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Navy Rifle Heads to NCAA Championships This Weekend

Mids to appear in 17th straight NCAA Championship.

	Josh Albright will defend his NCAA smallbore title this weekend at the 2008 NCAA Championships.

March 13, 2008

Live Scoring

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy rifle team begins its quest for its first NCAA title this weekend as the Mids will be one of eight teams vying for the title this weekend at West Point. Competition will begin on Friday with the smallbore discipline and will conclude on Saturday with the air rifle competition. A total of 48 shooters will be competing in individual and team matches in smallbore (.22 caliber) three-position and air rifle events. Competitors will fire 60 shots in the smallbore three-position event and 60 shots in the air rifle event. Navy will be joined by Army, Alaska, West Virginia, Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada and TCU.

Navy, which is appearing in its 17th straight NCAA Championship and its 23rd overall appearance since 1980, have finished in the top three three times, including second in 1990 and 1999. The Mids will enter the championship with the fourth-highest average of the eight teams competing.

"This is what we strive for every year and I am proud of the team for the way they battled to get to where they are entering this weekend," said Navy head coach Bill Kelley. "We are going to leave it all on the line and see what we can do. Everyone has a clean slate and it doesn't really matter how you shot during the course of the season. We have had strong practices and I am confident that will carry over into the weekend."

The Mids will open competition with the smallbore discipline on Friday. Navy, which has struggled at times in smallbore, needs a good start on Friday to give it a shot for the national title on Saturday (air rifle). Navy has posted a 2309 in the smallbore discipline this year, but shot just a 2267 two weeks ago in the MAC Championships against Akron. The Mids will be led by last year's NCAA smallbore champion, Josh Albright, as well as senior Monica Amagna and freshman Chris Burleson. Albright averages a 577.5 in the discipline this year, while Burleson and Amagna average 568.5 and 568.1, respectively. Freshman Alison Lankes (569.0) will likely round out the Navy roster for smallbore.

"We have to get off to a good start and perform well in smallbore on Friday," said Kelley. "We just can't dig ourselves a deep hole and hope to rally in air rifle. Our air rifle has been as good as anyone in the country, so we need a good smallbore performance to give us a shot on Saturday. There are a lot of good teams in the field and digging ourselves a hole on Friday could really cost us. If we are within striking distance entering Saturday, I feel good about our chances."

Navy's air rifle, however, has carried the team all season long. Navy boasts a 2329.4 team average into the event, ranking among the NCAA leaders all season long. Leading the charge is junior Lisa Kunzelman. The Constantia, N.Y., native is considered one of the favorites for the NCAA title, owning a stellar 589.5 air rifle average, which at its current pace, would set the new school record, surpassing Matt Albright's average of 588.9 in 2004-05. Kunzelman owns seven of Navy's top eight scores in the discipline, including five scores of 590 or better and a season-high 594 against Army on Feb. 9. She has recorded three of the top seven air rifle scores in school history.

Kunzelman will be aided by Alrbight (581.0), Burleson (580.7) and Amagna (579.1) in the air rifle discipline.

In addition to the team and individual titles, the National Rifle Association will announce its annual selection of All-American awards during the competition. Albright and Kunzelman are both two-time All-Americans.

Live scoring of the entire championship can be found at www.goarmysports.com, by clicking on the rifle page and then the 2008 NCAA Rifle Championship box on the right side of the page.

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