#5 UAF comes up short against #4 TCU in rifle shootout

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - Although it was their first action in nearly two months, the #5 University of Alaska Fairbanks rifle program did not have too much rust to knock off of their equipment. In their 2020-21 Fairbanks-debut Friday, UAF shot a season-high 4703 on Friday against #4 Texas Christian University, but it was not enough to top TCU’s 4722 aggregate score performance.

Results aside, there were strong individual performances from the Blue and Gold. United States Naval Academy transfer Daniel Enger was the top shooter in smallbore Friday, posting a 589. Redshirt freshman Rylan Kissell led UAF in the air rifle event, scoring a 593, good for third on the day at the E.F. Horton Rifle Range on the UAF campus.

“Friday was a brilliant team effort I think,” said first year head coach Will Anti. “It is certainly nice to be back in the 4700-score territory, it was a first time we’ve eclipsed that mark this year, so that was a big deal for us for sure. “

On Sunday, the teams moved over to the Tanana Valley Sportsmen’s Association range for day two of competition. TCU, the 2019 overall National Champions, topped UAF 4730-4685 to hand the Nanooks their second loss on the weekend. Kissell was the top aggregate scorer for UAF at 1172, followed by Jessica Boyce’s 1171 performance. Junior Kellen McAferty paced the ‘Nooks in smallbore with a score of 586, behind two TCU shooters.

After hosting #4 TCU, the Nanooks welcome another top program to town this weekend in #6 Air Force before the Patriot Rifle Conference Championships February 6-7. Facing strong competition towards the end of the season was done with intention, according to Anti.

“The schedule was made carefully, so that we would shoot in the second semester against some really high-ranked teams that, you know, might not always result in a win, but would result in us having to perform well and upping that level of intensity,” said Anti. “As the semester goes on, we want to be building the intensity as we go into the conference championship and hopefully the national championship.”

Day one of competition against #6 Air Force, the 2019 Smallbore National Champions, begins on Saturday at the E.F. Horton Range before migrating to TVSA on Sunday for day two.

Complete results of the two-day match with #4 TCU can be found below.

Friday, Jan. 15 (TCU 4722, UAF 4703)

Sunday, Jan. 17 (TCU 4730, UAF 4685)

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