Frogs Today weekly newsletter: Perfection? TCU rifle is firing on all cylinders

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Freshman Julie Johannessen fired a perfect score of 600 in back-to-back weeks as the Rifle Frogs continue to dominate the sport. (TCU Athletics)

By Melissa Triebwasser
Frogs Today staff writer

TCU is coming off of a national championship appearance in football.

TCU men’s basketball is currently ranked in the top 25 and all but a lock for the NCAA Tournament.

Soccer played in the Sweet 16 for a third consecutive year.

The TCU volleyball team made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 and won a game for just the third time ever.

These are all incredible accomplishments during the 2022-2023 school year …

… yet they pale in comparison to what the rifle team is doing.

Arguably the most successful of Horned Frogs sports, rifle has played for a national championship in five of the past six seasons, taking home back-to-back air rifle crowns the past two.

Currently ranked No. 1, the program looks primed to three-peat. The Frogs are led by freshman Julie Johannessen, who fired the sixth perfect air rifle score in TCU program history last week at UTEP and followed that up with a program-record 598 in the smallbore Saturday and another 600 in air rifle Sunday at the Patriot Rifle Conference championships in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Coming into the weekend, TCU had won its first 12 matches of the year. The Frogs will head to Air Force next weekend as part of the NCAA Qualifiers. Then it’s off to the NCAA Championships in both disciplines in March.

Freshman Katie Zaun, senior Stephanie Allan and graduate student Abigail Gordon have all hit career-highs this year as well.

TCU is the only all-female team to win an NCAA rifle national championship — a feat accomplished three times. Rifle is definitely a program worth celebrating alongside the Frogs’ other success stories.

ICYMI …

Basketball is in full swing, and the Frogs’ depth is being tested with both Mike Miles and Eddie Lampkin missing extended time due to injury. Be sure that you’re subscribed to Frogs Today to stay on top of hoops content ahead of the NCAA Tournament, and get ready for baseball season, which will be here before you know it. Take a look below at what a subscription will get you, in case you missed it.

Recruiting Rundown: National Signing Day is left on ice

TCU can’t complete comeback against Oklahoma State

TCU’s schedule is out (officially). Here’s a quick look at the 12-game campaign.

Country Toads: TCU beats WVU with balance, backups

What to watch this week

Basketball is in full swing, baseball is just around the corner, and the Frogs Today TV lineup is still cooking. TCU also has men’s and women’s tennis, equestrian, men’s golf, and track and field in season and competing. We will keep you up-to-date on when you can catch the Frogs at home or streaming.

Men’s basketball: at Kansas State, 8 p.m. Tuesday (ESPNU); vs. Baylor, 3 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2)

Women’s basketball: at Kansas, 7 p.m. Wednesday (KTCU); at Texas, 4 p.m. Saturday (LHN)

Women’s tennis: vs USF, 2 p.m. Saturday

The lighter side

Kyrie and Luka to team up: The Dallas Mavericks have long been on the hunt for a second star to pair alongside Luka Dončić, and their next big swing has arrived.

On Sunday, owner Mark Cuban traded a couple of pieces alongside with some (very) future picks to the Brooklyn Nets for point guard Kyrie Irving, who had requested a trade from the franchise he had requested to be traded to.

Irving’s talent is clearly evident. He may well be the best ball-handler in the league. But the mercurial star has become as known for his antics off the court as on it, and played just 103 games in the previous three seasons combined (he’s up to 40 this year).

Both Dončić and Irving need the ball in their hands to be successful, so it’s a fair basketball question to ask if the juice is worth the squeeze. But for a franchise that’s been treading water since winning a title in 2011, doing something was pertinent, and this move is certainly something.

Bad golf shots: This was probably going to be OK, until the gust hit.

Reporter, photographer, and Horned Frog for life.

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