April 26, 2006

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Four members of the Navy rifle team earned All-America honors, announced late last week. Two Mids, juniors Sarah Bergman and Chris Schneider earned first-team All-America recognition, while Josh Albright and Lisa Kunzelman garnered second-team honors. Albright also earned an honorable mention accolade. The quartet led Navy to a fourth-place finish at last month's NCAA Championships.

Bergman, a junior from Fort Mill, S.C., was named to the first team in air rifle after leading the Mids with a 585.5 average. Bergman was named a second-team honoree as a sophomore and led the Mids to a big comeback in the NCAA Tournament. Entering the final day in sixth place, Bergman tallied a 585 to rally Navy in the final relay to a fourth-place finish. She was also named first-team All-MAC after leading the league in air rifle average.

Schneider, a junior also from Fort Mill, S.C., earned first team smallbore honors after leading Navy with a 582.7 average. Schneider won the MAC title in smallbore with a 579 against Akron, then followed that performance with a 579 at the NCAA Tournament. He had earned honorable mention All-America honors in 2005 in the air rifle discipline. He was the top shooter in the MAC and earned first-team All-MAC honors as well.

Sophomore Josh Albright (Shelton, Conn.) earned All-America honors in both disciplines, garnering second-team honors in smallbore and honorable mention recognition in air rifle. Albright averaged a 579.9 in smallbore and a 583.2 in air rifle. He led the Mids with a 586 at the NCAA Championships in air rifle.

Freshman Lisa Kunzelman (Constantia, N.Y.) earned second-team All-America status in air rifle after averaging a 584.8. She led Navy with a 590 at the MAC Championships, earning medalist honors and then followed that performance with a strong 584 at the NCAA Championships. Kunzelman was named first team All-MAC in the air rifle and second team in smallbore.

Mids Perform Well at World Championship Tryouts
Three members of the Navy rifle team also recently competed at the World Championship tryouts, recording strong performances at the event.

"They were all shooting against very good competition and performed well," said Navy head coach Bill Kelley. "There were USA national team members and US Olympic Team members shooting, so to place that high and perform that well is a good sign."

Junior Sarah Bergman placed seventh, while freshman Lisa Kunzelman placed eighth. The duo was just a few points shy of a top-three finish, where the top finishers will compete in the World Championships in July. The women shot 3x20 smallbore.

Josh Albright also competed in the men's air rifle and prone events.

# GO NAVY #