LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky rifle team has been tabbed the preseason favorite to win the Great American Rifle Conference Title, as voted on by the leagues coaches.
?I am excited to get this season going,? Kentucky head coach Harry Mullins said. ?We return a strong team, with some veteran experience and we are all eager to get going on the range. Some of the team got some excellent experience in international competition this summer and we look forward to translating that into an excellent season.?
Kentucky, the 2006 GARC regular season and tournament champion, looks to defend its title after going undefeated in conference action a year ago. UK finished one of its most successful seasons in the history of the program in 2006, as freshman Jen Pason was named the GARC Rookie of the Year and Mullins was named GARC Coach of the Year for the third time.
The GARC coaches also released a listing of the preseason watch lists for both smallbore and air rifle. Topping the UK list in smallbore were sophomore shooters Tom Csenge and Pason, at second and third respectively. UK?s Andrew Roland was selected sixth on the smallbore preseason watch list, while fellow UK sophomore Leslie Angeli also received votes.
In air rifle, UK had three of the top 10 vote getters, including Csenge (No. 3), Pason (No. 4), and Ashley Jackson (No. 8). Senior shooter Ray Geyer also received votes in air rifle.
In the combined categories, Csenge (No. 2) and Pason (No. 3) again topped the UK list, with Roland rounding out the top 10 (No. 10) and Jackson and Geyer receiving votes.
Army?s Chris Abalo, considered the top shooter in the nation, topped each individual category.
?Having so many preseason honors this year really makes me proud of our team,? Mullins said. ?They have worked hard so far in their shooting careers and with continued work they have the possibility to earn many more honors in their future. Yet, it is always a very challenging task to live up to the expectations of others. Thus, we will have to put our best foot forward in every match and in every training session in order to keep getting these honors. With a lot of hard work and a little bit of good fortune, I hope we will be able to create our own destiny for this season.?
