LEXINGTON, Ky. — After breezing through its early-season schedule, the Kentucky rifle team suffered its first defeat of the season, at the hands of Texas Christian University, 4623-4604 on Saturday afternoon at UK?s Barker Hall.

Kentucky (7-1, 3-0 Great American Rifle Conference) entered the contest averaging a team combined score of 4642 in its first seven matches. The Wildcats never got off the ground on Saturday, posting a season-low 2278 smallbore team total, 22 points shy of its next lowest smallbore total. Last week in Morgantown, W.Va., UK totaled a 2300 smallbore total and utilized a late air rifle rally to secure the win.

?TCU did a great job today,? Kentucky head coach Harry Mullins said. ?They are a good team and they preformed well today for the win. We challenged ourselves today and we did not live up to the task. I was very disappointed in our ability to control the outcome. We shot more 7?s and 8?s today in smallbore than we have in the last several years.?

After posting the team smallbore total in the early portions of the match, UK needed a strong air rifle performance to comeback and win. TCU nailed down the match, posting a 2331-2326 air rifle win over UK. Erin Lorenzen led the way for TCU, posting a match-high 586 air rifle score, with teammates Lauren Sullivan and Emily Paper each contributing a 583 in air gun.

On a day when nearly every shooter in the UK lineup posted season-low scores, Tom Csenge, Ashley Jackson, and Jen Pason led the air rifle scoring for the Wildcats, with each of the sophomores posting a 583. Csenge led UK in smallbore, totaling a 577 score.

The loss ends the Wildcats fall season, and the squad now turns its focus towards the air rifle tournament, which serves as one of the tryouts for the United States National Team, held in Colorado Springs. Colo.

?I hope that this will be a great tool for us to go into the break with,? Mullins said. ?This will really test the character of the team throughout the break to see how we come out next semester.?