Nation’s top two shooters to square off in Texas

The nation's top two shooters will meet in Fort Worth, Texas, this weekend.

The No. 3 West Virginia rifle team will head west to take on No. 1 Texas Christian Saturday.

The match will feature junior sharpshooters Petra Zublasing of WVU (9-0) and Sarah Scherer of TCU (7-0).

Together, the dynamic duo has shot the two highest scores in both guns in collegiate rifle this season.

"I really want to shoot a good score," Zublasing said. "Sarah is the only one right now in the United States who is able to beat me overall.

"She's a really nice girl, but she's good, so I need to do well. So, I'm really excited, and I'm looking forward to it."

Both have shot a perfect 600 to tie for the top air rifle score in the NCAA, while Zublasing has edged her friend and rival in smallbore this season.

Scherer, the 2010 individual smallbore national champion, recorded a 591 at No. 9 Jacksonville State, which has only been topped by Zublasing's 593 shot against No. 10 Murray State.

The personal rivalry between two prolific shooters should make this one of the best matches in collegiate rifle this season.

"We're like each other; we're great friends," Zublasing said. "But nobody wants to be second."

Thanks to their consistent scoring, the two squads meeting in Fort Worth have also been staples in the top three of the College Rifle Coaches Association rankings.

The Horned Frogs are currently at the summit of the CRCA rankings with an aggregate season average of 4,700.

With defending national champion Kentucky at No. 2, West Virginia rounds out a loaded top three, averaging an aggregate score of 4,680 per match.

Only seniors Justin Pentz and Mike Kulbacki have ever shot at TCU, in the 2009 NCAA championships, so the rest of the Mountaineers will have to deal with the challenge of shooting on an unfamiliar range.

"It's always a challenge to go on the road to any range," said West Virginia head coach Jon Hammond. "Going on the road to shoot against the team that's No. 1 right now with the best average is certainly

going to be as challenging as anything."

TCU has posted enormous scores all season long, winning all four of its dual matches and finishing in first in two triangular matches and one eight-team match.

Scherer has paced the Horned Frogs with an average aggregate of 1,185, followed by juniors Sarah Beard and Caitlin Morrissey with averages of 1,173 and 1,168 respectively.

This top-ranked Horned Frogs squad will be the

Mountaineers' toughest test to date and should allow them to see just how they measure up with the nation's best.

"Yes, you want to win as many matches as you can, but in all reality we want to win the last match of the year," Hammond said.

"I've definitely learned in the last few years that you want to win that last match of the year, and everything else is just building towards that."