Rifle Preview

[Zipsrifle]

This is from the e-mailed Team Preview:

Introducing the 2004-2005 Rifle Team Members

If you thought last year was exciting, wait till you see what is in store for this season with The University of Akron Rifle Team. Lets start by looking at who is returning for this season.

>Seniors Tom Colston and Joe Milano will be this years team captains. Senior Emily Kuntz will red-shirt this season and finish her degree and final season next year. And Sarah Kramer will be returning for her final season. To prepare for this season, Kramer has had a busy summer finishing 19th at the USA Olympic trials, and earning positions on the coveted Randall and Dewar smallbore teams at the National Championships held at Camp Perry Ohio. While at Camp Perry, and after nearly two weeks of national and international competition, Kramer was crowned the National Collegiate Champion.

>Juniors Cristina Ciarula and Angie Engle are next in line and ready to start their third season.

>Sophomores Christine Fortunato and Laura Kuntz now have one year experience under their belt and are ready to begin their second season.

>Freshman: And introducing the largest freshman class in the history of Akron Rifle in alphabetical order:

Martha Carpenter from South Burlington HS in Burlington Vermont.

Stephanie Elmore from Blanchet HS in Salem Oregon.

April Engle (yes coach Engle’s other daughter) from Firestone HS in Akron Ohio.

Shannon Kohatsu from Waiakea HS in Hilo Hawaii.

Ashley Pawlak from Lancaster Centeral HS in Lancaster New York.

Megan Reinking from Concordia Luthern HS in Fort Wayne Indiana.

Cody Shields from Harcort HS in Chandlersville Ohio.

Ben Soehnlen from Perry HS in Massillon Ohio.

Each of these talented athletes come to The University of Akron with a wealth of experience and talent. More in-depth information will be presented on the new members in future editions of this news letter. You will be absolutely amazed at what these talented athletes have already accomplished.

The University of Akron tradition of excellence continues to attract the best of the best from across the State of Ohio, as well as from across the USA.

After two weeks of practice, team members are establishing new personal best performances and eagerly look forward to the first competition. The first test of what the Zips can do will come on October 2 when the squad will travel to the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington Virginia. This invitational match will involve several universities from up and down the east coast.

“The team has been practicing every day with a “this is our year†attitude,†states head coach Newt Engle. “With the experience of the returning veterans, and the energy of the new members, I would not even think of putting a limit on what these athletes will accomplish.†Last year the Zips finished as the #17 team in the USA as well as winning the rifle and air rifle championships in the 10 school Western Intercollegiate Rifle Conference. In the Mid Atlantic Rifle Conference, Akron took the #2 slot in the Master category behind a very talented Navy team. What has Coach Engle so excited that he can barely sit still, is he knows this is exactly where the team will START this season.

[Guest Guest]

Thanks for the info. Here are my questions:

Are all rifle teams mixed men/women? Does there have to be so many of each on the team?

Pardon my ignorance, but how does a youth get into this sport...is it just that their parents teach them to shoot/hunt and then they get into competetive shooting? Are there high school or club teams that they get involved with before they go to college?

Finally, are they actively recruited like in other sports or do they just come in and try out for the team? Are some or all on full or partial scholarships?

Thanks!

[Zipsrifle]

Not all teams are mixed. In fact, I believe that there are quite a few womens only teams as a way to meet the NCAA scholarship requirement. The interesting thing is that if there was a gender advantage, the women would have it. They typically are shorter and have wider hips which allow for a more stable standing position.

Each competitive team is made up of 4 individuals. As to how big the overall team can get, I'm not sure. Since it is a non-revenue generating sport, economics are likely the limiting factor.

There are several ways to get into the sport. I happened to have a high school that offered it as a sport. That has since been axed due to the Columbine incident. Others get involved through Scouting or other youth organizations. Then there are the individuals who start with the backing of their parents. In highschool, I competed in a statewide junior shooting program that was a mix of high schools, clubs, and individuals. Probably the nicest thing about the experience was shooting in matches against persons who are now on the US Olympic team. I'm sure that USA Shooting would have enough info to get someone interested started.

Back in the day when I started at UA, there was a little recruiting, but the team was filled out with tryouts. I think that everyone on the team but one or two people were from Ohio. It looks like those days are over at UA. I attribute it to the steady improvement of the team over the past 5-10 years. As you can see, there is a bumper crop of experienced shooters from across the country this season. Some schools offer full scholarships and others offer none. I'm not that in tune with the team right now but I believe that they are offering scholarships to shooters, just not sure how many or what type.

To finish off I would like to mention that this type of shooting is about 95% mental. It takes an entirely different mentality than any other sport. That is why I was good at it, I sure couldn't play basketball or football at a DI-A level. I would also say that it is probably the safest of all NCAA Sports, though I don't have any data to back this up.