Rifle team earns first-ever NCAA bid
2/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rifle
Feb. 21, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU women's rifle team has earned its first-ever bid to the NCAA Rifle Championships to be held March 9-10 in Fairbanks, Alaska. Only the top eight teams in the country qualify for the championships. TCU is currently the sixth-best team in the nation.The Frogs enter the tournament riding a four-match winning streak. In 10 meets the season, TCU has been victorious in seven, while earning three second place finishes. They are led by four talented freshmen that have a combined nine victories in air rifle and six wins in smallbore.
"Qualifying for the championships was one of the goals the team set early in the season and now that this new milestone has been reached we look forward to the opportunity to compete in the national championships," remarked Head Coach Karen Monez. "Last year was a first when Celeste Green qualified for the national championships as an individual. It is very exciting that the team has taken the step to the next level by qualifying as a team."
Erin Lorenzen has led the team with eight titles, five in air rifle and three in smallbore. Lauren Sullivan has been just as successful with two wins in both air rifle and smallbore. Simone Riford claimed two victories in air rifle and one in smallbore. Emily Paper has recorded eight top-10 finishes in air rifle and five in smallbore.
"The four freshmen have really distinguished themselves in their first year and I am very proud of what the team as a whole has accomplished."
Additionally, five Frogs have qualified to compete at Junior Olympic Championships. From Alaska, they will travel to Colorado Springs to compete at the Olympic Training Center. The four freshmen plus sophomore Tanya Gorin received invitations to compete in the Junior Olympic Championships, which will be held at the OTC from March 12-15.
A total of 48 competitors were selected for the championships. The top eight teams in both the smallbore three-position and air rifle events were selected based on the average of the three highest regular-season aggregate scores with no more than one match at any given site. The average of the three highest scores was added to the aggregate scores from the designated qualifiers to determine the top eight teams.
Individual and team competitions in smallbore three-position (60 shots) will be held Friday, March 9. Individual and team competitions in air rifle (60 shots) will be held Saturday, March 10. The overall team champion will be determined by combining the smallbore and air rifle team totals into one aggregate score for each institution.
A look at the championship field:
University of Alaska-Fairbanks
Jacksonville State University
University of Kentucky
Murray State University
University of Nebraska
TCU
Army
Navy
Players Mentioned
