No. 13 NC State Rifle Heads to New York for First Matches of 2018

RALEIGH, N.C. – After nearly a two-month break in action, the 13^th-ranked NC State rifle team is set to open its 2018 calendar slate in West Point, N.Y., this weekend. The Wolfpack will take on No. 3 Kentucky Sunday and the host No. 11 Army Black Knights Monday.

Both matches are slated to get underway at 9 a.m. inside the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center.

Coach's Thoughts…
Head Coach Keith Miller
"For us, 2018 is starting like a whirlwind. We have four matches over an eight-day stretch - all conference matches, and all on the road.

We brought our athletes back in for some early training, just in time for the cold and snow after New Year. Fortunately, we worked around the weather and got some good quality training in. The students worked hard, but we also kept it light so as to maintain an even intensity going into this first busy week.

We like starting the spring portion of our season at Army, as they have a nice range and we generally shoot well there. It's a long, tiring trip over MLK weekend, but it gives us some good time together after everyone going in so many directions during December.

This weekend we'll have our GARC matches with host Army and Kentucky, so this is a big weekend. We're very close in ranking and performance to Army, so the match on Monday should be a close one. Kentucky on Sunday will be tougher, as they really upped their game last semester but we've shot well against Kentucky recently."

Weekend Outlook
The Pack enters the weekend with a 7-4 overall record on the season, including a 2-2 mark in Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) matches. Both of this weekend's opponents are members of the conference.

Army owns a 2-6 record heading into the weekend's contests with a 1-2 mark in GARC competitions. The third-ranked Kentucky Wildcats have enjoyed a stellar season, as they enter the weekend with a 20-1 overall record and they are 9-0 in league matches.

NC State has performed well in its previous two trips to West Point. In 2016, the Wolfpack broke all three program records at the time with a stellar showing to take down No. 3 Kentucky and No. 10 Army.

Last season, the Pack fired an aggregate team score of 4673 against the Black Knights, which still stands as the program record for NC State.

The Pack will be looking to duplicate its recent success inside the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center this weekend.

Last Time Out
In NC State's last outing, the Wolfpack earned a 4650-4575 victory against No. 20 North Georgia on Senior Day. Kentucky finished first at a four-team invitational in its last outing with a score of 4687.

Army came up short in its most recent outing versus second-ranked TCU, as the Black Knights charted a score of 4642.

Follow Along
Live targets for both matches this weekend can be found by clicking HERE.

North Carolina State University Athletics

No. 13 NC State Rifle Heads to New York for First Matches of 2018

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