Tigers Rifle To Shoot In Conference Championships

Friday, February 24

Akron, Ohio

University of Memphis

Great American Rifle Conference Championships

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Feb 23, 2017 | Rifle

GARC event runs Friday, Saturday in Akron, Ohio.

Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships Central (Schedule)
Live Stats

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis rifle squad closes its 2016-17 campaign this weekend when it travels to Akron, Ohio, to compete in the 2017 Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships. The two-day event runs Friday-Saturday, Feb. 24-25.

The University of Akron is the host school for this year's championships, and all the action takes place at the Stile Athletics Field House. Last season, Akron's Stile Athletics Field House was the site of the 2016 NCAA Rifle Championships.

This weekend's championships match is the final team competition for the No. 11 nationally-ranked Tigers. Memphis learned Wednesday that it did not qualify for the team competition at the 2017 NCAA Championships in March, but the Tigers had two shooters, senior Amy Fister and junior Makennon Doran, selected as individuals to compete in smallbore.

The Tigers are facing some of the nation's top teams at the GARC Championships this weekend. Among the teams Memphis is shooting against are No. 2 West Virginia, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 9 N.C. State, No. 12 Army, No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 15 Navy and No. 16 Akron.

"Every year, we shoot in the nation's best conference," said head coach Butch Woolbright. "It's tough competition each and every time out, but I want our squad to compete against programs like we have in our conference. This weekend's championships will provide a high level of competition, and we're looking forward to it."

In head-to-head matches this season, Memphis posted a 3-5 record against GARC opponents. The Tigers defeated Army, Navy and Akron, while dropping decisions to West Virginia, N.C. State, Kentucky, Nebraska and Ole Miss. In smallbore only versus GARC foes, the Tigers had a 5-3 record with wins over Army, Navy, N.C. State, Nebraska and Akron. Memphis was 3-5 in air rifle against league competition with victories over Army, Navy and Akron.

Four Tigers rank among the top-40 aggregate scores in the GARC for league matches only. Fister is the squad's top scorer in league action at 16^th with a 1164.9 (7 matches). Freshman Levi Clark is 20^th (1163.1; 7 matches), with junior Haylea Broughton 33^rd (1156.4; 8 matches) and sophomore Leighton Dempster 39^th (1152.3; 8 matches).

Fister (10^th; 580.0) and Clark (15^th; 578.1) rank in the conference's top-20 in smallbore, and Broughton (18^th; 586.6) and Dempster (20^th; 586.5) are in the league's top-20 in air rifle. Clark (25^th; 585.0) and Fister (28^th; 584.9) rank in the top-30 in air rifle.

Memphis carries some momentum into this weekend's GARC Championships. Memphis placed third at the NCAA Sectional Qualifier last week. Broughton placed seventh in aggregate and had the team's top air rifle performance (4^th; 592). Doran had a career match at the NCAA Sectional Qualifier, recording career-bests across the board in smallbore (586), air rifle (590) and aggregate (1176).

In addition to Broughton and Doran, senior Jack Berhorst and freshman Abby Votava both posted season-bests in air rifle. Berhorst shot a 584 and placed 17^th in the discipline, and Votava recorded a season-high 586 air rifle mark.

At last season's GARC Championships, Memphis placed eighth. Fister posted the Tigers' top finishes in smallbore (11^th) and aggregate score (18^th).