NC State Rifle Announces 2016-17 Schedule

RALEIGH, N.C. – Following one of the program's most successful seasons, NC State rifle head coach Keith Miller announced the Wolfpack competition schedule for the 2016-17 season Friday.

"We're definitely thrilled with our schedule," said Miller. "Not only do we have two home matches, but the first one will be in Reynolds Coliseum against defending National Champion West Virginia and individual champion, Ginny Thrasher, so we'll have two Olympians present to start the year and we're super excited about that.

"We also have a full schedule and used all of our dates of competition. Another thing I really like about our schedule is that we have back-to-back matches at ranges where our team has shot good scores in the past. I think the locations for our matches and the opponents will make for some fantastic competition and some really good scores."

For the first time since 2008, NC State will host a match as the 2016-17 squad opens the season by welcoming the West Virginia Mountaineers to Raleigh on Oct. 15 for a Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) match. The match will be held in Reynolds Coliseum, as the main area will be converted into a facility suitable to host a rifle competition.

From there, NC State will travel to Akron where they will take on the host Zips in a conference match and also compete against the Mountaineers for a second time at the tri-match, Oct. 22-23. The Red and White will compete against Navy, another member of the GARC, at The Citadel, Oct. 29.

The month of November competition starts at The Ohio State, as the Wolfpack will have a conference match versus Memphis on the 12^th. After visiting the Buckeye state, NC State will take a trip to Alaska to take on Kentucky and the host Nanooks, November 18 and 20, respectively, to conclude the fall portion of the slate.

After winning the Southeastern Air Rifle Conference (SEARC) championship crown for a fifth consecutive year and 10th overall, the Pack will only compete in the GARC this season, as 2015-16 was the final year of the SEARC.

"In the past we've had two conference obligations to satisfy, but we do not have that complication anymore solely being in the GARC. When the GARC expanded a few years ago, it became increasingly more difficult to do that. In addition to getting our conference schedule ironed out a little smoother, we were able to add matches against Alaska, Tennessee-Martin and an open match.

"It really gave us a chance to have more of a normal schedule with a lot more flexibility."
NC State kicks off the 2017 calendar year in West Point, N.Y., as the squad will face Army (Jan. 14) and Nebraska (Jan. 15) in a pair of conference matchups. The next weekend the Wolfpack will compete at Murray State against Tennessee-Martin, Jan. 21 and GARC foe Ole Miss, Jan. 22.

The Pack's second match it will host is the Wolfpack Invitational, Jan. 28-29, with the location to be determined. The event will be an open match, as various teams will participate in the competition.

On Feb. 4, the National Rifle Association (NRA) Sectional will be held at The Citadel. The NCAA Qualifier will also be held in Charleston, S.C., at The Citadel, Feb. 18.

From Feb. 24-25, Akron will host the GARC Championships. The NCAA Championships will be held at The Ohio State, March 10-11, a range that NC State will visit for a match against Memphis in November.

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North Carolina State University Athletics

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