the season. We will be facing some tough competition when we return, so we need to come back strong."