Rifle & Pistol Club
MISSION
The mission of the GVSU Rifle & Pistol Club is to provide all students with the opportunity to participate in shooting sports, with an emphasis in three-position smallbore rifle, international air rifle, and air pistol. Regardless of skill or ability, all members can have a safe and enjoyable time interacting with fellow students and engaging in marksmanship. All equipment is provided, including guns, ammunition, and targets.
TRYOUTS
The club does not hold tryouts. New members, regardless of experience, are welcome year-round. Questions regarding club membership can be directed to the club email account.
PRACTICE
The club meets Monday and Thursday 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM year-round. Practice attendance is not mandatory to be a member of the club; however, regular practice attendance is expected. In shooting, it's persistence that pays the biggest dividends—constant, steady practice, week in and week out, all year long.
RANGE
Grand Rapids Rifle & Pistol Club (1331 Nagel Ave SW, Wyoming, MI 49509)
RIFLE TEAM
The rifle team is a member school of the Western Intercollegiate Rifle Conference. In the regular season, the schools compete in monthly postal matches (October-January). A postal match is a competition in which competitors fire separately on their home ranges and exchange scores. Five shooters are predesignated by each team with the top four individual scores contributing towards the overall team score. The conference championship match is hosted by a member school in February. An intercollegiate rifle club national championship is held in March. The team participates in various other local, regional, and national matches hosted by the American Smallbore Shooting Association (ASSA), Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP), National Rifle Association (NRA), National Rifle League (Vermont Winter Postal League), and USA Shooting (USAS) throughout the year.
PISTOL TEAM
The team participates in Orion's National Air Pistol League. The 11-week league runs from January to April. All team members shoot the league matches with the top four individuals contributing to the team's aggregate score. The team will participate in various other local, regional, and national matches hosted by the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP), National Rifle Association (NRA), and USA Shooting (USAS) throughout the year.
PARA TEAM
Paralympic shooting, also known as shooting para sport, is an adaptation of shooting sports for competitors with disabilities. The rules governing Paralympic competition are those used by World Shooting Para Sport. Those rules consider the differences that exist between disabilities, allowing ambulant and wheelchair athletes to compete shoulder to shoulder. The shooting disciplines match athletes of the same gender, or occasionally both genders, with similar disabilities, against each other, both individually and in teams. Paralympic shooting competition is open to male and female athletes with physical disabilities such as amputation/limb loss, spinal cord injury/wheelchair-users and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke. Depending on the existing limitations (degree of body trunk functionality, balance while seating, muscle strength, mobility of both upper and lower limbs), and on the skills that are necessary in Shooting, athletes are divided into three classes:
SH1: Pistol and Rifle competitors that do not require a shooting stand.
SH2: Rifle competitors who have no ability to support the weight of the air rifle with their arms and therefore require a shooting stand.
SH3: Rifle competitors with visual impairment.
FUNDRAISING
The GVSU Rifle & Pistol Club is always accepting cash donations or in-kind contributions. Please consider an online donation to the Team Fund.
2025-26 Schedule
|
Date |
Location |
League/Association |
Match Name |
Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Pending |
|
Name |
Year |
Discipline |
Hometown |
Previous School/Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Eleni Athanassopoulos |
1st |
Rifle |
Chippewa Valley High School |
|
|
Kaitlyn Besley |
1st |
Rifle - Club President |
Grandville, Michigan |
Home School |
|
Eliana Drozdowski |
1st |
Rifle |
Hopkins, Michigan |
Home School |
|
Maxwell Eckhardt |
1st |
Pistol |
Coldwater, Michigan |
|
|
Anthony Fisher-Reid |
1st |
Pistol |
Flint, Michigan |
|
|
Esmeralda Gugino |
1st |
Rifle |
Holland, Michigan |
West Ottawa High School |
|
Jasper Gugino |
1st |
Pistol/Rifle |
Holland, Michigan |
West Ottawa High School |
|
Casey Hanson |
1st |
Rifle |
Norton Shores, Michigan |
Muskegon Catholic Central |
|
Faizaan Khan |
1st |
Pistol/Rifle |
||
|
Carissa Lugo |
1st |
Pistol |
Holland, Michigan |
West Ottawa High School |
|
Stella Ndiritu |
1st |
Pistol |
||
|
Chander Singh Digari |
1st |
Pistol |
||
|
Alexander Straith |
7th |
Rifle |
West Bloomfield, Michigan |
Wylie E. Groves High School |
|
Mitchell Swint |
1st |
Pistol |
Lowell, Michigan |
Lowell High School |
|
Namrata Yogesh Panchal |
1st |
Pistol |
2025-26 Coaching Staff
|
Title |
Name |
Season |
Alma Mater |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Faculty Advisor |
Gerry Cooke |
10th |
YouTube
Blog
Rifle & Pistol Club Blog
gvsu_rifle
Blog
TEAM HISTORY
2020-21:
Coach Zwart led the Laker team to fifth-place finishes in the 2020-21 WIRC regular season in both air rifle and smallbore. The team won the 10th Annual International University Air Rifle for a second consecutive season.
2019-20:
Coach Zwart led the Laker team to a third-place finish in the 2019-20 WIRC regular season and Championship in air rifle. The team finished fourth in the regular season and fifth in the Championship in smallbore. Coach Zwart was named WIRC Smallbore Coach of the Year a fourth time. Christian Yap earned 1st All Conference Air Rifle Team. The team finished second in air rifle and third in smallbore in the 2020 NRA Collegiate Sectional. The Laker team qualified a team record 18 individuals for the 2020 NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Championship, which was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team won the 9th Annual International University Air Rifle match in their first appearance in the competition. The team finished first in the 2020 Mid-State Rifle League for a fourth consecutive season.
2018-19:
Coach Zwart led the Laker team to its highest finish in the 2018-19 WIRC regular season rankings in school history, finishing third in smallbore and second in air rifle. The team also set high water marks at the WIRC Championship earning a third-place finish in smallbore and third place finish in air rifle. For his efforts, Coach Zwart was named the WIRC Air Rifle Coach of the Year for the second time. 11 individuals qualified for the NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championship in Fort Benning, Georgia. The team earned national runner-up honors in posting a school record aggregate score of 4447. The Lakers had four individuals finish in the top 15 in the aggregate rankings and Aubrey Jackson earn 2nd All Star Team honors in air rifle. The team finished first in the Mid-State Rifle League for a third consecutive season. Aliah Lloyd became the first club member to qualify for the USA Shooting National Junior Olympics in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
2017-18:
Coach Zwart led the Laker team to a third-place finish in the WIRC regular season in smallbore and air rifle. The team finished the WIRC Championship match fourth in smallbore and fifth in air rifle. Coach Zwart was named the WIRC Smallbore Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season. Nine individuals qualified for the NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championship in Fort Benning, Georgia where the team finished third. Christian Yap earned 1st All Star Team honors in air rifle. The team finished first in the Mid-State Rifle League for the second consecutive season.
2016-17:
Coach Zwart led the Laker team in finishing fifth in smallbore and fourth in air rifle in the WIRC regular season. In the WIRC Championship, the team finished fourth in both smallbore and air rifle. The team earned WIRC Most Improved Smallbore Team and WIRC Most Improved Air Rifle Team honors. Coach Zwart was named WIRC Smallbore Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. The team made its first NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championship appearance in Fort Benning, Georgia, finishing seventh. Seven individuals qualified for the Championship. The team joined the Mid-State Rifle League and finished first overall.
2015-16:
In his first season, Coach Zwart led the Laker team to a sixth-place finish in the WIRC regular season in smallbore and air rifle. The team finished four in both disciplines in the WIRC Championship. The team earned honors as the WIRC Most Improved Smallbore Team and WIRC Most Improved Air Rifle Team. Coach Zwart was named the WIRC Smallbore Coach of the Year, WIRC Air Rifle Coach of the Year, and GVSU Club Sports Coach of the Year. The team qualified its first two individuals (Gregory Quante, Alex Cyburt) to compete in the NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championship in Fort Benning, Georgia.
2003-2004:
Coach Priddy led the team to a sixth-place finish in the 2003-2004 WIRC regular season and WIRC championship match in smallbore. The team finished seventh-place in the WIRC regular season and WIRC championship match in air rifle. Individually, Dan Cole finished fifth place in the WIRC smallbore handicap (most improved) award.
2002-2003:
Coach Priddy led the team to a ninth-place finish in the 2002-2003 WIRC regular season in smallbore. The team finished in eighth-place finish in the WIRC championship match in smallbore.
WIRC Individual Results WIRC Team Results Roster Photograph
2001-2002:
Coach Priddy led the team to an eighth-place finish in the 2001-2002 WIRC regular season in smallbore. The team finished seventh-place in the WIRC championship match in smallbore. Individually, April Chernoby finished third place in the WIRC smallbore handicap (most improved) award.
WIRC Individual Results WIRC Team Results
2000-2001:
Coach Priddy led the team to a seventh-place finish in the 2000-2001 WIRC regular season in smallbore. The team finished ninth-place in the WIRC championship match in smallbore.
WIRC Individual Results WIRC Team Results
1995-1996:
The club was founded by a group of students led by Gerard "Gerry" Cooke. The late Michael "Mike" Stone was the first Head Coach.