Rifle Gears Up For Championships
3/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rifle
March 8, 2012
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU rifle team is headed to Ohio State to take part in their sixth straight NCAA Championships. The two-day tournament begins Friday with the smallbore competition and wraps up Saturday with air rifle.TCU has had a tremendous amount of success in the National Championships the last five seasons. They reached the pinnacle in 2010 as they took home the team National Championship as well as the Smallbore National Championship. They have notched two fifth-place finishes (2007 and 2009) and a pair of third place finishes in 2008 and 2011. Additionally, Sarah Scherer took home the individual smallbore national championship in 2010.
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 total scores into one aggregate score for each institution.
Here's a look at the field of eight heading into the championships:
TCU Horned Frogs
The Horned Frogs enter the field as the only unbeaten squad this season. TCU has faced every team in the field except for Nevada. Heading into its contest on Jan. 21 against an undefeated Kentucky squad, the Frogs took care of the Wildcats and then handed the also-undefeated West Virginia Mountaineers their first loss of the season on Jan. 28. The Frogs are 12-0 on the season and have won 31 straight regular season matches.
Sarah Scherer has had a season for the ages, averaging 597 in air rifle and a 587 in smallbore, both team-highs. In addition to shooting a perfect 600 in air rifle against Alaska-Fairbanks on Nov. 1, she also earned a spot on the 2012 Olympic Women's Air Rifle team. Sarah Beard is right behind Scherer, second on the team in both smallbore and air rifle. The Frogs are strong top-to-bottom with Mattie Brogdon, Caitlin Morrissey and Catherine Green rounding out the top five. The team is headed by 2011 CRCA Coach of the Year Karen Monez who has led TCU to top-five finishes in each of the past five seasons including the 2010 national title.
West Virginia Mountaineers
The Mountaineers are 12-2 on the season, with one of those defeats coming at the hands of TCU on Jan. 28 in Fort Worth. They recently won the Great American Rifle Conference for the third consecutive year.
Petra Zublasing is the Mountaineer's top shooter, sporting a 596.5 air rifle average and 586.8 smallbore average. The Appiano, Italy, native finished second at the 2011 NCAA Air Rifle Championships and was named Shooter of the Year for the conference this season, while also gaining a spot on the 2012 Italian Olympic team. Justin Pentz has also been a force for West Virginia this year, as the four-time NRA All-American has held averages of 587 and 577.9 in air rifle and smallbore, respectively. He also finished fifth at the 2009 NCAA Air Rifle Championships.
Army Black Knights
The 9-3 Black Knights are making their ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Championships and are coming off an eighth-place finish a year ago.
Kelly Buck will be competing in the championships for the fourth-straight year, and was a 2011 NRA first-team All-American in smallbore. The Black Knights were well represented at the Olympic trials as their top air rifle shooter, Richard Calvin competed as did Michael Matthews who participated in the smallbore trials. TCU defeated the Black Knights on Nov. 19.
Jacksonville State Gamecocks
The Gamecocks enter the championships under the direction of Ron Frost, who received 2012 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year accolades for the fourth time in his career.
Andrea Dardas and Samuel Muegge earned All-OVC honors in both disciplines, while Dan McCall was honored on the smallbore team. TCU handed the Gamecocks a loss in Jacksonville on Nov. 12.
Kentucky Wildcats
The defending national champion Wildcats are currently 11-1 on the year, with their only loss coming Jan. 21 to the Horned Frogs. They won the Great American Rifle Conference regular-season title, but came up six points short to West Virginia in the conference tournament. Ethan Settlemires and Heather Greathouse have been two of their top performers this season.
Nevada Wolf Pack
The Wolf Pack are headed by Dempster Christenson and Olivia Pennell. Christenson has participated individually in the championships the last three years, but Nevada has not been there as a team since 2009. The Wolf Pack are coming off an NCAA Qualifier loss to UTEP in El Paso. They did not shoot a home match all season, yet still picked up first-place finishes in five of their nine matches.
UTEP Miners
The Miners defeated Alaska-Fairbanks and Nevada twice this year. Alix Moncada and Andrea Palafox are the top shooters for the Miners, as Palafox's 588.3 and 576.1 are first on the team in air rifle and smallbore, respectively. Moncada is right behind in both categories. Jennifer Armendariz and Andrea Vautrin provide a solid supporting cast as well. TCU defeated UTEP on Oct. 1 in Fort Worth and again on Feb. 11 in El Paso.
Alaska-Fairbanks
The Nanooks are coming off their top performance of the year. While hosting Nebraska and Jacksonville State in the NCAA Qualifier, they set a new season-high aggregate score with a score of 4,672. Michael Liuzzi, Anna Hjelmevoll, and Ryan Anderson were their top shooters in the Qualifier. The Nanooks closed the season 8-5, but just 4-4 away from home. One of those losses came to the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth on Nov. 1.
Players Mentioned
