The No. 7 Nebraska Rifle team was selected for the 2023 NCAA Rifle Championships Monday afternoon, as the NCAA announced the eight-team field.

The Huskers will make their 19th NCAA appearance since 2000 and first since the 2021 season. They will be joined in Akron by No. 1 TCU, No. 2 Alaska-Fairbanks, No. 3 West Virginia, No. 4 Kentucky, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 6 Murray State and No. 8 Air Force. The two-day event takes place at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio, on March 10-11.

"I am proud of the team for qualifying for the NCAA Championships," said Head Coach Mindy Miles. "They have worked hard all season to represent Nebraska. We have two-and-a-half weeks to dig in and see how high we can climb in the ranks at the match." 

The teams qualified based on a combination of their top 3 scorers and their NCAA Qualifier score from last weekend.

The Huskers have faced three of the qualifying teams this season: TCU; Alaska-Fairbanks; and Air Force. They lost to the Horned Frogs twice (4,737-4,699/4,744-4,710) and the Nanooks twice (4,743-4,714/4,740-4,726), but defeated the Falcons twice (4,717-4,692/4,706-4,699). 

Graduate student Elena Flake and juniors Cecelia Ossi and Madelynn Erickson all have experience competing at the Championships for Nebraska. All three were part of the team in 2020-21 that qualified, and Ossi qualified as an individual last year in the smallbore event.

Individuals from non-qualifying teams also will be traveling to the championships – seven in the air rifle and four in the smallbore. 

Two Baker Sweeps Earn NU A Third-Place Finish

Jonesboro, Ark. - The Nebraska bowling team went 9-4, with two 4-0 sweeps in bracket play on Sunday, to claim third place at the 2023 Mid-Winter Invitational. The Huskers finished the tournament, which featured eight of the top 10 collegiate bowling teams in the country, with a total pinfall of 13,476 and are now 74-31 on the year.     

After 10 games of qualifying baker and traditional matches, the Big Red had secured the fifth-place seed leading into the final bracket play.  

The Huskers first faced the No. 6 seed of the tournament, Maryville, in round one on Sunday morning. NU began the best-of-seven play with a win (226-198) before Maryville answered back with a victory in game two (202-195). NU and Maryville then went back and forth with Maryville (203-197) winning game three and Nebraska taking game four (245-185). The Big Red then sealed the first-round victory with a pair of wins in game five and six (223-213) (236-182) to advance to round two against No. 9 Sam Houston.  

Sam Houston received the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament. The Huskers dominated against the Bearkats with a strong performance in all four games. Nebraska won games one and two (234-205), (231-211) before winning game three by a single pin (199-198). The Big Red then sealed the win against the Bearkats in game four (255-236) to face host team No. 4 Arkansas State for third place.  

The Huskers continued to bring the heat in final round of bracket play with a second sweep against the Red Wolves. Nebraska won all four games, each with scores above 200 (208-200), (277-195), (214-159) and (257-188) to defeat the Redwolves and lock up third place.  

Four Huskers sat in the top 25 individual standings overall. Redshirt Junior Kayla Verstraete lead the Huskers in 10th with a total pinfall of 1,094, good for a place on the second All-Tournament Team. Freshman Jillian Martin followed behind Verstraete in 11th with a total pinfall of 1,082. Senior Kendyl Hofmeister tied for 16th with Megan George from Stephen F. Austin University with a pinfall of 1,069, and senior Crystal Elliott rounded out the Huskers with 1,043 pins. 

Up next, Nebraska returns home for its final tournament of the regular season as it hosts the 2023 Big Red Invitational on March 3-5 in Lincoln, Neb. at Hollywood Bowl.  

Mid-Winter Invitational Final Standings:

No. 1 McKendree: (9-2) 12,878 
No. 12 Louisiana Tech: (8-4) 14,086 
No. 3 Nebraska: (9-4) 13,582
No. 4 Arkansas State: (7-5) 13,963 
No. 9 Sam Houston: (7-5) 14,013 
No. 5 Stephen F. Austin: (8-5) 13,888  
No. 8 Maryville: (9-4) 13,745 
No. 7 Youngstown State: (8-4) 14,206 
No. 20 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater: (5-8) 12,943 
No. 21 Lincoln Memorial: (6-6) 13,707 
No. 17 University of Central Missouri: (6-7) 12,142
Tusculum: (3-10) 12,247 
Kentucky Wesleyan: (6-7) 11,909    
Alabama State: (4-8) 11,800 
Jackson State: (6-6) 11,494 
Alabama A&M: (3-10) 11,269
Grambling: (0-9) 8,492