Zipsrifle

Didn't Lolla leave partially because the Zips got screwed in the tournament seeding? I also thought I read here that the MAC might lose it's automatic bid for some reason? If both of these statements are accurate, how do we build this program to put it on top and keep it on top?

I think most of the forum is for the AK-Oldies. Actually, my buddies and I started chanting this at FB games earlier this season! Looks like it might evolve into something. I think the only requirement should be that you're over 22 and aren't a student at UA. We're an equal opportunity fan club....You don't really need to be that old.

Yea, I knew the format changed, it was last year I believe. I was still under the impression that there were a few full course matches (120 shots sb) that you competed in, but that may not be the case. Good luck tomorrow! Remember, the only important shot is the one you are about to take AND DON'T KEEP SCORE IN YOUR HEAD!!!!!!

If Bubba's Dad is friends with the OU coach, and was friends before Bubba went to Akron, I don't see this as a big deal. At most it would be for the coach to attend one of those classes. I'd imagine they have been friends for sometime so I don't see this as much of anything.

Ahh yes, the annual "Why is Rifle a sport?" conversation. Typically the arguments against this focus on "It isn't physically demanding", "It is dangerous", "I'm a good hunter, so it can't be that hard", and "Who wants to watch this". It is easy for those not acquainted to the sport to downplay it, and I will not try to convince you otherwise. Experience has taught me that until you try it, you have no idea as to the demands required or the allure. To put this in perspective, I would say that car racing is most similar to rifle shooting. Not that many of you know how to handle a car, but I imagine there are quite a few racing fans out there. It doesn’t take a lot of muscle to drive a car, but good drivers need concentration and endurance. People also don’t understand the high level of the competition at the NCAA level. I shot against several Olympians during my days at Akron. I would agree that Rifle is not as physically demanding as other sports. In fact, the point is basically the opposite of all conventional sports in that you want to stay still. Consider this, your heartbeat can be the difference between a 10, and an 8, and this is in the most stable position, prone. Now, stand up for an hour and a half and not move. Physical endurance is very important and learing to keep your body still takes as much practice as making it move fast. I would typically practice anywhere between 12-16 hours a week when I was in school, and that doesn't include 5-6 hour matches on the weekend. The argument that this sport is dangerous is flat out ridiculous and typically the opinion of those who are uninformed or anti-gun. Though I have no real evidence, I would be willing to bet that the percentage of injuries for shooting is the lowest of any NCAA Sport. I hope to be shooting competitively when I am 75 years old, long after most athletes physically can’t compete anymore. Onto the good hunter argument. As I mentioned above, your heartbeat can be the difference between a 10 and an 8. The best shooters on the Zips will shoot an 8 far less than one percent of the time. And when ZR32 said that you need to hit the dot of an “i†from 50 feet away, that literally means the dot on this i with a bullet that would fit INSIDE this O. Oh, no scopes folks, these are open sights so that target 50 feet away is the same size if you’re looking through your sights or not. Finally, I will agree that unless you are acquainted with the sport, it wouldn’t be fun to watch. Like all other sports, you need to have an idea what is going on before you would want to watch. Since nearly everyone reading this hasn’t shot competitively, they don’t know what I’m talking about. I don’t find hockey entertaining, but then again, I don’t know what is going on. All the previous arguments don’t even come close to the most challenging aspect of target shooting, yourself. Did you daydream in school? Have you ever read a book and stopped not knowing what you just read? Well, you just lost the rifle match. Losing your concentration for one shot, out of 120 total, over a 5 hour time span is what the Akron shooters are up against. Mental discipline is by far the hardest aspect of shooting. This is why virtually all the top shooters in college graduate with their degrees. While in school I shot with shooters who are now police officers, nurses, teachers, lawyers, architects, accountants, and many, many engineers. Shooting is primarily a mental activity, and isn’t that why everyone is in school, for your brain? IMO, Rifle shooting complements a college or university beautifully. That is all I have, if you would like to e-mail me with more questions, I would be more than happy to answer your questions. My address is available to anyone who’s registered. Go Zips!

This was another chance for the team to knock off what has historically been one of the top teams in the country. The Zips were way off the mark this week We need to get things in gear and get the scores improving as we move towards the NCAA Championshp qualifier. Again, their was no clear breakpoint between the first and 2nd teams..... The Zips have VMI and Penn State this weekend, then have two weeks to get ready for the NCAA Qualifier. I hope this is the low point and we put up some huge scores this weekend in a big ramp towards the Qualifier. We need to hit 4600 this weekend! Click Me!Press ReleaseDate: January 21, 2006Location: The University of AkronEvent: Three way rifle match; Akron -vs- West Virtinia University -vs- Texas Christian University WVU and TCU sneak ahead of Akron Rifle West Virginia University and Texas Christian University proved to hot to handle for the Zips sharpshooters at a match hosted by the Zips this weekend. WVU opened by posting one of their season high scores of 4603 and likewise for TCU with a 4535. Meanwhile the Zips floundered and just could not get going which ended with the Akron Gold team firing a season low score of 4503. “We did not see this one coming,†states coach Newt Engle, “Practice went well, spirits were up, but we simply did not perform.†Freshman Melissa Lussier continued with her winning ways by leading the team in smallbore with a 579 out of a possible 600. Freshman Julie DeBrita also continues to improve with an admirable 571. And the smallbore excitement also includes Blue team members Laura Kuntz (568), April Engle(563), and Michael Tokarz(563) who each continue to battle upwards towards a position on the gold team. Junior Christine Fortunato was on fire with the air rifle establishing a new career personal best score of 575 out of a possible 600. Thee othe Zips managed to break into the 570’s as Melissa Lussier (574), Michael Tokarz (571), and Julie DeBrita (570) each posted admirable scores. And in a rare turn of events, the Akron Blue team managed to pull ahead of the Gold team not only in air rifle, but also in the total aggregate by one slim point. Coach Engle states the team has a lot of work to do to figure out what happened and prepare for the upcoming matches. The test of how the Zips can recover will occur in one week when the Zips face off in another three way match against the Virginia Military Institute and Penn State University. These matches will be hosted by the Zips at the last home match of the season. The matches will start at 9 am in the marksmanship training facility located in Schrank Hall South room #7. NewtNotes:This match was designated as the Zip Zone for the rifle team and it was absolutely wonderful to see so many of the over 400 members of the Zips athletic family come to learn about rifle and cheer for the home team. Thanks Kevin and Barbara, your presence meant a lot to the team. The Kuntz family provided a literal feast for all the teams and a huge thanks to our unsung hero, assistant coach Bryan Cargould who not only hooked up all the AV stuff for Zip Zone, but also scored every single target for this match. A long 12 hour day, all for a hand shake, Wow!Smallbore Rifle Scores: *Gold team, ** Blue team579* - Melissa Lussier 571* - Julie DeBrita 568** - Laura Kuntz 563** - April Engle 563** - Michael Tokarz 561* - Megan Reinking 554** - Christine Fortunato 550* - Stephanie Elmore 544 - Cody Shields 542 - Adam Hyde 517 - Ashley Pawlak 2261 Akron “Gold†Smallbore Team Total 2248 Akron “Blue†Smallbore Team Total==============================================================Air Rifle Individual Scores: *Gold team, ** Blue team575** - Christine Fortunato - New Career Personal Best! 574* - Melissa Lussier 571* - Michael Tokarz 570* - Julie DeBrita 567** - Stephanie Elmore 566** - April Engle 555 - Cody Shields 548** - Laura Kuntz 543 - Ben Soehnlen527* - Megan Reinking 514 - Adam Hyde 2242 Akron “Gold†Air Rifle Team Total 2256 Akron “Blue†Air Rifle Team Total==============================================================

I thought I heard sometime back that UA was going to start some redevelpment on the East side of Route 8. I would imagine that if that is the case, Exchange street just east of route 8 would become the tailgating lot. Any thoughts??? There is also the ONAT, but I think that lot would be too small. I can see having to pay to reserve a tailgate spot at the new stadium.

Yea, thanks for the info, I'm going to get an extra this year!

I could say......but I would get a beating.. ..I'm suprised I didn't get a beating for how long it was up! No, it's not my wife.

AK Rowdies should get first dibs. I don't know if there is a list of the AK Rowdies, but they will really make things exciting by stirring up the crowd a little bit. It will piss off the OU fans and will anyone have the balls to talk smack to 100 college students....mostly guys, probably 1/2 drunk???? I was impressed with the turnout last night and their spirit. Keep up the good work.

From a "New" zips BB fan, I think everyone has summed up what I saw last night. Here are a few more observations....It looked like Romeo was limping during the game and I thought coach might have been resting him. Linheart was awesome. He looks like a really tall 7th grader, but he is going to be something special. It didn't look like we had much of an inside game. I think that when KD called the TO in the first half, when we were down by double digits, there was an @$$ chewing and we came out and hounded EMU. Hoping for a win against the kittens.

Just for clarification, Zipsrifle is a middle aged man who lives in Michigan. Apparently zippyrifle32 is a current student. Carry on....

I have one request for the Band.PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE......PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, put together a CD that is of Good quality and sell it!!! It is pathetic when I go to Northern Michigan University and walk into their bookstore and see an entire stack CD's from their band. We're a DI-A school and I haven't been able to find a CD of the Akron Band with the Fightsong, Win for Akron, Alma Matter, etc. for years!

GP1, Just like the NCAA commercial says, there are thousands of NCAA athletes, and most of the go pro in something OTHER than their sports. I know many from my days that have moved on to be very successful. I wouldn't hold Shannon up as an exception, because there are many of us doing similar things in our fields.

I can't believe we are on the "When to we move to a bigger confrence" thing again. This type of talk is worthless. The MAC is a good fit and we are just starting to win. Lets keep this thing going, build a fanbase, build up the facilities, and once we've accomplished this, then we can start this talk. We haven't won anything in BB yet and yes, we won the MACC in football, but we didn't dominate by any stretch of the imagination. Oh, yea, DON'T FEED THE TROLL!

I have to disagree about Miami's Football Stadium. I think it is a great facility. They started with something manageable and are slowly upgrading it. The new scoreboard and plaza look fabulous along with the new visitors side and if they were to enclose the open endzone, that would be a nice bowl. I was back at the Jar tonight for the first time in YEARS and I have to say, it looks like a glorified highschool gym. I was in Miami's BB arena for my Brother's Graduation and THAT place is a BB area.

I love the current uniforms. They look sharp and like someone said earlier, they've gotten all the exposure. Keep them around and they'll become a classic. As for the Helmet logos, keep those the same too. Again, similar reasons above, that logo is what most people not familiar with the Zips identify Akron with. As for Zippy, I also consider is outrageous to consider dropping the current Zippy for a "New" Zippy. I'm pissed that Zippy is never included in any of the National Mascot contests. Look at every other Mascot in the state, Brutis is a guy with a giant NUT on his head. Every other Mascot in the MAC looks like a guy walking around with a giant head on. Can't State, BG, Miami,...... Zippy at least looks in proportion and who cares if he doesn't look menacing....Zippy isn't playing the game, the team is. Everybody loves Zippy, keep it that way. What we really need is a REAL KANGAROO to hop around during gamedays. Make it real mean so that when the mascot of the other team comes and taunts it, it kicks them really freaking hard ....that's fearing the ROO!

Love the Z-Fence......When can my wife expect a check in the mail? I nominate this thread for the Hall of Fame! Can we have that cat automatically pop up whenever anyone writes in "Bobcat?".....Kinda like the K E N T Can't thing?

Tonights game was the first one I've been to in about 7 years. I thought the attendance was great, and the crowd came alive when the Zips started to make a run. By the middle of the 2nd half, we were far enough ahead that there wasn't much of a reason for the crowd to get in it. It was a good time, I'm going to one more game this year, again it will be against EMU.

Well, the team started off the new year a little slow. Navy is one of the top teams in the country, but it looks like they were a bit off too, so it was a prime opportunity for the Zips to pull off a huge upset. Granted, they would have needed their best score of the season, but getting a 4615 was not out of reach for this team. I hope once they get back in the groove, the scores will steadily increase to the sectional. I'm glad to see some more personal bests and new team records. Rifle is a very mental sport and setting a new personal high score or team record is very important. Not only does it prove to you that you are capable of shooting that score the next time, it increases competition on the team, especially when underclassmen step up. Once you believe you can achieve a score, you will usually approach that score every time. So in one word....BELIEVE! On another note, I have to say that it is extremely rare for a College Rifle team to have a following, but the Zips have just that. Obviously I am one of them, but I rarely make it to a match. I am especially excited to see an Alumni team started! I know OSU does this, and I have always thought about putting together an Akron Alumni team, but most of the people from my time are spread throughout the country (from Washington D.C. to Michigan to Hawaii). Kudos to those who pulled it together. Anyway, below is a link to Gozips.com and the press release. Click Me!PRESS RELEASEDate: January 15, 2006Location: Palmyra Sportsman’s Association in Palymra PAEvent: Akron -vs- Navy, at the 7th Annual Palymra Invitational Navy Midshipmen Edge Ahead of Akron Rifle The winter break ended early for the men and women of the Zips rifle team as they traveled to Palmyra Pennsylvania to open the second half of the rifle season. This match served the dual purpose of being a shoulder to shoulder match with the US Naval Academy as well as the 7th annual Palmyra Invitational Rifle tournament. Navy’s smallbore scores slacked a little allowing opening the door for Akron but the Zips did not take advantage of the opportunity and Navy (4614) edged ahead of Akron (4557). “Coming back after 5 weeks of little to no shooting is always a challenge,†stated Coach Engle, “But now we are back in the saddle and the sky is the limit.†Since the Palmyra Invitational is the largest indoor rifle match in the USA, this was the first of three weekends of competition. Thus, the final ranking for Akron will not be known till the end of January. Results will be posted as they are made available. Navy was not the only team slacking a little in smallbore as no one from the Zips broke into the 580’s, but there was still some exciting moments. Melissa Lussier lead the charge with an impressive 574 out of a possible 600. Zips newcomer Cody Shields fired a new personal best at 564. In this sport, the athletes shoot cards of targets containing 10 record shots. A perfect card has 10 shots in the middle but to break ties, the dead center shots are scored as “center shots.†Thus, the pinnacle of performance is the elusive 100 with 10 center shots. Congrats to Laura Kuntz who came close with a 100-7. And the father of Zips hot shot Julie DeBrita, (John DeBrita) showed what he was made of as he posted an impressive 100-8. But all bow to the champion of the prone match, Zips freshman Adam Hyde who managed to capture the perfect 100-10. Smiling from ear to ear, Hyde told coach Engle, “Hey coach, my prone was absolutely AWSOME!, I think I did it!†And if that was not enough, every rifle athlete knows the further from the ground the rifle is, the harder it is to hold steady. So setting records in the standing position is quite difficult. This did not daunt Akron freshman Michael Tokarz who set a new school record for 20 shots standing by firing an amazing 193 out of a possible 200. This breaks the record of 192 set last fall by teammate Julie DeBrita. The fun did not stop with smallbore. In the air rifle division, freshman Melissa Lussier continued her team leading trend by posting a 583 out of a possible 600. This put Melissa just a few points behind Navy’s match winning Sarah Bergman (389). Lussier was supported by two teammates who earned new personal best scores at this match. Both freshman Michael Tokarz (376) and sophomore April Engle (374) lit up the score boards with new personal best performances. “I am pleased to see April and Michael rewarded for all their hard work.†states coach Engle, “Setting personal best scores at a match of this caliber is no accident, they earned this.†As mentioned above, this tournament is an open tournament allowing anyone to compete. So hats off to John DeBrita who drove in from New York to shoot with daughter Julie. Not only that, but several former Zips gathered together and formed an alumni team. Former Zips team members Sarah Kramer (Massachusetts), Martha Carpenter (Vermont), Tom Colston, (Ohio) and Angie Engle (Ohio) came to Palmyra and proved they still have what it takes to compete as elite athletes. The score for their team of 4513 was only one slim point behind the Akron Blue team. This should be a pretty competitive team score in the open class. We will find out in about three weeks. Most importantly, old friendships were rekindled and new bonds formed. With all the current Zips present, as well as the alumni team, friends and families, the Palmyra range looked like a sea of blue and gold. With a short week to get ready, Akron Rifle will face yet another big test as they host a three way match with the ever powerful West Virginia University Mountaineers and the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs. “Both of these teams have a winning history as they come to Akronâ€, states coach Engle, “We will definitely have to be at our best, and I know we will be.†The matches will start at 9 am in the marksmanship training facility located in Schrank Hall South room #7. NewtNotes:We had parents and friends from all over the east coast come to cheer for the Zips at this match. I was very impressed especially because most of them had to drive for hours over some pretty bad roads due to the east coast snow storm. The Reinkings actually drove all the way from Indiana! What dedication to the Zips! Our own Stephanie Elmore celebrated her birthday at this match and the Lussier family went out of their way to bring in a wonderful cake to celebrate the occasion. Wow! Finally (but not least) I was thrilled to see our alumni (and shooting parent) take the time from their busy schedules to come and shoot with the team. What a great example each of you are for our athletes! We had a great time…Smallbore Rifle Scores: *Gold team, ** Blue team574* -- Melissa Lussier 571** -- Laura Kuntz 570** -- Michael Tokarz -- New School Record 193 Standing! 569* -- Julie DeBrita 568* -- Stephanie Elmore 568* -- Megan Reinking 564 -- Cody Shields -- New Personal Best 562** -- Christine Fortunato 559 -- Adam Hyde -- New Personal Best and a Perfect 100 prone with 10 centers!556** -- April Engle 550 -- Ben Soehnlen2279 Akron “Gold†Smallbore Team Total 2259 Akron “Blue†Smallbore Team Total==============================================================Air Rifle Individual Scores: *Gold team, ** Blue team583* -- Melissa Lussier 576* -- Michael Tokarz -- New Personal Best 574** -- April Engle - New Personal Best 569** -- Stephanie Elmore 565** -- Christine Fortunato 560* -- Julie DeBrita 559* -- Megan Reinking 555 -- Cody Shields 547** -- Laura Kuntz 520 -- Ben Soehnlen 510 -- Adam Hyde 2278 Akron “Gold†Air Rifle Team Total 2255 Akron “Blue†Air Rifle Team Total=====================================================================================================

I'm just glad we're not on that list.....I know, it's hard to shake the old mentality. BTW, Ball State beat us last season.

I think my Brother-in-law put it best when he said: "It looks like a spaceship landed on top of Soldier Field".

Though I agree that it is easy for someone well established to pass judgement on a sophomore in college, I don't think that the comment makes sense in the medium we are all working in. IMHO, it's that guy's life and he needs to make the best decision for him. OTOH, if you want to look at it that way, then everyone over 24 needs to stop posting about their college team because we shouldn't care about what's going on and even if we do care, we can't express it. Bottom line, this is a place for people to talk about their team, and they are going to post their opinion, so get used to it.

WHEW! Good thing I didn't drive to Mount Pleasant tonight, I would have showed up for nothing!

DAMN IT!!!! I was locked and loaded, ready to go to the game when I left work at 4:00 and then I got on the freeway..... CMU is NORMALLY about a 2 hour drive from where I live and once I hit the freeway.....sigh....everyone was driving at 30 mph. Yes, there was a little bit of ice on the freeway, but people are complete idiots when it comes to driving in the winter I figured by the time I got through Flint and Saginaw Rush hour traffic, with these conditions, I would have hit Mount Pleasant around 8:30. It sounds like I missed a close game.....DAMN. I will be going to the game this Saturday since I will be in town, and I'll hit the game at EMU. Oh well, it's not like I would have been able to give much insight into what happened anyway.