No. 9 Tigers Rifle To Face No. 8 Nebraska Saturday

Saturday, October 24

Fort Worth, Texas

8 am CT

University of Memphis

Nebraska

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Oct 23, 2015 | Rifle

Top-10 match-up to take place in Fort Worth, Texas.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis rifle team takes to the road this weekend, but Saturday's match against Nebraska is at a neutral site. The top-10 match-up is set for the TCU campus in Fort Worth, Texas.

Memphis enters Saturday's Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) encounter ranked No. 9 in this week's Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) poll. Nebraska was ranked No. 8.

The Tigers bring some momentum into Saturday's match after two top-three performances at the Ole Miss and Tiger opens in early October and a win over Army Oct. 18. Memphis head coach Butch Woolbright also is encouraged by what he's seen in practice.

"We've been doing well in our practices, and I'm looking forward to Saturday's match against a very good Nebraska program," said Woolbright. "But, we're going on the road, and anything can happen."

What has happened – or worked – for the Tigers early in 2015-16 has been the team's depth.

Memphis returned plenty of experience for this season with a trio of 2014-15 All-GARC honorees in senior Beth Lee, junior Amy Fister and sophomore Haylea Broughton. But, the Tigers added depth with newcomers Jack Berhorst, Sierra Czap and Leighton Dempster, and that has been a huge key to the team's success early in 2015-16.

"Our depth this season has helped," said Woolbright. "It's given us the opportunity to switch around lineups, and we've done that. Everyone has stepped up and performed well when called upon. We started two freshmen in Leighton and Sierra against Army, and both did solid jobs.

"We're a better team than we were a year ago. This season's squad has depth that was missing from last year's team. Now, if we have an injury or someone's equipment isn't working properly, then we can put another shooter in the lineup. We're way deeper than we were last year."

Last season, Memphis and Nebraska faced off in a match-up of top-10 teams in the Bluff City. The No. 7 Cornhuskers defeated the No. 9 Tigers 4667-4625, winning both disciplines.

Following Saturday's match, Memphis returns home to host three-time defending NCAA champion and No. 1 West Virginia Oct. 31. The match begins at 8 a.m. (CT) at the Global Training Academy.