Nebraska’s rifle team lines up during a match against Jacksonville State at the Nebraska Rifle Range on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Lincoln.
During a disappointing road stint, the fourth-ranked Nebraska rifle team dropped three straight matches, falling to 2-3 on the year and 1-1 in the Patriot Rifle Conference. Nebraska finds itself below .500 for the first time since February 2024.
Both No. 5 Ole Miss and No. 10 Memphis upset the Huskers in a triangular match in Oxford last Saturday, Oct. 10. The final aggregate scores were 4709-4696 and 4724-4696, respectively.
NU traveled to Memphis the next day and fell to the Tigers 4710-4697.
The three losses are concerning for the Huskers, as they have now tripled its loss total from the 2025 season. That season, they finished 18-1 and rose to No. 2 in the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association and notched fifth place at the NCAA Championships.
At 2-3, Nebraska is already halfway to head coach Richard Clark’s lowest win total with the Huskers. The team went 12-6 in the 2024-2025 season.
Both aggregate scores mark significant season lows for Nebraska. In its first two matches, it posted aggregates of 4743 against Akron and 4730 against Ohio State.
No Husker appeared in the top five aggregate scores from Saturday’s triangular match. Freshman Makenzie Larson finished highest for Nebraska at sixth overall in her road debut. She shot a team-leading 594 on air rifle and 581 on smallbore for a combined 1175.
Alivia Perkins finished highest for the Huskers in smallbore at sixth overall, closely followed by Katlyn Sullivan at seventh. Perkins shot 583, while Sullivan shot 582.
In Sunday’s match against Memphis, the Huskers fared no better. Perkins took first overall with an aggregate score of 1183. However, her next-closest teammates were Maddy Moyer in fifth and Carley Seabrooke in eighth.
Perkins has been a bright spot for Nebraska. After posting a career-high 599 on air rifle at Ohio State on Oct. 3, Perkins once again took home first for the Huskers in the air rifle category against Memphis. She shot 596 in that discipline to go with a 587 on smallbore.
Other notable performances included Moyer’s fourth place finish on air rifle, and Hannah Gallagher’s sixth-place finish in the same category.
Assistant coach Kristen Derting fell to 2-1 against Ole Miss, her alma mater, in her first return to Oxford as a coach.
The Huskers have an extended break before returning to action for a pair of home matches.
On Oct. 24, Nebraska faces No. 2 Kentucky. The Wildcats handed Nebraska its lone regular-season loss of the 2025-26 campaign last January. However, the Huskers took down Kentucky on three other occasions in that season.
Nebraska also takes on No. 7 Alaska Fairbanks on Oct. 25. The Huskers beat Alaska Fairbanks twice during the 2025-26 season and haven’t lost to them since February 2024, during the Patriot Rifle Conference Championship.
Both of the aforementioned matches will be held at the Nebraska Rifle Range and are scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. CDT.
David Stevenart is a sports reporter at The Daily Nebraskan. Follow him on X at @DStevenart.