ANNAPOLIS, Md. – After being away from team competition for nearly two months, the eighth-ranked Navy rifle team (7-6, 2-3 GARC) returns to NCAA competition this weekend with a pair of top-10 matches at home against No. 6 Ole Miss (3-3, 1-3 GARC) on Friday and No. 9 Nebraska (3-7, 1-4 GARC) on Sunday. Ole Miss and Nebraska will also square off in a GARC match at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range on Saturday.
 
Despite the two-month break, the Midshipmen had individuals compete at the USA Shooting Winter Airgun Championships in December, along with the National Junior Olympic Tryout this past weekend.
 
Prior to the break, Navy's last two NCAA matches came against the No. 1 ranked teams in the nation after facing off against Kentucky and West Virginia. Coming into the weekend, Navy ranks seventh in the country with an aggregate average of 4,661.0, which is paced by its average of 2,355.0 in air rifle -- seventh-best in the nation. The Midshipmen have compiled an average of 2,306.0 in smallbore over their nine events to rank ninth in the NCAA.
 
Navy's sophomore trio of Gabriella Mayes, Michael Zanti and Mark Amdahl have paced the Midshipmen with averages of at least 1,163 points. Mayes leads the way with a mark of 1,165.6 and her 576.6 average in smallbore is a team-best. Zanti leads Navy in air rifle with an average of 589.2 over nine outings. Amdahl rounds out the trio with an overall average of 1,163.0, while junior Torrance Kang is also averaging over 1,160 points with a mark of 1,161.8. The Midshipmen's final starter is senior captain Kestrel Kuhne who has helped guide Navy this year with an average of 1,157.9.
 
Ole Miss returned to competition this past weekend with a 4,673-4,655 victory over No. 14 Alaska Fairbanks to snap a three-match skid. The Rebels mark of 4,673 points last time out was their second-best mark of the season and helped improve their NCAA qualification score, which currently sits at 4,673 -- fifth-best in the nation. Abby Buesseler has guided Ole Miss this season with an average of 1,171.7 overall to rank 15th overall in the NCAA.
 
This weekend's matches will be Nebraska's first competition in two months after going 0-3 in their last weekend of 2019 at TCU on November 16 and 17. The Huskers shot their best score of the season to start the month of November with a total of 4,677 points to upend Army at home. Throughout the year, Nebraska has averaged 4,654.3 to rank 11th in the country. The Huskers' Elena Flake is right behind Buesseler of Ole Miss in the individual rankings as Flake has averaged 1,171.0 points to sit in 16th in the country. 
 
The Midshipmen are in their final stretch of the regular season as they host two matches this weekend before hosting Army on Feb. 1 to wrap up the regular season. Navy will also host John Jay in the NCAA Qualifier on Feb. 22.