RENO, Nevada – The UTEP rifle team fired an aggregate score of 4577 while sharing the range at Nevada in its season opener Saturday. The Miners posted a total of 2273 in smallbore and 2304 in air rifle.
“We put up a solid performance this weekend,” UTEP head coach Hannah Muegge said. “The goal of this match was to get our new athletes acclimated to competition at the collegiate level. Now that we’ve got a match under our belts and have experienced the match day pressures, we’re looking forward to building up on today’s performance when we host Nevada next weekend at home.”
Senior Rachael Schoenrock led the way for the Orange and Blue with an aggregate of 1150 but true freshmen Abby Monique (1148) and Bailey Powell (1147) were not far off the pace. Sophomore Haylee Schoenrock finished at 1132 while freshman Mara Rouse fired an 1114.
Monique showed no rookie jitters by pacing the team in smallbore at 576. Rachael Schoenrock followed close behind (570) while the Bailey checked in at 568. Haylee Schoenrock recorded a score of 559. Sophomore transfer Maranda Nelson recorded 550 in the discipline in her Miner debut while freshman Mara Rouse tallied 546.
UTEP then turned its attention to the air rifle relay, with Rachael Schoenrock (580) and Powell (579) setting the tone. Haylee Schoenrock (573) and Monique (572) also had solid showings. Rouse put the finishing touches on her first collegiate event with a 568.
UTEP will return to the Sun City to begin preparations for its home opener. The Wolf Pack will make the trip to El Paso for a match on Oct. 8at the UTEP Rifle Range.
Admission is free but for fans who can’t make it there will be live stats through UTEPAthletics.com.
