LEXINGTON, Ky. — After placing in the top 10 in 14 of the last 15 years at the NCAA Championships ? including a fifth-place in 2007-08 ? Kentucky rifle head coach Harry Mullins has announced the 2008-09 UK rifle schedule.
?We are really excited about our upcoming schedule,? Mullins said. ?As always, we have a challenging schedule, featuring some of the top teams in the nation. We have a good team returning with some veterans and two exciting newcomers, so we expect big things from the 2008-09 season.?
Kentucky opens its fall season with a home match vs. Ohio State on October 11, a year after opening its season on the road in Columbus.
?Ohio State will be a different team this year,? Mullins said. ?They have had a great recruiting year and with the talent they have coming back, they will be greatly improved from last season. They have strong potential to be in the top-10 by the end of this year, so this will be a good opening challenge.?
The Wildcats then hit the road with a weekend trip to Fairbanks, Alaska to face off with the defending national champions, Alaska-Fairbanks. Last season in Lincoln, Neb., UK pulled the upset over the Nanooks, a program that leads all NCAA participants with 10 NCAA titles (1994, 1999-2004, 2006, 2007, 2008).
?This has always been one of our highlight matches of the season,? Mullins said. ?The team always really looks forward to traveling to Alaska and shooting against one of the top teams in the nation, and this year Alaska will be no different. They had a young team last year and they will be coming out strong to defend their national championship. We will really have to work hard the first two months to go there and come away with a win.?
While in Alaska, UK will face Nebraska, an annual national champion contender.
?Nebraska finished the season strong last year placing fourth at the NCAAs,? Mullins detailed. ?They have a very young and energetic team that is very driven. This along with second-year head coach Morgan Hicks at the helm will make this another good match, which will mark the first of six conference matches.?
UK then kicks off a three-match homestand that features matches against UT martin, Army and Memphis and West Virginia.
?UT Martin had a great recruiting class and like many others have a solid core coming back,? Mullins said. ?I look for them as well to finish near the top 10 at the end of the season. Then we have a tri-meet with Army and Memphis, both conference matches. Army has always been traditionally a strong team and that will be no different this season, while Memphis had a good signing class and has really picked up some stronger air rifle shooters.
?WVU finished strong last year right behind us at the NCAAs. Their recruiting class this season was ranked as one of the top in the nation. Along with the young team they had last year they are really going to come out and make a statement this season. They are a strong contender for the conference championships and to make a bid for the NCAAs this season. This will be a great match since the schools have some much history between them.?
After suffering an upset at the hands of TCU last year in Lexington, UK will seek to avenge that loss with a match in Dallas vs. the Horned Frogs.
?TCU came into Lexington last season and handed us our first loss of the season,? Mullins said. ?Then they went on to place third at the NCAAs. They are returning everybody from last year along with a few new faces and the team has gained a lot of confidence from last season and they will be out to improve on last year?s performance. Having four juniors shooting in their starting lineup will give them great experience and motivation.?
The squad opens the winter season with a January 17 test vs. Murray State at Barker Hall, before hitting the road for a weekend trip to Oxford, Miss., to face Ole Miss and N.C. State.
?Our match with Murray State has always been a great match and second-year head coach Alan Lollar will have his Racers ready to go,? Mullins said. ?They are young but have strong potential to be one of the top 10 teams this season and will be a great test for us.
Our match with Ole Miss will be another conference match. Ole Miss did a good job recruiting this past season and they are traditionally stronger at the end of the year. This will be our first road test of the spring and we are always excited to shoot at Ole Miss. N.C. State will close out the regular season, and they have been improving every year in conference. They will be hungry to come in and perform well.?
October 11 vs. Ohio State (Lexington, Ky.) 24 at Alaska-Fairbanks (Fairbanks, Alaska) 25 vs. Nebraska (Fairbanks, Alaska) November 2 vs. UT Martin (Lexington, Ky.) 8 vs. Army/Memphis (Lexington, Ky.) 15 vs. West Virginia (Lexington, Ky.) 22 at Texas Christian University (Dallas, Texas) January 17 vs. Murray State (Lexington, Ky.) 30 at Ole Miss (Oxford, Miss.) 31 vs. N.C. State (Oxford, Miss.) February 14-15 NCAA Qualifier (Lexington, Ky.) 28-1 GARC Championships (Oxford, Miss.) March 13-14 NCAA Championships (TBD)
