Rachel Spiry Season 2001-02

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 Invitational	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	1,144	1,528
vs. TTU, JSU	389	1,126	1,515
vs. Kentucky, Air Force	387	1,126	1,515
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	393/1,000
vs. UMKC	381	1,110	1,491
at Walsh Invitational	358	1,103	1,461
at Kentucky Invitational	377	1,098	1,461
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.