After the first day of competition at the NCAA Championships, TCU rifle claimed a national championship in Smallbore, the second in program history.

The Frogs’ effort was led by sophomore Elizabeth Marsh, who received the individual national title in the event with a top score of 588. Marsh is only one of two individual national champions in the history of the program.

Currently, the Horned Frogs sits atop the standings going into the air rifle competition on Saturday. No.1 West Virginia is second in the standings, the defending national champion, No. 3 Kentucky, is third.

TCU’s victory didn’t come without its share of drama. Both West Virginia and TCU shot identical team scores in the competition. However, the Horned Frogs had more shots on center than the Mountaineers, giving them the edge in the tiebreaker. The Frogs will look to build on this success into Saturday’s competition to capture the third team national championship in program history.

Head coach Karen Monez said that one of the team’s keys to victory looking ahead will be its focus and determination on the firing line that carried the Horned Frogs throughout the season.

“If they just go in there and do what they did all year long they will go in there and post a score that’s capable of winning the NCAA’s,” Monez said. “It’s all about the points, if we put the numbers out there that are capable of winning, that’s all we can do.”

In air rifle, the Horned Frogs are in a strong position to make a statement. TCU boasts three of the ten best air rifle shooters in the country and all five of the participants are ranked in the Top 20. No other team in the competition shares the same statistic.

The air rifle portion of the NCAA championships is set to begin Saturday at 9 a.m.