LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Kentucky?s rifle team is coming off another successful season in 2006, finishing seventh in the NCAAs and earning five spots on the 2006 NRA Collegiate All-American team. The perennial national power is certain to be among the squads competing for the 2006-07 NCAA Title in March and has the right mix for success with a talented roster and a difficult schedule.
Roster Outlook
The University of Kentucky rifle program has a long tradition of success. That success is due in part to an amazing coaching staff and a perennially stellar roster. There is not fall off from the 2005 team which performed well and finished in the top-10 in the NCAA. The 2006 roster features four newcomers in addition to eight returning lettermen, which should make up a talented roster.
Captains Amy Sowash and Justin Rinker are set to lead the team into the 2006 season, with their sights aimed high.
?Amy and Justin are going to bring a lot of leadership and overall excitement to the team as the captain?s,? head coach Harry Mullins. ?Last season they were a little reluctant to lead but this year the team has faith in them. They lead by example as far as work ethic and showing the young shooters where there priorities should be.?
Justin is joined by his identical twin brother Jared on the roster and their similarities don?t stop with their looks.
?Jared and Justin hold true that they are identical twins,? Mullins said. ?You can see there similarities in everything particularly shooting. Justin has kind of an edge on him in the sense of leadership but Jared is also a very good leader and capable of guiding the team.?
Sowash returns from a year ago, which saw her compete at a very high level.
?Amy is our best shooter from last year,? Mullins said. ?She is the most overall well-rounded, focused, and driven competitor we have on the squad.?
Amy is not the only solid returnee from last season, as Ray Geyer, Andrew Roland, and Jason Dardas all return from a highly successful 2005 campaign.
T.J. Harris rounds out the senior class and his hard work ethic is certain to positively effect the team.
?I think with T.J.?s work ethic that this will be the year for his numbers to settle upwards towards his personal bests,? Mullins said.
Jake Savitts, coming off a redshirt season, looks to translate his love for the sport into a successful junior season.
?Jake Savitts is coming of a redshirt year and will come out of the gate motivated,? Mullins said. ?His love for the sport has pushed him over some hurdles and he is just now coming into his own in regards to the sport.
?Ray was the number one shooter his freshman year and then we had some good shooters come in and challenge him. He kind of hit his sophomore slump, last season. Now he is focused and dedicated and is on the right track to shoot his way back into the starting lineup. I feel we will really see some what Ray is capable of this year.
?Roland is coming back hungry with a fresh attitude ready to shoot. His maturity level is higher and his experience level is such that he is ready to win major matches. His knowledge of the sport has increased over the summer by turning some good performances at the NRA national matches.
?Jason finished fifth at the junior world championships in prone and missed the opportunity to compete in the three-position event, which is his strength. Jason had some real good numbers last year. With refining his training schedule and work habits, I feel he can be even better this year. He has a natural shooting ability which makes him a strong shooter. He just needs to stay consistent.?
The four incoming freshman are certain to bring some youth and talent to an already solid roster.
?Tom and Jen have both been on the National Development team and have had the opportunity to compete internationally,? Mullins said. ?Jen has been a rising star in the junior ranks for a while and Tom has been coming on strong the past two years. Tom and Jen?s current strengths are smallbore, although I feel that in due time their air rifle scores will far surpass their personal bests.
?Ashley and Leslie are the diamonds in the rough. Leslie hasn?t shot the consistently huge numbers yet, but she has the eye of the tiger. Her positions are very solid and I feel that in a short time she will shoot the scores that she is capable of shooting. Ashley is a solid all around shooter. Even though her national ranking is higher in air rifle than in smallbore, I feel it will soon even out.?
Mullins is excited to get the newcomers on the range with the veterans and see the talent that is in store for the 2006-07 edition of the UK rifle team.
?All the freshman are highly motivated and excited to take us to the next level and win championships,? Mullins concluded. ?They all come from great junior clubs and I expect that we will see great things from all four of them. Their scores and attitudes will make a difference in taking this program to another level. It is not inconceivable that at some point all four could be in the starting lineup.?
Schedule
As always, Mullins has constructed a challenging schedule which should put the team through many tests.
The 2006-07 schedule contains six home matches and seven matches on the road, including two trips to Murray, Ky.
Kentucky will begin their season October 14 opening at home with a match featuring Ohio State, Memphis, and Xavier. ?This will be the freshman?s first test,? Mullins said. ?OSU has picked up some good shooters and Memphis is very hungry to move back into the top eight in the country.?
After the tri-match in Lexington, the rifle Wildcats will travel to Oxford to face off with Ole Miss on October 21. The Rebels are coming off their best season ever finishing sixth in the NCAA Championships.
The schedule is packed in November, with the Wildcats hosting five consecutive home matches before hitting the road in the second half of the season with trips to face N.C. State and Army.
?N.C. State has joined our conference last year and has grown into a strong program,? Mullins said when discussing the road trip during the month of January. ?This will be a good match to start the spring and a strong match against a good team.
?Army is coming off of a third place finish last season and is looking to move back up to the top of the NCAA,? Mullins said. ?They have a strong team returning and they are very motivated to bring home another championship after winning it two years ago.?
The home matches are certain to be exciting with Kentucky hosting 13-time national champion West Virginia in addition to hosting defending NCAA champion Alaska-Fairbanks as well as second place finisher Nebraska.
?West Virginia is coming back in strong fashion,? Mullins detailed. ?Their new coach is working hard at bringing the program up to where it once was. I feel that they will be a strong team and on the upward move within the conference.
After a 2005 trip to Alaska-Fairbanks where the Wildcats came up short of the upset, UK looks to finish the month of November strong.
?Alaska-Fairbanks has been the team to beat this decade and again will be very strong,? Mullins said. ?They lost only one starter and are returning three All-Americans so they will again be on the move to claim another NCAA Championship.
?The schedule throughout the year will put our team through several tests,? Mullins concluded. ?With the talent that we have on the team this year, hard work will decide whether we stay in matches throughout the season. I feel that we are going to bring a strong work ethic to the table and the team is really excited about shooting together.
?One of our main goals going into the 2006-07 season is to finish a lot stronger than we start. I feel that with some hard work and dedication at the start of this season we should be able to pick up where we left off last year. The effort we put in will determine the outcome of the season.?
