CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel mixed and women's rifle teams will open the Spring 2020 portion of the 2019-20 season this weekend by hosting No. 22 VMI on Saturday.

The day's lone relay will get underway at 8 a.m.

BULLDOGS RANKED 21^st IN NATION
The Bulldogs' mixed rifle team is currently ranked 21^st in the nation and the women's team moved up to 27^th in this week's Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) poll released earlier this week. TCU remains atop the rankings with West Virginia, Kentucky, Akron and Ole Miss rounding out the top five. Navy, Nebraska, Memphis, Murray State and Alaska Fairbanks make up the rest of the top 10.

FRIENDLY RIVALRY
The two military institutions have developed a friendly rivalry in rifle over the years that sees the winning team of their head-to-head matches holding on to the other's range flag during the regular season. The Citadel had maintained control of VMI's range flag over the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, winning all four head-to-head meetings during those two seasons, but VMI turned the tides in the first meeting this season. The flags will be back on the line this weekend as The Citadel's returns to Charleston with VMI.

LAST TIME OUT
The Citadel mixed and women's rifle teams concluded the Fall 2019 portion of the 2019-20 season back on Nov. 9 by traveling to 12^th-ranked Jacksonville State. The Bulldogs' mixed team posted the best team aggregate score of the season and five individuals set personal bests. JSU took the match with a team aggregate score of 4640, while the mixed team posted a 4549 and the Bulldog women recorded an aggregate score of 3696.

For the mixed team, freshman Cameron Bates led the way with an aggregate score of 1,143, while senior Alexander McAlear posted a team second-best 1,135. For the women's team, senior Victoria Krone and freshman Demi Perez both set personal records. Krone fired off an aggregate score of 1052, while Perez led the way for the women with a 1071.

BATES QUALIFIES FOR NATIONAL JUNIOR OLYMPICS
Freshman Citadel rifle cadet student-athlete Cameron Bates has qualified to compete in air rifle at the National Junior Olympics this spring following a qualifying match held at The Citadel's Inouye Marksmanship Center on Saturday, Jan. 11.

Bates joins the likes of Izzie Blystone (2019), Max Brabston (2018), Allison Auten (2017), Colton Poole (2016) and Patrick Meyer (2016), to name a few of the recent Bulldogs who have represented The Citadel and their home states at the event held each year at the United State Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

SCOUTING VMI
VMI last competed on Dec. 7 at Wofford. The Keydets took the match with an aggregate score of 4504 ahead of Wofford's 4454. VMI's best aggregate score of the season came in the season-opener versus The Citadel as the Keydets posted a 4528, including a 2242 in smallbore and a 2286 in air rifle. Hunter Jacob and Alexander Allison have posted the Keydets' best eight scores of the season led by Jacob's 1149 in the season opener. Kelia Aardema boasts the team's best smallbore score of the season, a 572 set Sept. 28 at Navy, while James Doucett recorded the team's best air rifle score of the campaign in the same meet, shooting a 580.

COMING UP
The Bulldogs' next two matches will be on the road. Next week, the 'Dogs travel to Dahlonega, Georgia to face the 18^th-ranked Nighthawks of North Georgia on Saturday, Feb. 1. The following week, The Citadel will travel to Spartanburg to take on Wofford on Saturday, Feb. 8.

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For more information and score updates on The Citadel rifle teams, please visit CitadelSports.com or follow @citadel_rifle and @CitadelSports on Twitter and Instagram.