North Carolina State University Athletics
2003-2004 NC State Rifle Outlook
9/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Rifle
September, 2003
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In spite of losing three shooters to graduation from last year's roster, the 2003-2004 Rifle Team is poised for success.
"We did lose senior leadership and good scores when Joe Upton, Trey Ragsdale, and Russell Broadwell graduated," states Coach Keith Miller. "However, between talented newcomers and improved underclassmen, we should be able to continue at a high level. In fact, this year's team should be both stronger and deeper than last year's."
The basis for a positive outlook and high expectations lies largely in the strength of several returning Wolfpack shooters. Back from last year are lettermen Ryan Dorety (Jr.), John Maroglio (Jr.), Laura Ferrell (Jr.), Teri Steinkopff (So.) and Melanie Harris (So.). While all of them made significant contributions last year, this year the measure of success will be even higher.
Coach Miller has high expectations for his returning underclassmen. "Based on the improvements that they made during last season, our top five returning shooters will be expected to not only to post higher scores, but to do so on a very consistent basis. In order for us to reach our goals, this core group will be counted on to take their performance to a higher level. Every one of them proved that they could shoot very good scores last year, but not always on demand. For this year, they must be able to excel every single time they take their place on the firing line. If they do this, we should be a very competitive team."
Joining the five returning lettermen is redshirt freshman Kirk Freeman, who during the summer claimed a repeat victory as the Junior and Collegiate Service Rifle National High Power Rifle Champion.
"Last year, we decided to red shirt Kirk," commented Miller. "He took the time to adjust to air rifle and smallbore rifle (.22) shooting. While the fundamentals are very similar to High Power, it usually takes a year or so to pick up the nuances. Kirk used last year well, and he's ready to compete now. I expect him to be one of our top shooters. With his experience at the highest levels of High Power competition, he's used to match pressure. Thus he should be able to go far if he continues to improve and work hard. Based on this view, we have very high hopes for him. Now it's up to him to show us what he can do."
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Two other returning shooters made great strides at the end of last season. Sophomore's Alexis Davis and Christine Kimball are both ready to challenge their fellow team members for a spot on the travelling squad. In particular, both are posting consistently high air rifle scores. "We need to work more on smallbore with both Christine and Alexis. If they show the same ability to improve as they recently have in air rifle, then they'll help to make our team much stronger, top to bottom," said Miller.
Tammy Montgomery, a junior on this year's team, is coming off of a year best described as a sophomore slump. "Tammy picked up a lot of skills two years ago, but last year was very difficult for her. She's shown the ability to contribute, but needs to become more consistent. This year, she's back with a positive attitude and ready for a fresh start, so I hope that her scores will make a big jump. If they do, this could be a good year for Tammy and help make the whole team stronger," noted Miller.
Joining the nine returning students are three local shooters who come in with good experience. Jennifer Marshall and Matthew Gifford come to State from Cary High School's very successful Navy JROTC team, which placed fifth in the Scholastic Division at the 2003 CMP US National Championships (held in Wilmington, N.C. in June). Bill Reynolds comes to the Wolfpack team from Raleigh's Hale High. Reynolds' parents, John and Edie, are prior NC State rifle coaches, so he has a very strong background. (John Reynolds was on the Rifle Team from '68 * '71, and served as Head Coach from '75 * '90. Edie shot for Wake Forest, followed by a tenure as assistant coach running from 1975 through 1999.)
"We're really expecting a lot from our freshmen this year," stated Miller. "In particular, Jennifer Marshall should contribute from day one. She's only been shooting seriously for a bit over two years, so her rapid progress is very exciting for us. She's eager and very coachable, so it's up to us to help her excel. Her teammate from Cary, Matthew Gifford, is right on her heels performance wise. The competitiveness of these two should really spark the team, particularly in air rifle, where they have the most experience. Conversely, Bill Reynolds brings a wealth of smallbore experience to the team. His challenge will be to ramp up on air rifle during the course of the year. Once he does, he'll be right up there with the rest of the team. He should drop right in with smallbore, so his strengths balance those of his fellow freshmen."
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Bill Reynolds' presence on the rifle team marks a first for NC State. He is the first second generation team member. "Given that NC State has had a rifle team since the 1920s, we thought that there may have been a previous second generation shooter," commented Miller. "However, our research didn't turn up anyone, so Bill is the first."
With this balance of new talent and improved returning shooters, State's team is looking forward to improving upon a successful 2002-03 season. Last year, the Wolfpack Rifle Team was ranked 26th nationally and finished third in their league, the South Eastern Air Rifle Conference (SEARC). State's final average was a mere one third of a point behind The Citadel in the team race. League newcomer Birmingham Southern College bested both schools, however, and took the conference title.
"Each year, one of our main goals is to win our conference race," notes Miller. "While we fell short of that last year, the final average that we posted would have won the title in prior years. I was very proud of our effort and improvement.
"Overall, this is a good indicator of the increase in the level of performance of our league. While we must clearly improve in order to win, our program is adding quality shooters each season. We've done so this year, so I expect that we will continue to improve due to their contributions. Added to that, our returning shooters are also notably improved. We should be better than last year, perhaps quite a bit better. I feel very good about our team this year and our chances in the SEARC and nationally."
The Pack expects strong competition from The Citadel and Birmingham Southern, as well as from the other teams in the conference - Clemson, Wofford, Mercer, Georgia Tech, North Georgia College, and Georgia Military College. This year, NC State will again host the conference championships. The SEARC Championships will be fired at the Wake County Firing Range in Holly Springs on February 28, 2004.
