HARRISONBURG, VA. - The Columbia archery team will travel to James Madison University to compete in the 2011 United States Intercollegiate Archery Championships (USIAC). The event is the largest college-only tournament of the year and will take place from May 19-22.  This marks the final team competition for the Lions' 2011 season.

The Details
Opening ceremonies are set for Thursday, May 19 at 4:15 p.m.  Competition begins on Friday with the first half of the qualifying round beginning at 8 am when archers will shoot their first 72 arrows.  The following morning, the competitors conclude the qualifier by shooting an additional 72 arrows.  Saturday afternoon features the official Team Round of the tournament where the Lions will compete head-to-head with other schools.  Competition concludes on Sunday with the Individual Elimination Rounds followed by the awards banquet where the All-American and All-Academic archers are named.

Competition Format
Recurve Division
*  Qualifying round - 70m on 122cm FITA target face
*  Team and Mixed team round - 70m, Academic Target (aka hit/miss)
*  Elimination matches for individuals - 70m on 122cm FITA target using 'set system'

Compound Division
*  Qualifying round - 50m on Compound target face (5-10 scoring ring)
*  Team and Mixed Team round - 50m on Compound target face (5-10 scoring ring)
*  Elimination matches for individuals - 50m on Compound target - regular scoring (no set system)

Last Time Out
The Columbia archery team competed at the 2011 Easton Foundations Gator Cup, one of the premier archery tournaments of the year.    Sarah Chai was the Lions' top recurve finisher in the qualifying round, ranking 10th overall.  The junior shot an impressive 1,247 which ranked eighth overall out of all USA shooters, qualifying her for the World Team Trials. In the head-to-head elimination round, Chai advanced to the round of 16. 

Her classmate Anna Harrington also advanced to the round of 16 after ranking 22nd overall in the qualifier with a combined total of 1,165. In the compound division, Sydney Shaefer cracked the top-20 by shooting a 1,253, good enough for 19th overall.

That's Impressive
Six Columbia archers were named to the All-East team for the 2011 season.  Shaefer earned a spot on the compound team, while Chai, Harrington, Maya Inamura, Sara Lavenhar and Aaqilah Chambers all received the honor in the women's recurve division.