The TCU women’s rifle team will host the National Rifle Association Sectionals and NCAA Qualifier at the ROTC Building this Saturday in an all-day event.
TCU also hosted Air Force yesterday at home, defeating the Falcons for their 22nd-straight win, 4,660-4,641. Sophomore Sarah Scherer tied a school record with a 596 in air rifle and junior Mattie Brogdon set a personal-best with a 592 in air rifle.
The Frogs scratched by in smallbore with a 2,362-2,345 victory over the Falcons. Brogdon was TCU’s top shooter in smallbore, firing a 581, good for second place. Sophomore Sarah Beard fired a 580 finishing third, and Sophomore Caitlin Morrissey fired a 572 (good for fifth).
The Falcons will remain in Fort Worth this weekend to compete in the NRA Sectionals and NCAA Qualifier. Saturday’s match will be the last of the season before the NCAA Championships next month.
“It’s always nice to shoot on your own range,” said rifle coach Karen Monez. “With the level most of the team members are at, whether at home or on the road, they’re always going to perform at a very high level.”
In the past four years, TCU has become a perennial championship contender. In 2007 and 2009 rifle finished third overall and finished the season in the top five in 2008. Last season, the team earned its first NCAA National Championship over Alaska, 4,675-4,653.
The Frogs boast a 12-0 record and have built on a 21-match winning streak this season.
“The team has fired some record setting scores this past season,” Monez said. “They just proved to themselves that they are still a national championship team.”
Monez said the team members compete individually as well.
“We shoot the format for the NCAA Qualifier, you shoot five and count four,” she said. “We have to designate before the start of competition the team members that will be our counters.”
The five team members’ scores that will represent TCU are junior Mattie Brogdon, freshman Catherine Green and sophomores Sarah Beard, Morrissey and Scherer.
The sectionals provide the opportunity for individuals and teams to compete with many collegiate shooters across the nation and to compare their marksmanship performance by being nationally ranked, according to the NRA.
Sectional tournaments consist of indoor matches conducted at numerous locations throughout the country, according to the NRA. The top eight schools in the nation will advance to the NCAA Championships March 11-12 in Columbus, Ga.
One team automatically qualifies. The seven other teams will be determined based on an average of the three highest collective air rifle and smallbore regular season scores. The average score will then be added to the score attained this weekend, according to NCAA rules.
The Frogs will shoot air rifle and smallbore events, which both consist of 60-shot courses of fire. For air rifle, all 60 shots will be fired from the standing position. The course for smallbore will be evenly divided into 20 shots from three different positions: standing, kneeling and prone.
Freshman Jaime Dowd and sophomore Maggie Savage will only be shooting in the air rifle event. The rest of the team will be participating in both the air rifle and smallbore events.
Throughout the season, the rifle team has been working to improve their skill level, Monez said.
Each team member has her strengths in technique and has identified some elements of its machine that it has been focusing on, Monez said. She said the goal for sectionals is the same as every match- each individual is to go out and perform their very best.
“When it’s all said and done, I think we’ll have a score that will be very competitive and that will put us in the top eight,” Monez said.
What: National Rifle Association Sectionals and NCAA Qualifier
When: All day Saturday
Where: TCU ROTC Building
Check dailyskiff.com for rifle updates.
