Feb. 20, 2015
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The fifth-ranked Kentucky rifle team will shoot its sights set toward solidifying its chances of qualifying for next month’s NCAA Championships on Sunday inside Buell Armory at 1 p.m.
Kentucky will host Morehead State as part of the NCAA Qualifiers going on across the country this weekend. The Wildcats will be shooting for a high score that will factor into their NCAA Championships qualification average.
UK is currently ranked fifth in the nation in terms of average at 4684.33. Kentucky is 10-2 in dual matches and 7-1 in the Great American Rifle Conference competition, having finished second in the regular-season standings.
The qualifiers were originally scheduled to include four teams and be held both Saturday and Sunday, but now only Kentucky and Morehead State will shoot on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m., due to the possibility of continued inclement weather.
Air rifle is scheduled to begin around 3:30 p.m.
Space inside Buell Armory will be available, but limited for spectators so fans are also encouraged to watch live results at http://bit.ly/UKrifleScoring.
“We have been working hard this week even with the weather hiccups,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “The team has been focused on the tasks they have set for themselves. Now it’s time to showcase those things in action.”
“We will have Morehead State on line with us, but we are really competing against the entire nation to stay in the top-eight and move on to the NCAA Championships. Currently we are fifth. The parity this year is very close among all the teams and it will be a very exciting weekend in the sport of rifle.”
Connor Davis leads UK in aggregate average score this season (1174), and ranks third overall in the nation in that category. He is likely to be joined in the UK lineup by Heather Kirby, Jon Pinkel, Jason Sharbel and Sonya May.
“We have worked very hard to get to this point and now it is time to just keep doing what we have been doing all season,” Mullins said.
The eight teams selected to compete at the 2015 NCAA Championships will be announced on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 5 p.m., via NCAA.com. The championships will be held at the E.F. Horton Rifle Range in Fairbanks, Alaska, March 13-14.
