Nov. 21, 2006

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Navy's Lisa Kunzelman, a sophomore on the rifle team, will compete this week in the Grand Prix Kooperativa on Thursday through Saturday in Plzen, Czech Republic, one of the world's premier air-gun events. The event will feature several members of the United States National or Development team, including U.S. Olympian Emily Caruso.

"This is one of the top events in the world to shoot at, and Lisa will go over there to see how she can perform," said Navy head coach Bill Kelley. "She has been training very well and her international experience last year will only help her in this event."

Kunzelman entered as a freshman as a relatively-unknown shooter with no international experience, but ended last year as one of the most-accomplished young shooters in the country. She earned one of the three spots on the U.S. World Junior Championship Team after placing second at the U.S. Shooting National Championships. A current member of the U.S. National Development Team, Kunzelman, with a strong performance this week could go a long way to earning a spot in the PAN-AM games, and potentially the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

"She came in with no international experience and ended up shooting in the World Championships last year," said Kelley. "She has worked very hard for this and this week's event will only help her. It's a lot like baseball. You need that experience in the minor leagues to get to the big time. She is close to breaking into the 'majors'."

Kunzelman earned second-team All-America honors as a freshman in air rifle and finished second in the 2006 National Junior Olympic 10-meter air rifle competition. So far this year, she has led Navy to a 3-2 record.

# GO NAVY #