Rifle team uses break to reset and recharge

Chris Dorwart

Daily Nebraskan

People always want to start off the new year right.

For the Nebraska rifle team, starting off the new year right would be with a win over Murray State this coming Sunday.

Before the holiday break, the Huskers lost two straight duals to Texas Christian University and University of Alaska Fairbanks, and have been waiting to redeem themselves.

The rifle team has not beaten the Nanooks in the past three seasons that they have faced off. The team was hoping that their previous dual would help them recover after falling to the Horned Frogs of TCU.

Both TCU and Alaska Fairbanks are ranked higher than the Huskers.

"I haven't really thought of it as a recovery or what we've won and lost," junior Ryann McGough said. "It's more that every match is new, and we're going to a new place. So we just need to stay consistent and be in the moment and do the best we can."

McGough is now hoping that she can lead her team to victory with a win for their final away match of the year to help the team get out of its slump.

Coming off the break, the shooters have easily gotten back into the swing of things and are anxious to start competing again.

"We came in with a clean slate, kind of a new season," head coach Morgan Hicks said. "Take it in stride and go for it."

Hicks feels her shooters have benefitted from the break, and they came back with a good attitude and were ready to get back in action.

Some of the shooters practiced over break, while some just took the time to relax and Hicks understands that.

"It depends on the person," Hicks said. "I think everybody did what they needed, and some needed the mental break."

Since rifle is a tough mental sport and the shooter needs to stay focused at all times, it can be pretty stressful. The rifle team started matches in early October and had been going at it hard up until just after Thanksgiving.

"Personally, I shoot really well after breaks," McGough said. "It's like a restart for me, and it was good to have some time away from the gun. I'm really excited about it. I think it's going to be a good match, and we'll shoot really well."

With only three regular season matches left, the rifle team hopes to improve their score so that they can make it to the NCAA Qualifiers.

"There really wasn't much said," Hicks said. "But the mood when we came back was really a ‘let's go' kind of mood since they know we only have a month left of matches."

chrisdorwart@dailynebraskan.com