The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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118 ■ THE WOLFPACKER the NCAA Championships in both air ri- fle and smallbore competition, returns for her third season with the Wolfpack, while graduate student Lauren Phillips, who earned All-American honors as a freshman at Nebraska, is now eligible after trans- ferring into the NC State program. Phil- lips, a native of Seabeck, Wash., posted the best marks of her career in the Wolfpack's season-opening match against No. 1 West Virginia Oct. 15. Ford finished seventh in the air rifle competition at the NCAA meet and 10th in smallbore. Phillips helped Nebraska to back-to-back NCAA championship appear- ances, and the Cornhuskers finished fifth in 2014. There are some changes this year. In- stead of competing in both the South- eastern Air Rifle Conference (SEARC), in which the Wolfpack won five consecu- tive championships and 10 overall, and the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC), the Wolfpack will compete only in the ex- panded GARC. Kozeniesky said he hopes to pass along the many tricks and tips he's learned since last season at his international shooting competitions. "I hope that will benefit us all and help the team. I think we are going into the season with a lot of confidence," the sports management major said. The experience of Kozeniesky, fellow senior George Williams, Ford and Phil- lips has been especially beneficial to the younger members of the team, which in- cludes three freshmen recruits: Zach Eisen- berg, Sarah Hickey and Claire Zanti. The roster also includes returning shoot- ers who have contributed in the past, such as All-SEARC and GARC scholar-athlete Derya Pekari, who was a member of the counting squad in every match last year, Three Shooters To Watch Junior Caitlyn Ford Last year, Ford was the only rifle team member to qualify as an individual in both the air rifle and smallbore competitions at the NCAA Championships. She finished seventh in the air rifle and 10th in smallbore. The junior tied a school-record score of 596 in the air rifle and posted the second-highest aggregate total of 1,175 to help NCSU upset No. 3 Kentucky last year. Senior Lucas Kozeniesky The senior may be the most accomplished shooter in school history. He returns this year after competing in the Olympics in Brazil during the summer, the first-ever NC State rifle athlete to garner a spot on the U.S. Olym- pic Team. He is tied with Ford for the school record in the air rifle with 596 points, which he set at the NCAA Championships to finish seventh. Both the Collegiate Rifle Coaches' Association and the National Rifle Association named him an All-American last year. Graduate student Lauren Phillips Phillips is a transfer from Nebraska, where she was an NRA first-team All-American in the smallbore in 2014 and a third-team All-American overall by the CRCA. She has a career-high score of 593 in the air rifle. Phillips is a strong student in the classroom, having earned Academic All-Big Ten accolades in 2015. ■ By The Numbers 3 Wolfpack shooters (Lucas Kozeniesky, Caitlyn Ford and Lauren Phillips) who have qualified for the NCAA Championships during their careers. 5 Straight Southeastern Air Rifle Conference cham- pionships and 10 overall before the air rifle confer- ence ended competition after last season. 8 NC State's ranking in the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association poll, its highest ranking since 1982. The Wolfpack opened the season ranked 13th, and moved up after its record-breaking performance in the season- opener against top-ranked West Virginia. Last year at the NCAA Championships, junior Caitlyn Ford finished seventh in the air rifle competition and 10th in smallbore. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS