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UTEP Miners

UTEP Miners
UTEP Rifle Travels to Jacksonville to Open Season

UTEP Rifle Travels to Jacksonville to Open Season

- By Vinny Lavalsiti

JACKSONVILLE, Al. – The UTEP rifle team (0-0) will fire off the season at Jacksonville State (0-0) on Saturday. The Miners shot their highest aggregate of the 2019-20 season the last time they took to the range with the Gamecocks, outscoring Jacksonville State 4610-4602 for their first win of the year.
 
It was coach Austin Litherland's first victory over Jacksonville State since his arrival to the program in 2018.
 
Litherland enters his third season as the Miners' head coach after producing back-to-back campaigns with an average smallbore score of at least 2270. Litherland program's average aggregate of 4588 in 2019-20 was the sixth highest in program history.
 
"With these difficult times we live in we are lucky and excited to be competing," Litherland said. "The team has been training hard these last couple of weeks, dialing their sights in to hit the 10. We are focused and determined for our matches against Jacksonville State."

Senior Samantha Miller enters her final season in the Sun City. Miller shot in both disciplines in every match her freshman and sophomore year and competed in all 12 matches last season. Miller topped 570 in the air rifle in 11 of the team's 12 matches in 2019-20 with her season-high of 581 coming at Air Force (10/26).
 
UTEP is led by the 2019-20 team MVP sophomore Jonna Warnken who paced the Miners as a freshman last season in her aggregate and air rifle averages, notching 1152 and 585, respectively. Warnken had her finest outing in the 2019-20 NCAA Qualifier against Alaska Fairbanks (2/22), posting a Miner freshman record aggregate of 1172.
 
Warnken was selected as an alternate for the NCAA Championships in the smallbore after firing a 582 in the discipline at the Qualifier.
 
Warnken is joined by junior Morgahn Warner who both averaged the second best smallbore score on the team (567) behind departing senior Mara Rouse. Redshirt freshman Isabel Brooks will make her collegiate air rifle debut after sitting out last season.
 
The starting time for both matches are TBD.
 
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