Rifle Begins Season With Tiger Open Sunday

Saturday, September 23

Memphis, Tenn.

8 am

University of Memphis

Tiger Open

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Sep 22, 2017 | Rifle

Hermsmeier starts his coaching career with the Tigers' annual home event.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – There's a new air of excitement around the 2017-18 University of Memphis rifle program.

Start of a new season this weekend.

A first-year head coach in alum Dan Hermsmeier.

And, the program's first complete season in its relatively new on-campus range.

It all begins this weekend when Memphis hosts its annual Tiger Open at the Memphis Rifle Facility, located in South Hall. The Tigers shoot head-to-head against Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) foe Navy Sunday, Sept. 24. The Memphis-Navy match starts at 8 a.m. (CT).

Tiger Open Schedule (Sept. 23-24/Sept. 30-Oct. 1)

Date/Day	Teams	Time (CT)
Sept. 23/Saturday	UAB/#19 UT Martin	8 a.m./1 p.m.
Sept. 24/Sunday	#11 Memphis/#14 Navy	8 a.m./1 p.m.
Sept. 30/Saturday	#2 TCU/#15 Jacksonville State	8 a.m./1 p.m.
Oct. 1/Sunday	#18Morehead State/ #20 North Georgia	8 a.m./1 p.m.

*Head-to-head also counts as a Great American Rifle Conference match

The Tigers open 2017-18 ranked in the preseason Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) poll in the No. 11 spot. Memphis finished last season ranked No. 11, and was in the top-10 six weeks. The Tigers climbed as high as No. 8 in the poll.

Rank	Team	Rank	Team
1.	West Virginia	11.	Memphis
2.	TCU	12.	Ole Miss
3.	Murray State	13.	Nevada
4.	Kentucky	14.	Navy
5.	Ohio State	15.	Jacksonville State
6.	Nebraska	16.	Akron
7.	Alaska	17.	UTEP
8.	Air Force	18.	Morehead State
9.	N.C. State	19.	UT Martin
10.	Army	20.	North Georgia

Head coach Dan Hermsmeier comments
(On the Tiger Open)
"We have several strong teams coming in for the Tiger Open, as well as some junior shooters. This is a great opportunity for us to show what we've been working on and, at the same time, get some kinks out before we head into the heart of our schedule."

(On the 2017-18 season)
"We're looking pretty good heading into this season. We have a couple of strong freshmen, who add a lot to the team. We also have three seniors returning, and all three are willing to work hard and are hungry to reach the national championships. That's our goal this season, and by doing the little things right and working hard every day, that goal is definitely attainable for this team.

"We switched to 6 a.m. practices this season, and that gives us an opportunity to have all of our shooters on the range at once. That allows us to work together and see what each one is doing. That help builds team chemistry. The team workouts will help our shooters develop the stamina to get through the matches and peak in January, February and March, which is the important part of our season. We're also using some different training techniques that don't focus so much on scores, but on performances and getting our positions right, our mental game right. That is going to help our program in the long run.

"I'll be relying on our seniors to help me as I transition into my role as head coach. They've shared with me some ideas on what they would like to see this year. I'm working with them to make sure we can reach those goals.

"Having this new facility gives us the space we need to do some things down the road. Being in a place where the shooters are comfortable and they enjoy practicing every day should translate to a more 'home turf' feel. Being in the new facility will play a role in our season."

Tigers Tidbits

Memphis won its own Tiger Open last season. The Tigers also swept the top spots in both smallbore and air rifle.
The Tigers moved into their new on-campus home, the Memphis Rifle Facility, in the middle of the 2016-17 campaign. After the move, Memphis hosted two matches in their new residence. The 2017-18 season, however, is the program's first full one in the Memphis Rifle Facility.
The Tigers are breaking in their new home in a big way early in 2017-18. In addition to the Tiger Open, Memphis hosts four Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) matches throughout October and into mid-November. The Tigers welcome N.C. State Oct. 7, Army Oct. 9, Akron Oct. 14 and No. 1 West Virginia Nov. 11 to the Bluff City.
Dan Hermsmeier returns to lead the Tigers program as head coach after an illustrious collegiate career wearing the Blue and Gray. A seven-time All-American, Hermsmeier qualified individually for the NCAA Championships from 2011-13 and helped lead the Tigers to the team competition at the 2014 event. With Hermsmeier as team captain, Memphis placed fourth at the 2014 NCAA Championships, the highest NCAA team finish in program history.
The Tigers return three seniors in Haylea Broughton, Makennon Doran and Eli Rischling for their final campaign in 2017-18.
As a freshman in 2014-15, Broughton shot a school-record 596 in air rifle vs. Kentucky.
Doran earned his first NCAA Championships appearance last season and competed in smallbore. He qualified for the championships event after a career-best performance at the NCAA Sectional qualifier. Doran posted career-highs for smallbore (586), air rifle (590) and aggregate (1176) at the qualifier.
Freshmen Matt Dorey and Adriana Hickerson join the Tigers for the 2017-18 season.