LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The University of Kentucky Rifle team, a perennial national contender, released its 2006-07 schedule, head coach Harry Mullins announced Saturday.
Kentucky?s rifle team is coming off another successful season, finishing seventh in the nation and earning five spots on the 2006 NRA Collegiate All-American team, including three in smallbore and two in air rifle.
?The schedule throughout the year will put our team through several tests,? Mullins said.
The 2006-07 schedule contains six home matches and seven matches on the road, including two trips to Murray, Ky.
Kentucky will begin the road portion of their schedule after a season opening home match featuring Ohio State, Memphis, and Xavier on October 14.
After the tri-match in Lexington, the rifle Wildcats will travel to Oxford to face off with Ole Miss on October 21 and Jacksonville State October 22. The Rebels are coming off their best season ever finishing sixth in the NCAA Championships and Jacksonville State are the defending NCAA smallbore champion.
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.
?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 started. I feel like 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.?
