Rifle Suffers tough opening loss to Xavier

[Zipsrifle]

Attached below is the press release from the match this past weekend. The Zips lost by a scant 2 points. How close of a score is that....well, when a team can get a maximum of 4800 points...that's pretty darn close. Though this was a loss, there are many more positives than negatives here.

First, Xavier finished 6th in the nation last year. For those who have been around a while, you'll remember that Xavier University decided that Rifle would no longer be a Varsity sport, though it was the only program at Xavier competing for a National Championship nearly every year. Nevertheless, the shooters at the match this past weekend were with the Xavier Rifle CLUB and are the same ones that finished in 6th place last season. For the Zips to lose by two points shows right off the bat we've got a contender.

Second, the Zips appear to have had a stellar recruiting year in that the several of the top shooters this past match were Freshman! Melissa Lussier was overall Match Winner! I was amazed at the dept last year, but having 3 freshman put up top scores really says something.

Third, in air rifle, the Zips beat Xavier at their specialty. Xavier has long been one of the elite in the air rifle dicipline. What a boost in confidence as the Zips beat Xavier in Air Rifle by a close 5 points!

Finally, and most importantly, the Zips actually had more than enough points to beat Xavier this past weekend, but coach didn't have all the top shooters on the same team. The Zips would have won by more than 20 points if the top shooters were all on the first team. Can't really blame coach though. He has to pick the teams prior to the match, and there's no subs. Someone can be shooting the lights out in practice, but if they come in and have an off day, you're stuck. He put many of the freshman on the 2nd team and had some of the more experienced shooters on the first team. There is also a LOT of competition within a team, so it is common to have many shooters posting similar scores. It would be nice if 4 shooters could pull away from the pack, but lots of competition within the team will only drive the scores higher.

Nice job Gals and Guys....Keep it UP!

PRESS RELEASE

Date: October 15, 2005

Location: The University of Akron

Event: Akron -vs- Xavier University

Xavier out shoots Akron at home opener

In the Olympic sport of rifle, each shot fired is worth 10 points. Each athlete fires 120 shots for a possible 1200 points. The team consists of 4 athletes who can earn a potential 4800 points. With all these points up for grab, a “close†match is anything less than 20 points. However at this match close was re-defied. Once the competition was over and the numbers tabulated Akron finished an unheard of 2 points behind shooting powerhouse Xavier University of Cincinnati. “From the beginning of the season we have been practicing the one shot match where every single shot is the most important shot the athlete will fire.†states Coach Newt Engle, “Every one of our athletes now has a little better understanding of how true this is.â€

In the smallbore division freshman sensation Melissa Lussier lead the Zips by earning the crown as the smallbore match champion with a 577 out of a possible 600. And finishing in 4th place at her first collegiate match by firing her best score ever (573) was yet another freshman Julie DeBrita. Coach Engle stated, “Melissa and Julie did an absolutely fantastic job, but as a team we were a little weak in our smallbore performance.

Even though Xavier is strongest in air rifle, Akron managed to pull ahead of Xavier in this division. Firing a stellar 586, Melissa Lussier again lead the Zips and earned top match honors. Melissa’s performance at this match ties the school record set by teammate Laura Kuntz back in 2004. New Zip member Michael Tokarz also helped the Zips win the air rifle division by doing a fine job with a 570 at his first match. “We have been shooting nearly a 2300 (team score) with either rifle for the last three weeks,†states coach Engle, “Our task is to start posting 2300(or higher) at the matches. I have every confidence this will be accomplished soon.â€

The next opportunity for the team to meet the coach’s challenge will come October 22nd when the Zips travel to Purdue University to compete in the Boilermaker invitational. The Zips will be defending their first place finish at this same match last year against up to 10 team from the mid section of the nation. The match will start at 8:00 am in the Purdue Armory.

(over)

Smallbore Rifle Scores: *Gold team, ** Blue team

577* Melissa Lussier

573** Julie DeBrita

567** Stephanie Elmore

561* Megan Reinking

559* Laura Kuntz

554* Christine Fortunato

548** Cristina Ciarula

547** Adam Hyde

546 Michael Tokarz

545 April Engle

531 Ben Soehnlen

2251 Akron “Gold†Smallbore Team Total

2235 Akron “Blue†Smallbore Team Total

==============================================================

Air Rifle Individual Scores: *Gold team, ** Blue team

586* Melissa Lussier Ties School Record!

570* Michael Tokarz

565* Megan Reinking

561* Christine Fortunato

559** April Engle

556** Laura Kuntz

555** Cristina Ciarula

553** Julie DeBrita

542 Stephanie Elmore

526 Ben Soehnlen

516 Adam Hyde

2282 Akron “Gold†Air Rifle Team Total

2223 Akron “Blue†Air Rifle Team Total

END

Zipsrifle Note:

Xavier Smallbore: 2258

Xavier Air Rifle: 2277