Huskers Face Ohio State in Season Opener

The ninth-ranked Nebraska rifle team travels to Fort Wayne, Ind., on Saturday to take on 12th-ranked Ohio State in its first match of the 2019-20 season. Match action will begin at 8 a.m.  in the opening match of "The X Count" event.

Breaking Down the Huskers

Nebraska enters the 2019-20 season with a new coaching staff, a talented roster and high expectations.

Head coach Rachel Martin enters her first season. Martin is a 2017 graduate of NU and was the 2015 NCAA Smallbore National Champion as a Husker. Martin is joined by assistant coach Mindy Miles, who enters her first season with the Huskers in 2019-20 after a successful shooting career at TCU.

Samantha Peterson, a returning All-American, will be joined by fellow seniors Kayla Gadeken, Bailey Powell and Maddie Korthas. The senior class will be relied upon as sources of leadership for Nebraska this season. All four saw significant action in 2018-19 and will be expected to lead the Huskers both on and off the range.

The Huskers retain a solid junior class, including All-Conference selection Emily Cheramie. She is joined by Mari Butler and Elizabeth Ewert. All three will seek to step into leadership roles.

Sophomores Kinga Aletto, Elena Flake and Elizabeth Lorentz round out the list of returners. Lorentz saw the most action in 2018-19 with 11 appearances. Aletto and Flake saw limited action in 2018-19 but will look to be regular contributors in 2019-20.

Three incoming freshmen join the returners. Trinity Gomez (Tampa, Fla.), Hana Musser (Lititz, Penn.) and Macey Way (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will look to be regular contributors to the team in their debut season.

Scouting the Buckeyes
Ohio State takes the range after a stellar 2018-19 season. The Buckeyes ended their season at the NCAA Qualifiers after a fourth-place finish at the 2019 Patriot Rifle Conference Championships.

Jacob Buchanan is the shooter to watch for Ohio State. The senior earned All-American honors as a sophomore and holds the school record in aggregate score with 1,181.

Other returners include seniors Rhiann Travis and Allie Kissell and sophomore Annie Tomb. Travis holds the school record in air rifle with 598 and was an All-American as a sophomore.

The Buckeyes posted a team record of 5-11 in dual matches last season, including a win over Nebraska.

This match will serve as Ohio State's first of the 2019-20 season.