The Navy rifle team begins its 2014-15 season this Saturday with a home matchup versus the newest member of the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC), Akron. Action between the Mids and Zips is slated to begin at 8 a.m. at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range.

Navy comes into the 2014-15 season with high expectations after getting a taste last season of the high level of competition that it will face week-in and week-out in the GARC. In the 2014 NCAA Championship field, five of the eight qualifiers came from the GARC conference. At last year's conference championship, the Mids finished seventh in a field of nine with 4,612 points.

This season, Navy will field a young, but battle-tested squad that graduates just one member, Steven Frazier, from its 2013-14 team. In his 16th-year with the program, head coach Bill Kelley will lean on a pair of seniors Alex Berry (Greensboro, N.C.) and Brandon Thompson (Shelbyville, Ky.) to provide leadership on and off the range for a 14-man roster that includes nine underclassmen amongst its ranks.

Berry will serve as the team's captain this season following a 2013-14 campaign that saw her set single-match career-highs in both smallbore and air rifle competitions. As part of her yearly average of 571.2 in smallbore, Berry recorded a 581 versus Memphis. Likewise in air rifle, she averaged a 576.3 score with a single-match high of 586 versus Army.

Navy will miss her performance and leadership for a portion of the early season schedule as she is currently sidelined with an injury.

"She's the anchor of our team and we will definitely miss her, while she is sidelined," said Kelley. "Alex has shown the ability to produce All-American level scores in both guns so we value her skills, as well as her leadership. As the captain, she is responsible for setting the tone for the team. She started establishing that last year with a strong, yet quiet style of leadership."

Berry is joined by Thompson as the Mids' only two shooters in the Class of 2015. Thompson appeared in nine of the team's competitions during the 2013-14 and posted averages of 563.3 and 574.9 in smallbore and air rifle, respectively. That was the second straight year that the Kentucky native had posted improved season averages.

"In Alex's absence, Brandon has really stepped up both his levels of performance and leadership," said Kelley. "His scores are up in both guns and he has shown that he is more than capable of leading his teammates in their on-range efforts, while Alex is away."

The junior class was well represented in the starting lineup during the 2013-14 season as Jodi Cull-Host (Los Alamos, N.M.) and Zach Gibson (Montrose, Colo.) posted the second and third-best aggregate scores for Navy.

Cull-Host finished with an 1148.0 aggregate courtesy of a smallbore average of 566.3 and an air rifle average of 581.7. She posted scores of 580 and above in 11 of 14 air rifle matches last season.

"Jodi is really improving her smallbore scores, which just adds to her value on the team," said Kelley. "She is showing modest improvement in her air rifle, but more importantly she is producing her strong results on a more consistent basis."

Gibson finished his sophomore campaign with an aggregate of 1152.3, just 0.2 short of the top spot on the team. He averaged a score of 571.2 in smallbore action and 581.1 in air rifle. In back-to-back weekends following the holiday break, he recorded career-highs with a 582 smallbore result versus Army and a 589 in air rifle against the University of the Sciences.

"Now an upperclassmen, Zach's really starting to exhibit more confidence and consistency in his shooting. His maturity is demonstrated by his ability to accept challenges and find a way to succeed."

Dan Jonas (Allentown, N.J.) highlights a sophomore class that gained important experience last year as plebes. Kelley foresees even greater potential for the class as its members mature and hone their skills. Last season, Jonas finished atop Navy's aggregate leaderboard with an 1152.5 per match average. He posted a 572.6 average in smallbore and a 579.9 average in air rifle as a freshman.

"He isn't a plebe any more," said Kelley. "We've seen significant growth and maturity since he began shooting with us last season. He is showing a willingness to take on new instructions and improve. On talent alone, he can perform on a high level in air rifle, but when he's locked in he could be unbeatable."

The duo of Jordan DiPaola (Strasburg, Va.) and Brandon Pippin (Nashville, Tenn.) presently find themselves in the mix for single starting spots in smallbore and air rifle, respectively.

As a freshman during the 2013-14 season, DiPaola made seven appearances in smallbore events and posted a 562.0 average. The highlight of his season was a 572 effort versus Army in the Star Match.

"Jordan has a lot of ability and a high level of understanding," said Kelley. "We are working on helping him find that killer instinct because when he turns it on he will really post some great scores."

Similar to his classmate DiPaola, Pippin saw action of a specialized variety as a freshman. In five separate occasions he purely shot air rifle. Overall, in 10 matches, Pippin posted an air rifle average of 573.7. He recorded a season high result of 585 at the Navy Invitational in October.

"Brandon saw time in some important matches for us as a freshman last year and that has helped him really mature," said Kelley. "He continues to improve and gain better consistency."

Coach Kelley and the program have high expectations for its five-man freshmen class this season. Thomas Sarant (Massapequa, N.Y.) and Erika Hoffman (Stuttgart, Germany) are two shooters that Kelley envisions stepping into important roles almost immediately for the Mids in 2014-15.

Sarant joins the program following four years of shooting as a member of Massapequa High School's rifle team. He culminated his high school career with recognition on New York State's 2014 All-State team.

"By the time he graduates the Academy in 2018, he'll go down as one of the best shooters we've ever had," said Kelley. "He has a lot of natural talent and is extremely coachable and works well with instruction."

Hoffman comes to Navy after shooting for high school and club teams internationally in Germany. An American, who lived with her family in Germany due to military obligations, Hoffman gained experience shooting with Patch High School and the Stuttgart Schutzenguilde club. At the 2013, AJROTC National Championships, she finished second overall.

"Erika's scores this preseason have put her in the conversation to earn starts for us as a freshman," said Kelley. "Plebe summer was a difficult transition for her, but she's adjusting well and learning the Midshipmen way; it's really starting to show in her performance."

Navy's roster will receive depth and solid competition from the quartet of sophomore Nick Priftis (Fairfax, Va.) and freshmen Sheila Craine (King George, Va.), Christina Louie (Selma, Calif.) and Jonathan Stoves (Lilburn, Ga.).

"Those four shooters are very close to breaking into the starting lineup," said Kelley. "The overall depth of our program is showing in more smallbore scores in the 580s and air rifle scores in the 590s than we've ever had."

Navy's coaching staff also grew by one member this offseason as Lou MacKenzie has joined the program as an assistant coach.

"Having Lou has made a huge difference to our team," said Kelley. "His presence gives us the ability to hone in and instruct both guns at the same time. We are seeing the improvement in our scores. We're definitely on the right track."

The Mids were ranked 16th in the initial release of the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) poll on Sept. 24. This fazes neither Kelley nor the program.

"I'm glad that we were ranked 16th in the poll because we've been underestimated," said Kelley. "Though it's about completing baby steps, our attitude is really about getting better and getting to that national championship level. The team really thinks that is doable this year and into the future. With the investment that has been made into this program, the team is accepting of the new heightened responsibility and is excited to show it in their results."