Rifle Preview: NC State, Kentucky

Saturday, October 27

Memphis, Tenn.

8:00 am

University of Memphis

NC State

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Oct 26, 2018 | Rifle

Tigers host Wolfpack Saturday, 2018 NCAA champ Wildcats Sunday.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis rifle squad continues its homestand with matches versus NC State and Kentucky this weekend.

The Tigers host the Wolfpack Saturday and the 2018 NCAA champion Wildcats Sunday. Both Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) matches start at 8 a.m. (CT) at the R.F. Fogelman Rifle Range

Last year, Memphis dropped decisions to NC State and Kentucky.

After a month of competition, the Tigers are No. 16 in Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) poll. Memphis was No. 14 in last week's poll.

Rank	Team	Rank	Team
1.	Kentucky	t.	Morehead State
2.	West Virginia	12.	Ole Miss
3.	TCU	t.	Army
4.	Alaska	14.	Ohio State
5.	Air Force	15.	Nevada
6.	Murray State	*16.*	*Memphis*
7.	Navy	17.	Jacksonville State
8.	NC State	18.	UAB
9.	Nebraska	19.	UT Martin
10.	Akron	t.	UTEP

Head coach Dan Hermsmeier comments
(On the weekend matches)
"Both matches will be really good tests for us. We've been working hard on the range in this busy part of the season. NC State comes here, and they have a new coach in Emily (Holsopple). They're in a good spot, and I'm sure they'll perform well. Then, on Sunday, we have the reigning national champion in Kentucky. It will be the Wildcats' first visit to our facility."

Tigers Tidbits

For a second-straight season, NC State visits the R.F. Fogelman Rifle Range. The Wolfpack and Tigers faced each other in an early October 2017 match.
The Tigers host Kentucky for the first time "officially" at the R.F. Fogelman Rifle Range Sunday. In the 2016-17 campaign, the Wildcats were scheduled to shoot against the Tigers in mid-January of that season to open Memphis' new facility. However, the Tigers' transition into their new home took longer than expected, so the match was moved to Oxford, Miss.
For the second-consecutive year, the Tigers host the defending NCAA champion on the University of Memphis campus. The 2018 NCAA champion Wildcats visit the Bluff City Sunday. Last season, Memphis welcomed 2017 NCAA champion West Virginia to the R.F. Fogelman Rifle Range. However, the rifle team is not the only Memphis program to host NCAA champions in back-to-back seasons recently. The men's and women's basketball teams did so in 2013-14 and 2014-15. The Tigers men's squad hosted 2013 NCAA champion Louisville in 2013-14 and 2014 NCAA champion Connecticut in 2014-15. The women's team hosted two-time NCAA champion Connecticut both seasons.
Junior Levi Clark and senior Leighton Dempster continue to lead the squad with consistent performances this season. Both have shot aggregates of 1165 or higher in each of the team's first four matches.
In last season's match at Kentucky, Amberlie Ezell and Adriana Hickerson had career performances. Ezell shot a career-best 589 in air rifle, and Hickerson set career-highs across the board in smallbore (564), air rifle (593) and aggregate (1157) versus the Wildcats.