Husker Rifle Team to Host No. 6 Air Force This Weekend

Lincoln -- The Nebraska rifle program returns home this weekend for a pair of matches against the Air Force Academy. The two schools will compete on Saturday and Sunday at the NU Rifle Range, beginning at 8 a.m.  each morning.

Air Force will open the spring portion of its season in Lincoln after going 4-0 during fall competition.

For second-year coach Rachel Martin, this weekend's matches will give the Huskers an opportunity to improve on their execution and endurance after splitting a pair of matches during the opening weekend of competition."

"We have been working hard in practice this week on endurance and mental toughness," Martin said. "Air Force is a strong team, and it will be good for our athletes to be on the line with them. Our execution will be something we have to work on throughout this season, but I expect to see improvement over last weekend's performance."

The Huskers are ranked 11th in the latest CRCA rankings, while Air Force is tied for sixth in this week's poll.  It will mark the Huskers' second top-10 opponent of the 2021 campaign, as Nebraska was edged out by No. 3 Ole Miss, 4,677-4,667, last Sunday in Columbus.

Nebraska is 1-1 on the season after the first weekend of competition, and this weekend's matches are two of the three home competitions this season.

Senior Emily Cheramie turned in a pair of solid performances for the Big Red, as she ranks 12th nationally in aggregate average (1,175) and is in the top-20 nationally in both disciples. Last weekend, Cheramie posted top-two finishes in both Smallbore and Air Rifle against both Ohio State and Ole Miss.

Besides the consistency of Cheramie, the Huskers' two freshmen made major impacts in their collegiate debuts. In the victory over Ohio State, both Cecelia Ossi and Madelynn Erickson were on the Huskers' squad, with Ossi placing second in the smallbore, while Erickson was fourth in the air rifle.  Both Ossi and Erickson placed in the top five in both events in the loss to Ole Miss.