Rifle Hosts Conference Championships Feb. 28-29

Friday, February 28

Memphis, Tenn.

8 am CT

University of Memphis

Great America Rifle Conference Championships

Photo by: Trey Clark

Feb 27, 2020 | Rifle

Event to be held at the Larry O. Finch Center on campus.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis athletics history will be made at the Larry O. Finch Center this weekend, and it doesn't involve Tigers basketball.

For the first time in University of Memphis rifle program history, the Tigers are hosting the Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships. Action is set to begin at 8 a.m. (CT) Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28-29. The smallbore discipline takes over the Finch Center Friday and the air rifle competition on Saturday.

The Finch Center is the site of high-level competition this weekend, as it welcomes nine nationally ranked squads, including six of the top-10, in the final regular-season Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) poll.

2020 Great America Rifle Conference Championships Schedule*

Friday, Feb. 28 (Smallbore)	Saturday, Feb. 29 (Air Rifle)
8:15 a.m. CT – First Relay	8:15 a.m. CT – First Relay
10:30 a.m. CT – Second Relay	9:45 a.m. CT – Second Relay
1:15 p.m. CT – Third Relay	12:45 p.m. CT – Third Relay
3:30 p.m. CT – Finals	3 p.m. CT – Finals

*Times are Central and approximate

Teams Competing (final regular-season national ranking)
Akron (5), Army West Point (11), Kentucky (1), Memphis (8), Ole Miss (7), Navy (10), Nebraska (4), NC State (12), West Virginia (3)

Head coach Dan Hermsmeier comments
(On hosting the conference championships for first time)
"Hosting the conference championships is an incredible amount of work, but I wanted to do something like this to raise awareness and support for our team and our sport in general. Rifle is not a very well-known sport, but once people see it and start to understand it, it's really easy to get hooked and want to learn more about the sport.

"Our student-athletes are hard-working and dedicated just as much as student-athletes in other sports on campus. I really want to put on a successful event to bring in more fans and supporters and show them how great our athletics department is."

(On coaching the team while also hosting the event)
"We going to have to manage our expectations, nerves and anxiety heading into a big match like this weekend. It's the first time we've ever hosted a match this size. It's a big match, it's the conference championships. Mine and (graduate assistant coach) Ali's (Weisz) job is help them stay focused in practice, stay grounded and keep in mind what they can control. We also need to help them not allow the big spotlight get to them.

"This will be a great opportunity, especially for the younger members of our team, to experience something like this. I'm glad they will be able to feel a sense of pride by our program hosting this event for the first time."

(On the competition this weekend)
"The level of competition is our conference is simply incredible. Three of the nation's top four teams are in our conference with West Virginia, Kentucky and Nebraska. It's definitely going to be a battle and an exciting match to watch to see who comes out on top. It could be a toss-up between a few teams.

"Our job is to focus on what we've been doing in practice and not worry about the level of competition. Just focus on what we can control. More often than not when you keep your focus on your performance, good results will follow."

Tigers Tidbits

At the 2019 Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships, Memphis shot its best team aggregate score at the event since 2012.
Levi Clark is looking to improve his aggregate for a fourth-straight year. He shot a 1146 in 2017, a 1160 in 2018 and a 1169 in 2019.
In last year's GARC Championships, Matt Dorey posted a season-best 1165 aggregate.
Taylor Gibson is shooting in her first GARC Championships this weekend.
Head coach Dan Hermsmeier shot in the GARC Championships as a member of the Memphis squad from 2011-14.

GARC Notes

This is the 23^rdyear of the Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships. The first one was held in 1998. West Virginia has won the last 10 GARC titles (2010-19).
Of the eight teams that earned spots for the 2020 NCAA Championships in mid-March, five will be competing in Memphis this weekend. Akron, Kentucky, Nebraska, Navy and West Virginia will represent the GARC at the NCAA match.
In addition, five individuals from GARC programs, including Memphis' Taylor Gibson, will compete at the NCAA Championships in one of the two disciplines.