Aiming for a championship: Nanooks take nation’s second highest total to NCAAs

Post date: Feb 24, 2014 1:30:13 AM

FAIRBANKS — Head coach Dan Jordan didn’t want the Alaska Nanooks rifle team to treat Saturday’s NCAA Qualifier against the University of Texas El Paso and the University of Nevada like a formality.

The Nanooks had already qualified for the upcoming NCAA Championships based on their season average of 4,698.67, which was the second highest in the nation.

The average was based their three highest overall scores of the season — one from a home meet and two from road meets.

On Saturday, that average of 4,698.67 was combined with the meet-high 4,679 overall score the Nanooks accumulated in the NCAA Qualifier in the E.F. Horton Range at the Patty Center. The Nanooks’ 9,377.77 will the nation’s second highest total heading into the NCAA Championships on March 14-15 in Murray, Ky.

West Virginia has the top total of 9,394 and Kentucky is third with a 9,377.67.

The top eight teams in the nation qualify for the NCAA Championships and the top four shooters nationally who are not on a qualifying team also advance to the meet.

Jordan had the Nanooks approach the NCAA Qualifier as somewhat of a tune-up competition for the NCAA Championships at Murray State University. Alaska has 10 NCAA team titles in its history, with the last one occurring in 2008.

Jordan, before the NCAA Qualifier, took into consideration that mid-term exams were taking place at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus last week and the Nanooks were coming off of a road trip at West Virginia (Feb. 6) and the inaugural Patriot Rifle Conference Championships on Feb. 8-9 in Columbus, Ohio.

“It was kind of a light week (of practices) since we got back from the road trip,” Jordan said. “Matches like this are a stepping stone and it’s an opportunity to work and test what you’ve been working on.

“It’s called periodization and as you work up ... the matches leading up to it, you’re trying but you may be working on specific tasks and learning about how to put it together for the big match (NCAA Championships),” Jordan added.

The UTEP Miners finished second overall with a 4,563 total and the Nevada Wolf Pack were third with a 4,561.

Nanooks sophomore Tim Sherry said he used the NCAA Qualifier to work on “little technical things.”

“Little changes with our guns, but also for me I’ve been working on focus issues that I’ve had lately,’’ Sherry said. “I’ve just been testing out a few things technique wise with my focus.”

He was tested by senior teammate Mike Liuzza on Saturday in the air rifle, as each posted top scores of 588. Sherry, though, gained first place based on a tiebreaker of bulls-eyes.

Sherry had 44 to Liuzza’s 41.

The Nanooks swept the top seven places in air rifle. Ryan Anderson placed third with a 586, followed by Mats Eriksson (584), Alexis Nardone (583), Lorelie Stanfield (583) and Keanu Paikai (582).

UTEP’s Jessica Kinder placed eighth with a 581.

The Nanooks, as a team, compiled a 2,346 total for the air rifle, followed by UTEP’s 2,312 and Nevada’s 2,294.

Nanooks junior Ryan Anderson won the smallbore and Sherry placed second with a 583, the same score for third-place finisher Stanfield.

Eriksson came in fourth with a 580 and Nevada senior Haunani Akana placed fifth with a 579 in her first competition in Alaska.

“I really liked the range,” Akana said. “I was excited that we got to shoot two matches up here and just coming to Alaska was exciting.”

UTEP and Nevada competed in a neutral-site dual meet Thursday in the Horton Range, with the Miners winning overall 4,528-4,526.

The UTEP shooters also took advantage of sights in the Interior when they weren’t at the Nanooks’ home range. Some of the Miners rode sled dog teams in front of the Patty Center on Saturday.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Miners freshman Rachel Schoenrock. “I’m from Nebraska originally and we don’t get to do that (riding sled dog teams) in El Paso, Texas.

“We like to have fun when we go out shooting, and that was one of the things we got to do,” added Schoenrock, who placed eighth in smallbore (570) and 10th in air rifle (577).