Post date: Aug 12, 2016 9:26:15 PM
Danny Martin Dmartin@newsminer.com
FAIRBANKS — Whoever coaches the Alaska Nanooks rifle team this season will spend a lot of time with the shooters in the E.F. Horton Range in the University of Alaska Fairbanks Patty Center.
The Nanooks 2016-17 schedule was announced Wednesday in a UAF news release, and six matches are at the team’s home range.
UAF is seeking a new head coach after Dan Jordan resigned in July after spending 11 seasons at the helm and guiding his alma mater’s rifle program to NCAA team championships from 2006 to 2008.
The Nanooks captured seven other NCAA team titles in their history — 1994, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Jordan last coached the Nanooks in March at the NCAA Championships in Akron, Ohio, where Alaska placed sixth in the team standings.
Jordan’s successor is scheduled to debut Oct. 8, when the Nanooks play host to the Air Force Academy at 9 a.m. in the E.F. Horton Range.
All of the Nanooks’ home matches start at 9 a.m.
The Nanooks face Texas Christian University, the reigning NCAA team runner-up, on Oct. 9. TCU and Air Force meet at 9 a.m. Oct. 10 in the E.F. Horton Range.
Ohio State visits Fairbanks for a dual-meet series Oct. 15 and 16, and the Nanooks return to action in early November with their first road trip of the season.
The Nanooks are at the University of Texas El Paso at 6 a.m. AST Nov. 4 and head to Reno, Nevada, to shoot against the University of Nevada at 8 a.m. AST Nov. 6.
The Horton range plays host to a match between Kentucky and North Carolina State at 9 a.m. Nov. 18. The Nanooks take on Kentucky Nov. 19 and face North Carolina State Nov. 20 in the last home match of the season for Alaska.
The Nanooks start 2017 at the Palmyra Invitational in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 8. Alaska visits 17-time, defending NCAA team champion West Virginia on Jan. 10.
The Palmyra Invitational and the West Virginia dual each start at 5 a.m. AST.
The Nanooks stop at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln for a regular season-ending match at 6 a.m. AST Feb. 2.
The Nanooks join five other teams in the Patriot Rifle Conference Championships at 5 a.m. AST Feb. 4 and 5 at Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. The tournament includes Ohio State, TCU, Nevada, Air Force and UTEP.
The Nanooks will be back in the Columbus for the NCAA Championships at 5 a.m. AST on March 9-11.