Huskers Aim for NCAA Championship Berth

The Nebraska rifle team will shoot at its NCAA Qualifier in Morgantown, W. Va., on Saturday with an NCAA Championship spot on the line.

The Huskers (6-6) currently sit in eighth place nationally with a 4,621.67 average. Team averages are determined by taking a school's top score at home, top two scores on the road (cannot be at the same range), and dividing by three. The NCAA Qualifier score is then added to the team's average, and the top eight qualify for the NCAA Championship, which takes place March 12-13. The Huskers just missed out on the NCAA Championship last year, but qualified five years in a row prior to that.

"This is qualifiers and a lot rides on this match," Head Coach Morgan Hicks said. "But I've been wanting to stress to the girls that this is just like any of our other matches and to keep the nerves out of it and just shoot like they know how to do."

The Huskers hope to keep pace with their shooting partners on Saturday, the West Virginia Mountaineers. The defending national champion Mountaineers are the top-ranked team in the country this year.

"It will be a tough match for us, but we have been having great practices and the girls are very positive going into the match," Hicks said. "They all have great potential and I expect us to have a great match this weekend. We are all really looking forward to it."

NCAA Rifle Top 12 (as of Feb. 12)
Collegerifle.com
1. West Virginia - 4,690.33
2. Alaska-Fairbanks - 4,681.33
3. Kentucky - 4,671.33
4. TCU - 4,665.00
5. Air Force - 4,624.33
6. Army - 4,624.33
7. Navy - 4,623.67
8. Nebraska - 4,621.67
9. Murray St. - 4,620.67
10. Nevada - 4,609.67
11. Ohio St. - 4,607.33
12. UTEP - 4,606.00