Rifle Preview: NCAA Sectional Qualifier

Saturday, February 16

Murray, Ky.

All Day

University of Memphis

NCAA Sectional Qualifier

Photo by: Trey Clark

Feb 15, 2019 | Rifle

Tigers battling for an NCAA Championships berth this weekend.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis rifle squad begins its 2019 postseason Saturday, Feb. 16 when it travels to Murray, Ky., for the NCAA Sectional Qualifier. The match starts at 8 a.m. (CT) at Murray State's Pat Spurgin Rifle Range.

Memphis and UT Martin are scheduled to shoot at Murray State in one of 11 NCAA Sectional Qualifiers across the country Saturday. The 12^thand final qualifier is slated for Sunday.

The Tigers enter the NCAA Sectional Qualifier in the thick of the race for an NCAA Championships spot. The nation's top-eight teams earn bids to championships weekend in early March. Memphis is No. 9 prior to Saturday's match.

Head coach Dan Hermsmeier comments
"We've been preparing for the sectional the past couple of weeks. We're in a pretty good spot. We're going to do our best this weekend and see what happens."

(On a projected score needed to qualify for NCAA Championships)
"I don't have a score we need to reach. I say if we shoot like we've been doing all season, that's all we can ask for. I'm not looking for school records or season-bests. I just want to go in and do what we've been doing and that gives us the best chance to do well."

(On historically shooting well at Murray State)
"It's a short drive for us, only a couple of hours away. They have a very nice range there, and we always shoot at least one match (Withrow Invitational) before we compete in sectionals. We normally shoot well there. We shot a good sectional score last year, and we're looking to do the same again on Saturday."

College Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) Poll

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

Tigers Tidbits

The NCAA Sectional Qualifier is half the score used to determine the top-eight teams that earn spots in the NCAA Championships, which are set for Morgantown, W.Va., in early March. The equation for determining those teams is the average of a squad's best three scores (two road/one home) plus the sectional score divided by two.
The Tigers' top-two road match aggregates were 4689 – also a school record – at Jacksonville State's Gamecock Invitational Nov. 18 and 4648 versus Akron at Kentucky Jan. 20. Memphis' top home aggregate was 4674 versus Kentucky Oct. 28.
Memphis' average of those top-three aggregates is 4670.3.
Last year, the Tigers entered NCAA Sectional Qualifier weekend with an average of 4653.6. This year's aggregate average (4670.3) is an improvement of nearly 17 points.

In the 2018 NCAA Sectional Qualifier, Memphis shot a team aggregate of 4654, its second-highest mark of the 2017-18 campaign.
The Tigers take a lot of experience to Saturday's postseason match. Senior Leighton Dempster and junior Levi Clark used last year's qualifier as a springboard to earn NCAA Championships individual bids in air rifle and smallbore, respectively.
Leighton Dempster won last year's NCAA Sectional Qualifier with a then career-best 1172 aggregate. Levi Clark was second with a then career-high 1171 aggregate.
David Crenshaw, Arielle Kimm and Mark Meyeraan all are competing in their first NCAA Sectional Qualifier Saturday.