The rifle team will be looking to take the first step toward having back-to-back seasons making the NCAA Championship this weekend. After ending the regular season by winning five matches in a row, the team is ready for Saturday’s NRA Sectionals and NCAA qualifier.

TCU will face the University of Nevada in its NCAA qualifier. In October, the two schools met in Reno, Nev. The contest ended in a tie with both teams finishing with an aggregate score of 4,614. Sophomore Erin Lorenzen said the team is focused and ready to take on the challenging Nevada team.

“We have had a good end to the season,” Lorenzen said. “It gets slightly more serious now, but we try to keep our focus and go about our normal routine.”

In the 2007-2008 regular season, the rifle team went 6-3-1. It was able to end its season with a five-match win streak, which included a win over the University of Nebraska for the first time in TCU history.

“I think winning five in a row does put a little pressure on us,” sophomore Lauren Sullivan said. “But, I think that it is good pressure, and has given us a lot of confidence.”

Last year the rifle team finished in a tie for fifth place with Nebraska in the NCAA Championships.

Sullivan said having the same group compete in the NCAA Championships two years in a row adds to the team’s confidence.

“We have all been shooting well individually and I think we all are confident in our personal scores,” Sullivan said.