1) Posting a school-record score while claiming a victory over No. 1 West Virginia. After an average start in smallbore, the team had an awe-inspiring performance in air rifle to claim the regular season championship.
Assistant coach Stacy Underwood: At the beginning of the season we set goals for the year. A victory against West Virginia was one of those goals. We knew that WVU would have a tough team and being able to compete with them would be a true test for our team. It was a little nerve racking heading into air rifle after completing smallbore a little behind where we wanted to be. But we had some big performances from all the air team members. But the most memorable part of that match was having ever team member on the line to help Ethan Settlemires finish out of the match. It is traditions like that that make me proud to be part of this program.
2) Newcomer Henri Junghanel set a school record with a 596.
SU: We knew at the start of the season that Henri was going to be a workhorse. Just watch him in in practice and you know that he is trying to shoot the most perfect shot each and every time. He tied the previous school record (595 set by Ashley Jackson and Tom Csenge) several times before breaking it. It was a great athletic performance and we are glad to have him on our team.
3) The season opened up with a victory over in-state rival Murray State as fellow-student athletes come to support the team at its Blue White game.
SU: Part of being at Kentucky is the sense of family we have within our department. We were fortunate to have many of our athletic administrators and student-athletes attend to support our team. Murray State is a team on the rise and it is great to have another in-state team pushing you to bring your best each team we go head to head.
4) Heather Greathouse sets the season high in smallbore with a 588 in the match against UT Martin. Greathouse ended with a bang with a 199/200 in kneeling.
SU: This has been one of our most successful years in smallbore. Heather did a great job working her shot plan and staying focused throughout the match. It was great to see her handle the pressure after she finished standing and was only down 12 points. She shot very solid kneeling and she was rewarded for her hard work.
5) Kentucky shows its depth with six people breaking the 580 mark in smallbore.
SU: The amount of people we have above 580 this year was great. It is a great reflection of all the hard work they put in during the beginning of the season and also during the training camp in January. It’s always good to know that you can go three or four deep into your roster and still be a competitive team.
6) Kentucky rifle becomes the first school to provide fans with an online blog, live targets and live video stream.
SU: We are very fortunate to have such great fans and it is important for us to provide them with the best coverage of our matches. Our student-athletes love re-reading the blog and seeing all the comments and encouragements that people send in.
7) Three members of the team posted a perfect 4.0 GPA in the fall semester.
SU: Our team motto is, “Rifle first. Academics always.” We want to be competitive on and off the range. Our student-athletes are very fortunate to be able to have C.A.T.S and a dedicated academic staff to help them in their classwork.
8) Kentucky shot its highest air rifle score with a 2374. Seven people broke the 590 mark in air rifle this season.
SU: Part of the reason were able to shoot such a great score was because we have a very deep roster for air rifle. We have a few people knocking on the door trying to break through the 590 mark and I think they will be able to do that next year.
9) Kentucky qualified for 15 NCAA Championship in 16 years.
SU: We are very lucky to have some great shooters each and every year. I am proud of our guys for keeping us a top program year in and year out.
10) Kentucky played host to the Army Marksmanship Unit in its inaugural exhibition match in an effort to continual shoot against the toughest competition in the country.
SU: This was a great opportunity for our team to shoot against not just the best colleges but the best shooters in the nation. I think having the team shoot against such a high caliber group helped get us into the right mindset to end our regular season on top.
