Nebraska rifle’s rough road weekend pushed the Huskers into unfamiliar territory.
The fourth-ranked team dropped three straight matches, slipping to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the Patriot Rifle Conference. That marks Nebraska’s first time below .500 since February 2024.
The skid started in Oxford on Saturday, Oct. 10, where No. 5 Ole Miss and No.
10 Memphis both handed Nebraska losses in a triangular match. Ole Miss won 4709-4696, and Memphis followed with a 4724-4696 result.
Nebraska then stayed on the road Sunday and fell again, this time 4710-4697 at Memphis.
It’s already a striking swing from last season’s form. Nebraska has now tripled its loss total from the 2025 season, when it went 18-1, climbed to No. 2 in the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association rankings and finished fifth at the NCAA Championships.
The Huskers are also halfway to head coach Richard Clark’s lowest win total at Nebraska after just five matches. The team went 12-6 in the 2024-2025 season.
The numbers from this weekend tell the story just as bluntly. Both aggregate scores were season lows for Nebraska. The Huskers opened the year with much stronger totals, putting up 4743 against Akron and 4730 against Ohio State.
Saturday’s triangular match didn’t produce a top-five aggregate finish for any Husker. Freshman Makenzie Larson led the way for Nebraska in her road debut, placing sixth overall with a 1175 aggregate. She fired a team-best 594 in air rifle and added a 581 in smallbore.
Alivia Perkins paced Nebraska in smallbore at sixth overall, with Katlyn Sullivan right behind her in seventh. Perkins shot 583, while Sullivan posted 582.
Sunday brought more of the same in terms of team results, but Perkins continued to stand out. She won the Huskers’ top aggregate score with 1183 and finished first for Nebraska in air rifle once again.
Her 596 in air rifle paired with a 587 in smallbore. Behind her, Maddy Moyer finished fifth and Carley Seabrooke was eighth.
Perkins has been one of Nebraska’s most consistent bright spots. After setting a career high with 599 in air rifle against Ohio State on Oct. 3, she followed that up with another strong outing against Memphis. Moyer also had a notable day, taking fourth in air rifle, while Hannah Gallagher placed sixth in that same event.
The weekend also carried a personal twist for assistant coach Kristen Derting, who dropped to 2-1 against Ole Miss, her alma mater, in her first coaching return to Oxford.
Nebraska now has an extended break before its next home slate. The Huskers host No.
2 Kentucky on Oct. 24 and No. 7 Alaska Fairbanks on Oct. 25 at the Nebraska Rifle Range, with both matches set for 8:00 a.m.
CDT.
Kentucky handed Nebraska its lone regular-season loss of the 2025-26 campaign last January, though the Huskers beat the Wildcats three other times that season. Nebraska also has recent success against Alaska Fairbanks, winning both meetings during the 2025-26 season and not losing to the Nanooks since February 2024 at the Patriot Rifle Conference Championship.
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