The Nebraska Rifle team will open its 2023-24 season against Ohio State this Saturday, Oct. 7. The match is slated to start at 8 a.m. and will be held at the Nebraska Rifle Range in the basement of the Military and Naval Sciences Building. Attendance is free for fans. The match will be streamed on the live video section of the rifle website and results can be found here.
The Huskers are ranked No. 6 in the preseason College Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) rankings after finishing sixth at last year’s NCAA Championships.
The faceoff with the Buckeyes marks the first of 12 regular-season matches for NU, eight of which take place during the fall portion of the season. Nebraska will have four regular-season matches during the spring, along with the PRC Championships and the NCAA Qualifiers and Championships
“As always, we are looking forward to hosting OSU,” said Head Coach Mindy Miles. “As the only other Big Ten team, it’s nice to compete against them. I’m excited to see what the team will post for our first match.”
The Huskers have faced Ohio State 25 times and have won 17 of those matchups. In the most recent clash, NU defeated the Buckeyes 4,709-4,702 at the 2023 NCAA Qualifiers.
The Huskers return six of eight shooters from last year, including 2023 NCAA Smallbore National Champion Cecelia Ossi. The senior was a CRCA First-Team Smallbore All-American, Second-Team Air Rifle All-American and Third-Team Aggregate All-American in 2023. Over the summer, the Annandale, N.J., native won the USA Shooting Smallbore Championship and the CMP smallbore and air rifle titles.
CRCA Second-Team Air Rifle All-Americans Emma Rhode and Vittoria Watts also return to the team. The sophomores both set a new Nebraska air rifle record last year when they shot 598s in the event.
Madelynn Erickson returns for her senior year after being named a CRCA Honorable Mention Smallbore All-American and setting personal bests in all three events in 2022-23.
Camilla Johannessen and Mackenzie Strauch also return to the team as significant contributors.
Freshman Charlie Mick earned a silver medal at the Colorado State Junior Olympics in overall air rifle and was a 4-H state champion for multiple years. She came in third overall at the CMP regionals and fifth overall at the Dixie Doubles Juniors competition.
“Charlie will be making her debut as a Husker!” said Miles. “I am confident the rest of the team will pick up where they left off last year.”
NU also had a strong academic year in 2022-23. Ossi, Erickson, Strauch, Rhode and Johannessen were named CRCA Scholastic All-Americans, along with Elena Flake. Every member of the team was named to the Tom Osborne leadership team.
Following the match with Ohio State, the Big Red will travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on No. 7 Air Force on Sunday, Oct. 15.
