By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin rifle program’s 2023-24 schedule officially gets underway on Sunday, Oct. 1 when the Skyhawks make the quick drive to Murray State for a 9 a.m. match.
Sunday’s matchup is the first of four trips to Murray, Ky. on UT Martin’s 2023-24 docket as the Skyhawks will take part in nine matches this upcoming season. Following this weekend, UT Martin will head back to Murray State for a neutral-site matchup against Morehead State on Oct. 8 before traveling to Morehead, Ky. to take on the same Eagles squad on Nov. 10-11. The annual Gamecock Invitational in Jacksonville, Ala. on the next weekend closes out the fall portion of the schedule.
The Skyhawks take on Georgia Southern in Murray, Ky. on Jan. 14 to open the spring slate. Home matches on back-to-back days against UAB (Jan. 20) and Memphis (Jan. 21) conclude the regular season before UT Martin heads back to Morehead State for the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference Championship on Feb. 3-4. The NCAA Qualifier is set for Feb. 17 as the Skyhawks will once again descend to Murray, Ky. for a shot at making the national championship event, which will be held in Morgantown, W.Va. on March 8-9.
Expectations are high for UT Martin in 2023-24 as all five returners have claimed OVC postseason accolades at some point in their collegiate careers under seventh-year head coach MJ Vowell. Last season, the Skyhawks showed gradual improvement before saving some of their best performances for last. UT Martin shattered the program record for OVC Championship air rifle scoring (2,335 points) for the second consecutive year while setting a season-high in air rifle points (2,340) at the NCAA Qualifier in the finale.
The Skyhawk returners are headlined by graduate Nick Fares and junior Alayna Walther, who have already combined for nine All-OVC honors in their storied careers. Fares topped the squad in air rifle scoring eight times and in aggregate points twice a year ago while Walther led UT Martin in aggregate scoring on eight separate occasions to go along with team-best tallies seven times in smallbore and four times in air rifle.
Joey Kovach (team-high aggregate scoring twice, five team-best smallbore performances and one team-high air rifle scoring match) and Jeffrey Bourassa (competed in all 12 matches in smallbore and 11 outings in air rifle) both return after notching OVC All-Newcomer status as freshmen in 2022-23.
Junior Jesse Chamberlain (22 career matches) also returns to the fold for the Skyhawks this season as the Bedford, Pa. native fired career-highs in both air rifle (579) and smallbore (564) a year ago.
The lone newcomer to the student-athlete roster is freshman Aubrey Summers, a Springfield, Colo. native who was a member of the National Training Center Shooting Club in Colorado Springs.
Another new face who joined the UT Martin program this offseason is assistant coach Dee Daugherty, who boasts a highly decorated military background as well as vast experience in collegiate athletics. Hailing from nearby Dyer, Tenn., Daugherty joined the Skyhawks in the summer and has hit the ground running in anticipation of another successful season on the range.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information
