Rifle team selected for NCAA Championships
2/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Rifle
U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. -- (Indianapolis) The NCAA Men's and Women's Rifle Committee announced that Air Force is one the teams selected for the 2016 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Rifle Championships today.
"With USAFA's highest match shooting on record this season, we are heading into the NCAA National Championships with our strongest team to date," said head coach Launi Meili. "Headed by seniors Tyler Rico and David Higgins, both having experience on the U.S. national team, I'm confident we'll be competitive with the top teams in the country. We also have support coming in from our freshmen. The class of 2019 has had a very strong start and I can't wait to see where they'll take it!"
The University of Akron is the host school for the March 11-12 NCAA Rifle Championships at Stile Athletics Field House in Akron, Ohio.
The top eight teams in both the smallbore three-position and air rifle contests were selected based on the average of the three highest regular-season aggregate scores with no more than one match at any given site. The average of the three highest scores was added to the aggregate scores from the designated qualifiers to determine the top eight teams.
Team qualifiers are the University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Kentucky, Murray State University, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Ohio State University, Texas Christian University, Air Force Academy, and West Virginia University.
The individual qualifiers in smallbore are Army West Point's Nathan Brewer, University of Memphis Amy Fister, and Jacksonville State's Mekenna Richardson.
In air rifle, Jacksonville State's Samantha Bullard, Army West Point's Alyssa Gestl, North Carolina State's Lucas Kozeniesky, and from Mississippi, Ali Weisz.
The individual qualifier in air rifle and smallbore three-position is Caitlyn Ford from North Carolina State.
Since 2013, the Air Force Academy has qualified for the NCAA Rifle Championships four times, as a team in 2013, 2015 and 2016, and an individual qualifier in 2014 (Meredith Carpentier). In 2015, the team finished seventh in the nation, fifth in 2013.
Players Mentioned
