TCU Rifle defeats Navy in season opener

By Taylor Chronert, Staff Writer

Published Sep 23, 2024

Members of TCU Rifle compete against Ole Miss on February 1, 2020. Photo courtesy of GoFrogs.com.

The TCU rifle team took on the Navy on Saturday in the first competition of the 2024-2025 season.

A lineup that featured six newcomers and three new counters had six of the top 10 aggregate scores in the match, according to TCU Athletics.

Before the season started, the team was ranked fourth in the pre-season NC Rifle Ranking. Another Big 12 school, West Virginia, is above TCU at third.

In the competition, TCU had a shooting score of 2,344. They also added a score of 2,372 in air rifle, producing top marks in two matches.

Freshman Katie Zhuan, in her collegiate debut, outshot her teammates with a score of 1,187. Also in her collegiate debut, freshman Christiana Hillinger’s aggregate score of 1,180 earned her third place.

In the aggregate match, three TCU shooters placed in the top ten.

Sophomore Mikole Hogan placed fifth with a score of 1,176, followed by freshman Rylie Passmore in sixth with a score of 1,173 in her collegiate debut. Freshman Marissa Fedore took ninth with a score of 1,169, followed by sophomore Micah Hames in tenth with a score of 1,165.

TCU also had five women place in the top seven for smallbore.

Zhuan led her team to a victory in the aggregate match and the Smallbore match with a 592 score. Hogan and Hillinger had a one-point difference between both of their scores, 585 for Hogan’s shooting score and 584 for Hillinger. We also saw a tied score with both Fedore and Passmore each getting a score of 583.

In the air rifle event, Hillinger emerged as the overall winner with a score of 596, finishing two points ahead of her opponent, senior Marleigh Duncan. Hames shot a career-high 590, although her score was not included in TCU’s overall total.

TCU will face Georgia Southern in their next competition on Sunday, Oct. 20. Both teams will travel to West Point, New York, to compete at the Army campus.

Results:

1: Katie Zaun

3: Christina Hillinger

5: Mikole Hogan

6: Rylie Passmore

9: Marissa Fedora

10: Micah Hames