LEXINGTON ? The Kentucky rifle team travels to Murray, Ky., on Sunday for its NCAA Championships qualifier.

The Wildcats, who have finished in the top three in the nation seven times in the past 11 years, have won a competition each weekend for the past three weeks, including the 10-team Withrow Invitational at Murray State three weeks ago.

?I feel good about the way we?ve been practicing this week and how we?re shooting heading into this weekend,? said Kentucky head coach Harry Mullins. ?Vicki Goss has really stepped up the past few weeks and is shooting very well. The key will be for us to be able to start well and handle the pressure that comes with this type of competiton.?

Team qualify separately in the smallbore and air rifle events and have to be in the top eight in an event to advance to nationals. Only teams who qualify for both events have a shot to take home the overall national championship.

?A lot of our success recently has been in overall scores where other teams have scored higher than us in an individual event,? Mullins said. ?But, I?m confident that we?re ready to step up and post the scores we need. I think once we get in the championships, we have as good a chance as anyone to win the whole thing, because we have the talent to do it.?

The championships take a total of 48 shooters, allowing high-scoring individuals to compete for the individual national championship should their team not qualify for the championships.