Rachel Spiry

Senior Season (2001-02)
Rachel Spiry (pronounced SPY-ree) finished her Husker career as a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American after earning a first-team selection in her senior season, making her the first Nebraska rifle competitor to receive the esteemed honor. Throughout her career, Spiry showed steady improvement in the range, while always maintaining perfection in the classroom. Spiry made the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll every semester of her career with a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout. She also served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Board and was Nebraska's team captain during her freshman and sophomore campaigns. During her senior year, Spiry matched her career-best 389 in air rifle while raising her aggregate average to a career-best 1,515.

Match                                             Air Rifle    Smallbore      Aggregate
vs. Air Force                                        380           1,127               1,507
at Kentucky                                         387           1,139               1,526
at Walsh Invitatioinal                             382           1,131               1,513
vs. Alaska-Fairbanks                             371           1,130               1,501
at  UTEP                                              382           1,140               1,522
at Roger Withrow Invitational                  389           1,126               1,515
at Austin Peay                                      381            -----                  ------
at Ohio State                                        384           1,145               1,529
at Ohio State ROTC                              374           1,123               1,497
at Alaska-Fairbanks, Murray State         387           1,130                1,517
at NCAA Qualifier                                 381           1,136                1,517
Match Average                                     382           1,133                1,515

Junior Season (2000-01)
Spiry started the season strong, and in her first eight matches, she tied or bettered her previous best in air rifle, culminating with a career-best 389 in a triangular with Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State to earn runner-up honors behind teammate Amanda Trujillo.
Spiry contributed with both rifles in Nebraska's win over the Virginia Military Institute in mid-October and was a key participant in Nebraska's win over Wyoming. She played a significant role in the Huskers' runner-up finish in air rifle at the Walsh Invitational and fired a career-best 1,153 in smallbore. 

Spiry also fired on all cylinders in the classroom, earning a 4.0 GPA for the sixth straight semester. In recognition of her academic success, Spiry earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America second team. 

Match                                    Air Rifle    Smallbore      Aggregate
at Great Eight                             387           1,131               1,518
at VMI                                        384           1,144               1,528
at Jacksonville State                    386           1,143               1,529
vs. TTU, JSU                               389           1,126               1,515
vs. Kentucky, Air Force                387           1,135               1,522
at Walsh Invitational                     383           1,153               1,536
vs. Wyoming                               383           1,121               1,504
vs. Alaska-Fairbanks                   383           1,115                1,498
at UTEP Invite                             374           1,124                1,498
at NCAA Qualifier                        375           1,108                1,483
Match Average                            383           1,130                1,513

Sophomore Season (1999-2000)
With a year of collegiate shooting under her belt, Spiry saw her scores improve considerably from her freshman year. Her air rifle average climbed 14 points, while her smallbore average jumped 32 points. She shot a then-personal-best 383 in air rifle at the Roger Withrow Invitational on Jan. 30. Her best smallbore score of 1,145 came against Ohio State on Feb. 13, helping the Huskers set a new team record in both smallbore (4,608) and aggregate (6,165) scores.

Match                                     Air Rifle     Smallbore     Aggregate
vs. Army, Norwich                        379             1,129             1,508
vs. King's College                         382           557/600         939/1,000
vs. UMKC                                    381             1,110             1,491
at Walsh Invitational                     358              1,103             1,461
at Kentucky Invitational                 377             1,098              1,475
vs. UMKC, TCU, Wyoming             ---              1,081                ---
vs. UAF, Air Force, Wyoming        368             1,084              1,452
at Roger Withrow                         383              1,107             1,490
at Collegiate Sectional                  375              1,129             1,512
vs. Ohio State                              380              1,145             1,525
at NCAA Championships               ---                1,121               ---   
Match Average                             376              1,111             1,489

Freshman Season (1998-99)
One of four walk-on competitors in the team's first season, Spiry was the Huskers' top shooter, recording personal bests of 375 in air rifle and 1,111 in smallbore. The 1999 Nebraska Junior Olympic champion in both air rifle and smallbore, Spiry headed to the national meet and finished 47th in both the smallbore (1,080) and air rifle (731). At the 1999 USA Shooting National Championships she placed 35th (1,057) in the junior women's sport rifle and finished 28th (1,116) in the junior women's sport rifle prone. At the same meet, she also took 31st in air rifle (761).

Match                              Air Rifle     Smallbore      Aggregate
vs. UMKC                             351            1,060               1,411
at Walsh Invitational               350            1,041               1,391
at Kentucky Invitational          366             1,054               1,420
vs. Austin Peay                     359               ---                    ---
at Roger Withrow                   367             1,101               1,468
at Collegiate Sectional           366             1,104               1,470
vs. Ohio State                       375             1,111               1,486
Match Average                      362             1,079               1,441

Personal
The daughter of Daniel and Jodi Spiry, Rachel was born Aug. 30, 1979, in Lincoln, Neb. She has a sister, Erin. Rachel took her first marksmanship course at age eight and competed with the BB gun until age 15.

A mathematics major, Spiry graduated with a 4.0 GPA and earned a teaching certificate in secondary education. In addition to her work in the classroom, Spiry volunteered for community outreach activities and was named a 2000 Bank of America Community Champion. She was also a participant in the 2000 March of Dimes Youth Leadership Conference and was a member of the 2001 Homecoming court.