3/10/2005 - Rifle
Navy Rifle Shoots For NCAA Title This Weekend
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The Navy rifle team begins its quest toward its first-ever national championship on Friday when it competes in the NCAA Championship on March 11-12, at the United States Olympic Training Center. The Midshipmen are aiming to derail six-time NCAA champion Alaska-Fairbanks and bring the school its first national title since 1964.
Navy is coming off a strong showing against Akron in the MAC Championship last weekend and enter this weekend????????s NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed and is one of eight teams competing for the national championship. Alaska-Fairbanks, who the Mids defeated earlier in the year, is seeded first. Nebraska is seeded second, followed by Army, who the Mids also defeated just two weeks ago, and then Navy Other schools eligible for the team title are Jacksonville State and Kentucky. Schools will also vie for championships in Smallbore competition (Navy is seeded fifth in that discipline) and air rifle (Navy is third).
Individually, Navy figures to have a good chance for All-American status in both disciplines. Senior Matt Albright (Shelton, Conn.) figures to contend for both the air rifle and overall championships. He has fired a combined 1187, which came against Alaska-Fairbanks and ranks as one of the top scores in the country. His scores were 592 in smallbore and 595 in air rifle. Sarah Bergman (Fort Mill, S.C.) also figures to be in the mix for an individual title in smallbore.
A total of 48 competitors were selected for the championships. The top eight teams in both the smallbore three-position and air rifle events were selected. The top 10 individuals in air rifle and the top 12 individuals in smallbore also qualified for the individual championships.
Individual and team competitions in smallbore three-position (60 shots) will be held Friday, March 11. Individual and team competitions in air rifle (60 shots) will be held Saturday, March 12. The overall team champion will be determined by combining the smallbore and air rifle team totals into one aggregate score for each institution.
In the 2004 championships, the Nanooks of the University of Alaska Fairbanks captured their sixth consecutive team title at the National Collegiate Rifle Championships. The Nanooks won the crown with an aggregate score of 6,273 out of a possible 6,400 in smallbore and air rifle combined. The University of Nevada-Reno finished second with 6,185 points, followed by Navy at 6,182.
# GO NAVY #
