Huskers Seek Perfect Season with NCAA Title

The Nebraska rifle team heads to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., this weekend in the hopes of completing its undefeated season with its first NCAA Championship title.  The match features the smallbore competition on Friday, March 10, beginning at 9 a.m., followed by the air rifle competition on Saturday, March 11, also at 9 a.m.  The team title will be crowned based on the aggregate score from these two days.

 

The nation’s top collegiate rifle programs all qualified for this weekend’s match, including seven-time national champion Alaska-Fairbanks and defending national champion Army, along with Kentucky, Mississippi, Navy and MurrayState.  JacksonvilleState qualified to fill out the smallbore competition, while Nevada will compete only in air rifle.

 

While the UAF Nanooks are favored to win the event, the 2005 NCAA Championships proved that in the world of collegiate rifle, anything can happen.  Alaska-Fairbanks indeed shot well below its average last season and ended up finishing fourth behind Army, JacksonvilleState and the Huskers, who were NCAA runners-up.

 

Nebraska enters this weekend after successfully defending its Great America Rifle Conference title on Feb. 26 with a team score of 4,676.  The Huskers hope to carry that momentum over into this weekend’s final competition, but perhaps the most important factor playing in Nebraska’s favor this weekend will be experience.  Of the seven members of the NU roster, not a single one is an NCAA novice because all seven were on the Nebraska roster at the 2005 NCAA Championships.  Of these seven, senior Misty Chanek, junior Kristina Fehlings, and sophomores Kim Chrostowski, Kirsten Weiss and Andrea Franz?n are slated to actually shoot in one or both disciplines this weekend.  Chanek, Nebraska’s lone senior, boasts three straight years of national experience and as such is expected to contribute greatly in NU’s goal of winning the first NCAA rifle title in school history. 

 

 

 

Scouting the NCAA Championship Field

Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks

Head Coach:  Dan Jordan

Top Shooter: Matt Rawlings

Record: 10-0

2005 NCAA Finish:  Fourth (4,656)

With former Alaska-Fairbanks All-American and two-time Paralympics silver medalist at Dan Jordan at the helm, the Nanooks have reestablished themselves this season in national dominance.  In his first season as head coach, Jordan has guided UAF to an undefeated 10-0 season and a season average score of 4,722.30, which is over 40 points higher than the Huskers who are second with a 4,678.70.

 

Despite a disappointing fourth-place finish at the 2005 NCAA Championships, the Nanooks are easily the favorite heading into this weekend’s competition.  UAF captured the national team title every year from 1999 to 2004, and are hungry to regain its title as a national leader.

 

Leading the Nanooks this year is two-time NCAA smallbore champion Matt Rawlings who will undoubtedly aim to defend his title at this year’s championships. 

 

Army Black Knights

Head Coach:  Major Ron Wigger

Top Shooter: Chris Abalo

Record: 7-2

2006 GARC Finish: Second (4,665)

2005 NCAA Finish:  First (4,659)

The Army Black Knights continued to build on their reputation as one of top rifle programs in the nation this season by going 7-2 during the regular season and shooting a school record mark of 4,693 at the NCAA Qualifier.  The score propelled Army past the Huskers in the national rankings despite the fact that Nebraska sports a higher season average and beat the Black Knights in dual competition during the regular season and went on to top Army once again at the Great American Rifle Conference Championships in February.

 

Leading Army this season is sophomore Chris Abalo who was recently named the GARC Shooter of the Year.  With just one year of collegiate rifle behind him, Abalo has already emerged as one of the top competitors in the country, posting career-high scores of 594 in both smallbore and air rifle.  Abalo already has plenty of postseason experience as he led the Black Knights to their first-ever national title in 2005.  Abalo garnered a pair of fourth-place finishes in the smallbore and air rifle as an individual shooter.

 

Jacksonville State Gamecocks

Head Coach:  Ron Frost

Top Shooter: James & Joseph Hall

Record: 7-2

2006 OVC Finish: First (4,671)

2005 NCAA Finish:  Second (4,658)

Although a small program at just six total competitors, JacksonvilleState has enjoyed a number of successes this season.  One of the largest was a dual win over Kentucky, 4,666-4,655, earlier in the season.  The score marked a season-high for the Gamecocks.

 

Leading Jacksonville State this season are two brothers out of Carrollton, Ga.  Senior James Hall leads the Gamecocks in air rifle, while his younger brother Joseph, a freshman, heads up the smallbore roster.  With each posting scores well into the 590s, both Hall brothers are good candidates for individual honors at this season’s NCAA Championships.  James Hall was recently named the 2006 Ohio Valley Conference Shooter of the Year.

 

Although JacksonvilleState finished second at the 2005 NCAA Championships, this season they failed to qualify for the full team competition and instead will compete only on the smallbore. 

 

Kentucky Wildcats

Head Coach:  Harry Mullins

Top Shooter: Amy Sowash

Record: 8-4

2006 GARC Finish: Third (4,650)

2005 NCAA Finish:  Sixth (4,627)

The Kentucky Wildcats come into the NCAA Championships on a high note after posting a score of 4,679 at the NCAA Qualifier to emerge as the nation’s No. 3 team.  The Wildcats also performed well at the GARC Championships where they finished third overall with a score of 4,650.

 

In 2006, the Wildcats have averaged a team score of 4,671 to an 8-4 dual record.

 

Behind the efforts of sophomore Amy Sowash, Kentucky looks to emerge as a major player this postseason and push into either the a top three spot after finishing sixth at the NCAA Championships in 2005.  However, in order to do that Kentucky will have to pass up conference rivals Army and Nebraska, two programs that topped the Wildcats during both dual competition and the GARC Championships.  At Nebraska on Nov. 19, Kentucky marked a solid score of 4,653 to NU’s 4,661, making the match the closest for the Huskers all season.

 

 

Ole Miss Rebels

Head Coach:  Valerie Booth

Top Shooter: Shannon Wilson

Record: 4-4

2006 GARC Finish: Fifth (4,659)

2005 NCAA Finish:  DNQ

Despite struggling both at home and on the road this season, Ole Miss has just two dual wins coming over West Virginia and N.C.State, the Rebels once again qualified for the NCAA Championships this season.

 

Ole Miss has faced a grueling regular-season schedule in 2006 that included duals against Nebraska, Kentucky, and Alaska-Fairbanks back-to-back with Army.  After a fifth-place finish at the 2006 GARC Championships, the Rebels are hoping that the stiff competition they have faced all season long will transfer over into success at this year’s NCAA Championships.

 

Murray State Racers

Head Coach:  Ann Proctor

Top Shooter: Bryant Wallizer

Record: 6-2

2006 OVC Finish: Second (4,633)

2005 NCAA Finish:  DNQ

After failing to qualify for the 2005 NCAA rifle championships, MurrayState reclaimed its spot this year as participants in 27 of the last 28 national title events.

 

The Racers are led from the bottom up this season as much touted freshman Bryant Wallizer has lived up to his reputation.  The Maryland native was a two-time gold medalist at the Junior Olympics in both events before going to MurrayState.  Wallizer was recently named the 2006 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year.

 

As a team, the Racers spent the majority of the season in multi-team events, including first-place finishes at the Ole Miss and Roger Withrow Invitationals in addition to finishing second of eight teams at the OVC Championships with a score of 4,633.

 

Navy

Head Coach:  Bill Kelley

Top Shooter: Lisa Kunzelman

Record: 8-2

2006 MAC Finish: First (4,636)

2005 NCAA Finish:  Fifth (4,637)

With an 8-2 record and the MAC title behind it, Navy has posted a fairly successful season.  Its pair of losses came from Alaska-Fairbanks and Army, two of the nation’s top teams. 

Navy notched a season-high team score of 4,674 this season and consistently landed scores toward the end of the season in the mid 4,660s. 

 

Navy is led by freshman Lisa Kunzelman, who most recently took the air rifle title at the MAC Championships with a score of 590. 

 

Nevada Wolfpack

Head Coach:  Fred Harvey

Top Shooter: Michael Tanoue

Record: 8-1

2005 NCAA Finish:  Seventh (AR)

The Nevada air rifle team was one of two teams, along with JacksonvilleState’s smallbore lineup, to qualify for the NCAA Championships in a single event.  This is the second consecutive season that the Wolfpack has qualified in the air rifle.  They finished seventh in 2005 with Ryan Tanoue earning All-America honors.

 

Tanoue’s brother, Michael, will lead Nevada is this year’s NCAA Championships.

 

 

 

NCAA History

This weekend the Huskers will participate in their fifth NCAA Championships since the program’s inception in 1999.  This is the third consecutive NCAA trip for Nebraska, which has qualified every year since 2004.  Coincidentally, it is also the third consecutive trip for Head Coach Launi Meili, who has helped the Huskers advance in three of her four years as Head Coach.

 

Nebraska’s highest finish as a team over the past eight years has been third, which the Huskers earned twice, first in 2000 and again last year in 2005.  The Huskers also posted a pair of sixth-place finishes in 2001 and 2004.

 

This year, the Huskers are in the presence of very good company, as three of the eight competing teams have previously won an NCAA team title.  MurrayState won in 1985 and 1987, Alaska-Fairbanks won in 1994 and again every year between 1999 and 2004, while Army notched its first team title last season in 2005.

 

The 2005 championship competition was one of the closest in collegiate rifle history with just four points separating the Black Knights (4,659) from fourth-place Alaska-Fairbanks (4,656).  Nebraska, which finished third behind JacksonvilleState, posted a score of 4,657.

 

Although NU has had plenty of team experience at the NCAA Championships, only one Husker has ever won an individual event title.  At Nebraska’s first national championships appearance in 2000, Nicole Allaire took top honors in the smallbore with a score of 1,183.

 

 

 

Huskers Repeat as GARC Champions

The Nebraska rifle team repeated as Great American Rifle Conference champions on Sunday, Feb. 26, with a combined team score of 4,676.  Defending national champion Army finished second with a score of 4,665, while Kentucky rounded out the top three with a score of 4,650.

 

It was the second consecutive GARC title for the Huskers, who also won the regular-season title after posting an 8-0 season.  However, NU’s team score of 4,676 is 13 points higher this season than the score they shot one year ago to win their first GARC title.  The Huskers are now two-for-two in GARC titles since joining the conference for the 2004-05 season.

 

Nebraska started the two-day competition in smallbore, where they posted a solid score of 2,335 to lead the pack heading into the air rifle competition.  In the event, the Huskers once again notched the highest event score with a 2,341 to win the combined team title.

 

Individually, senior Misty Chanek landed NU’s highest smallbore finish, placing second (589), while sophomore Kim Chrostowski gathered the highest finish in air rifle in third-place with a career-high mark of 591.  Sophomore Andrea Franz?n shot a 587, junior Kristina Fehlings shot a 579 and Chanek shot a 584 to finish out the Husker air rifle lineup.

 

Nebraska placed shooters in the three, four, five and six spots in the combined competition with Chanek finishing third with an aggregate score of 1,173, Chrostowski finishing fourth with a score of 1,170, Franz?n finishing fifth with a score of 1,169 and Fehlings finishing sixth with a 1,168.

 

At the GARC awards banquet, Meili was honored as the 2006 Coach of the Year, while Chanek earned accolades as Senior of the Year.

 

 

 

No Boys Allowed

Not only are the fourth-ranked Huskers one of the NCAA’s smallest teams with just seven active members, they are also one of only two programs to qualify for the NCAA Championships made up entirely of women.  The other, Mississippi, is made up of 11 female shooters.  The Huskers have beaten Ole Miss every time the two have dueled this season. 

 

In a sport typically dominated by men, most of the nation’s top teams are co-ed.  But Nebraska has taken a different route with an all-female team and a female head coach in Launi Meili and has achieved monumental success for it. 

 

Of the other six teams slated to compete at the NCAA Championships, each is at least 58 percent male and contain between 10 and 12 shooters per squad with the exception of JacksonvilleState, which has six co-ed competitors.  The nation’s top three teams, Alaska-Fairbanks, Army and Kentucky are 91, 84 and 70 percent male, respectively.

 

 

 

Franz?n Earns Smallbore Spot  

Normally an air rifle maverick, sophomore Andrea Franz?n has carried her talents over to the smallbore this season.  In fact, during the postseason, Franz?n shot NU’s fourth-highest smallbore average, thus becoming the fourth and final member of the Husker’s national championship smallbore lineup.

 

Head Coach Launi Meili made the decision on the final day to declare her national championship rosters, which gives the Swedish native the first opportunity of her collegiate career to shoot for Nebraska’s smallbore team.

 

At the NCAA Championships in 2005, Franz?n lived up to expectations when she shot a 588 to finish second in the nation in air rifle.  Franz?n’s career-high score of 593 has led the Huskers for the past two years and her career-high of 586 in smallbore ranks third on the team this season.

 

 

 

Record Setting Season

The Nebraska record book took a drastic turn in 2005 following the 2004 NCAA scoring changes.  Now that the smallbore and air rifle carry equal weight in terms of scoring, new records are being kept and broken at every turn.

 

After competing under the new system in 2005, the Huskers came in to 2006 and bettered many of the marks they had set the previous season. 

 

Senior Misty Chanek tied the NU record for smallbore high score at 593 set by Kristina Fehlings in 2005.  Meanwhile, sophomore Andrea Franz?n tied yet another of Fehlings’ records for the top sophomore air rifle score at 593.

 

Fehlings returned the favor to Chanek in smallbore, by shooting a 591 to tie the senior for the top smallbore score shot by a junior.

 

And finally, the Huskers as a whole shattered their Nebraska Rifle Range team high score of 4,668 with scores of 4,687 on Oct. 22 and 4,686 on Oct. 23 against Air Force.