March 12, 2005

COLORADO SPRINGS - All-American Beth Tidmore represented the University of Memphis as an individual at the 26th Annual National Collegiate Men's and Women's Rifle Championship at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Tidmore set a new NCAA standard with a score of 694.2 and took home the national championship in the air rifle division.

"I am so very proud of what Beth has been able to accomplish this year," said head coach Butch Woolbright. "She has worked so hard and represented this University well. I am also very proud of this team as a whole for placing fourth in their first-ever trip to the NCAA Championship."

Tidmore shot a 590 in the team match, which then qualified her for first place, and advanced her to the finals. She shot a 104.2 in the finals to give her the NCAA record mark of 694.2. She defeated Andrea Franzen, a freshman for Nebraska who is the Swedish National Champion, and Matt Rawlings from Alaska-Fairbanks. Rawlings was the overall national champion in aggregate scoring, having competed in air and smallbore.

The Tigers also qualified for the NCAA Championship as a team in air rifle, for the first time in school history. They entered Saturday's competition in sixth place, and managed to finish in fourth with a score of 2329. Jacksonville State won the air rifle title with a 2338 following a tie breaker with Nebraska, which also totaled a 2338. The U.S. Military Academy finished third with a 2331, just ahead of the Tigers. The Naval Academy shot a 2323 for fifth, and last year's national champion Alaska-Fairbanks placed sixth with a total of 2322. Nevada-Reno tied Kentucky with a 2317, but placed ahead of UK with the tie breaker.

Individually, Tidmore led Memphis with a 590, followed by Krissey Bahnsen who posted a 588. Katie Benjamin turned in a 581, while Brian Phillips tallied a 570.

In aggregate scoring, the U.S. Military Academy won the overall national championship with a total of 4659. They shot a 2328 in smallbore, and 2331 in air rifle. The Tigers did not shoot smallbore, and thus did not place in the overall team competition. Jacksonville State placed second with a 4658, followed closely by Nebraska and Alaska, which totaled a 4657 and a 4656, respectively. The Naval Academy placed fifth with a 4637, and Kentucky finished sixth with a 4627.

"As I stated earlier, I couldn't be more proud of how well we matched up with the teams out here," added Woolbright. "This team has worked so hard this season, and it really showed."