Raymond Slonena was a seven-time All-American in rifle and a member of Tennessee Tech’s NCAA National Championship teams in 1981 and 1982. His work has helped both the U.S. Olympic program and the U.S. Space program, including the space shuttle and international space station.

In addition to playing a key role in Tech’s four straight team finishes among the nation’s top three, Slonena achieved the highest plateau, individually, being crowned the 1983 NCAA Individual Champion in air rifle after placing third in 1981. He was fourth in 1984.

A native of Alexandria, Va., Slonena helped establish coach Jim Newkirk’s teams among the premier collegiate rifle teams in the nation before receiving his bachelor’s degree from Tech in 1985 in mechanical engineering.

He was assistant coach with the Golden Eagleyes in 1985, then returned to the university in 1987 to work on his master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He also returned to his assistant coaching role for the 1987 and 1988 seasons.

He brought his love for the sport together with his professional know-how when his thesis work combined the sport of rifle with the TTU engineering labs to investigate the improvement and accuracy of Olympic competition rifles using an innovative design system.

In addition to his shooting success at Tech, Slonena also established himself worldwide in the sport in various competitions. He was a member of the U.S. Shooting Team that placed second at the World Air Rifle Championships, placing eighth individually. He also helped his team win first place and captured third individually at the 1980 Championships of America.