Rifle Preview: Gamecock Invitational

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – After a three-week break from competition, the University of Memphis rifle squad returns to action Sunday when it travels to Jacksonville, Ala., for the 2018 Gamecock Invitational. The match is the final one of the fall portion of the Tigers' 2018-19 schedule.

After Sunday's Gamecock Invitational, Memphis is off for the next two months for final exams and the semester break. The Tigers' first match in 2019 is against Akron Jan. 20. The match versus Akron is scheduled for a neutral site in Lexington, Ky.

Jacksonville State, Memphis, Nebraska, North Georgia, UAB and UT Martin all are shooting in the Gamecock Invitational, which began Nov. 10. Nebraska has already competed and posted a 4669 aggregate. The host school, Jacksonville State, shot Saturday.

After its solid performance at the end of October, Memphis jumped into the top-10 of the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) poll. The Tigers are No. 7, the highest national ranking of head coach Dan Hermsmeier's two-year tenure.

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

Tigers Tidbits

The Tigers bring some momentum into Sunday's Gamecock Invitational, having shot the program's best aggregate and air rifle scores in a couple of seasons last time out.
In the Oct. 28 setback to No. 1 Kentucky, the Tigers shot a team aggregate of 4674, the program's best team mark since it recorded a school-record 4683 versus Navy in the 2014-15 campaign.
The 4674 aggregate versus Kentucky also was the first time the Tigers shot 4670 or better since the 2015-16 season when they posted a 4671 aggregate at West Virginia.
The Tigers' 2355 air rifle score against the Wildcats was the second-best mark in program history. The team air rifle record score is 2358, which was set versus Navy in the 2016-17 season.
Memphis has already faced three of the schools competing in the Gamecock Invitational. The Tigers hosted Jacksonville State, UAB and UT Martin in the season-opening Tiger Open in late September. Memphis defeated all three to win the Tiger Open.
At last year's Gamecock Invitational, Matt Dorey and Adriana Hickerson had their best performances in the first half of the 2017-18 campaign. Dorey shot a 576 in smallbore and a 586 in air rifle for a 1162 aggregate. It was his best marks across the board until February of 2018 when he improved all three scores in a match versus Ole Miss. Hickerson shot a 591 air rifle score, her best mark of the 2017 fall schedule. In the spring portion of the 2017-18 slate, she bettered that score with a 593 at Kentucky.

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Players Mentioned

Matt Dorey

Adriana Hickerson

University of Memphis Athletics