Alaska shooters impressive in loss to No. 3 Kentucky

Post date: Jan 15, 2013 4:15:22 AM

FAIRBANKS — The fourth-ranked Alaska Nanooks shot their best rifle match of the season Sunday, but still came up short in a match against No. 3 Kentucky.

The Nanooks came up one point short in the smallbore portion of the match and lost by 17 points in the air rifle event in suffering a 4,705-4,687 loss to the Wildcats at the Pat Spurgin Rifle Range in Murray, Ky.

“The whole team is excited with seeing continual improvement over the year,” Nanooks coach Dan Jordan said in an email to the News-Miner Sunday evening. “We are moving in the right direction we need to be in order to be ready for the NCAA Championships in March.”

Kentucky won the smallbore portion of the match 2,331-2,330 and captured the air rifle event 3,374 to 2,357.

The Nanooks scores were season bests in both air and smallbore, so Jordan was more than happy with his team’s effort on Sunday.

“It was one of the best performances I have seen from them this year,” Jordan said in the email.

Ryan Anderson was the Nanooks leader in both disciplines as he posted a 587 out of a possible 600 in smallbore and a 592 in air rifle.

Alaska’s other smallbore shooters were Tim Sherry with a 585, Mike Liuzza and Mats Eriksson with 57s and Cole Bures with a 578.

Alaska’s non-scoring shooters were Soren Butler with a 570 and Dustin Cheesboro with a 569.

Kentucky’s Henri Junghanel had the top score of the day with a 590.

Following Anderson in the air rifle event were Cheesboro with a 591, Eriksson with a 588, Liuzza with a 586 and Sherry with a 585.

Bures posted a 588 as a non-scoring member of the team and Butler had a 581.

All five of Kentucky’s scoring shooters had scored of 591 or better. Conner Davis led the way with a 597.

The Nanooks return home to host Texas Christian on Saturday and Jan. 21 in the E.F. Horton Range on the lower level of the Patty Center.