The NC State rifle team looks to start its season off with a bang and take control of the South Eastern Air Rifle conference in its first event of the season Saturday.

The team dominated in the SEARC last season, winning first place in every event it took place in—including the conference championship. This weekend, State starts its season off with the SEARC 1 event in Dahlonega, Georgia, an event in which they took first place in just a year ago. The team would like to repeat this two years in a row, but Head Coach Keith Miller sees this as a measuring stick for his young team.

“There are a whole lot of unanswered questions,” Miller said. “We will know a lot more about where we stand, especially with the new folks, after this weekend.”

While the team may not have any seniors currently on the team, it still returns some top talent. Sophomore Lucas Kozeniesky hopes to bring the same sharpshooting back to the team this year that he displayed a year ago. He was named to the All-SEARC Team as a freshman and led the Wolfpack in air-rifle eight times during the season. The talented Virginia native showed big improvements during his freshman campaign and became a solid member of the Pack’s lineup. The team expects a lot out of its star marksman this year and will depend on him to pick up where he left off.

“A lot of big things [are expected of Kozeniesky],” said Miller. “He should be cruising good and put up consistent, solid scores. He’s capable of being an all-American, and he’s capable of qualifying for individuals in NCAA’s. Those should be realistic expectations for him.”

The team also returns redshirt junior Dani Foster to the team. Foster suffered an injury prior to last season which caused her to miss the entire 2013 season for the team. But, the esteemed sharpshooter looks to make her mark this year on the SEARC and bring her award-winning talents back to the team. Foster is a two-time all-SEARC performer, as well as an NCAA qualifier and a talent that the team sorely missed a year ago.

“It is no doubt that Dani is [a leader],” Miller said. “It is her fourth year on the team, her third year in competition. She’s very seasoned, and she knows the deal.”

On top of returning to the team after missing the entire season a year ago, Foster will be switching to a different gun as well. This, however, doesn’t dampen expectations for the respected veteran, as the team still expects high scores and leadership from Foster.

“She has worked real hard this year getting back,” said Miller. “We have her on a different gun, a different stock. I think she is a little nervous because she’s taken a year off, but we’re expecting [Foster and Kozeniesky] to lead us in scoring.”

The team hopes to prove its dominance yet again and win the SEARC conference championship for a third year in a row behind talented leaders Kozeniesky and Foster, but the rest of the team will also have to step up to the plate if they hope to be crowned champions once again.