RENO, Nev. – After a week away from collegiate competition the University of Nevada rifle team returns to action Saturday at the Ohio State University Tournament in Columbus, Ohio.   The Wolf Pack enter the tournament tied for 11^th in the latest Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association poll with Army.  Saturday's competition includes No. 1 Murray State, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 19 UTEP and the Pack.
 
"The OSU tournament is one of the premier NCAA rifle events of the fall season," head coach Fred Harvey said.  "The best teams compete there and OSU always provides the best opportunity to put up a great score."
 
Nevada heads into the tournament having won its last two matches and has improved its team score each of the first three weeks of competition.  In the home win over UTEP the Pack shot a season high 4662. 
 
Senior Mitchell Van Patten has posted the top scores on the team in air rifle (595), smallbore (586) and aggregate (1175) which combines the two events.  Fellow senior Rachel Benesh's 576 in smallbore is second and 587 in air rifle ranks third.  Her 1163 aggregate score is tied with freshman Andrew Pham for second on the squad.  Pham competed for the first time in the home UTEP match and shot a 589 in air rifle, which is second on the team and his 574 smallbore score is tied for fourth with Nadine Ahola.
 
Ahola's 583 in air rifle ranks fifth on the squad and her 1156 aggregate score is fourth. 
 
Freshman Tio Brody who has only competed in smallbore boasts the third best score of 575 in the event.  Freshman Sara Benesh specializes in air rifle where she has posted the fourth best score of 584.  Another of the freshmen Alec Patajo's 1150 aggregate score is fifth on the team.