Touted as one of the toughest collegiate conferences in America, the six members of the Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) are frequently some of the top teams in the NCAA. This month, the Akron Zips rifle team headed to the 2025 GARC championships at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia, on March 1-2.
In addition to Akron, the rifle teams competing at the 2025 GARC championship were West Virginia University, Kentucky, Navy, Army and Memphis.
Going into this year’s GARC championships ranked fifth in smallbore rifle, air rifle and overall (total), the Akron rifle team had their work cut out for them. At the end of smallbore day, the Zips moved from fifth to fourth. The next day as the air rifle competition neared the finish line, the crowd was buzzing that Akron may have made it to the podium (top three). As the range overcame some last-minute technical difficulties, Akron moved into fourth overall, but did indeed earn a spot on the podium by finishing third in the air rifle division. Akron rifle’s smallbore performance was exactly average, which is not a bad thing at a championship match. But for the first time in a long time, air rifle was above average which launched it into the third spot. I am very proud of this team. They earned it!
Akron senior Erin Schnupp, who just last week earned a smallbore invitation to the NCAA national rifle championship, proved she can do it with her 586 out of 600. This score narrowly missed the 587 cut off to attend the GARC smallbore final (top eight individuals). But Schnupp did set the pace for her next performance at the NCAAs in Lexington, Kentucky, on March 14.
Not to be overlooked, senior Gavin Perkowski (584) and junior Natalia Siek (583) both contributed to the team’s performance. Siek started out hot and never looked back as she led Akron in air rifle with an outstanding 594 out of 600. Like Schnupp in smallbore, Siek’s score just missed the 595 cut-off for the final. Hot on the heels of Siek, Perkowski (593) and seniors Rachel Engels and Lex Kirk (like 592s) each contributed to the team effort to move into third place. This is Akron’s first podium finish since 2019, and it could not happen to a more deserving team. I have said for some time that this 2024-2025 team is the highest scoring team ever for Akron. They all worked hard for this, and I am pleased to see them reaping the benefits.
2025 Great America Rifle Conference Championships Leaderboard
- West Virginia, 4738-342X (2388 air rifle, 2350 smallbore)
- Kentucky, 4728-329X (2382 air rifle, 2346 smallbore)
- Navy, 4705-302X (2339 air rifle, 2366 smallbore)
- Akron, 4699-300X (2369 air rifle, 2330 smallbore)
- Army, 4686-270X (2361 air rifle, 2325 smallbore)
- Memphis, 4680-276X (2363 air rifle, 2317 smallbore)
You can see the full 2025 GARC championships scorecard at the NCAA rifle website.
The 2024-2025 season may be over for the Akron rifle team, but for one individual there is one last hurdle to jump. Erin Schnupp will travel to the University of Kentucky to compete in the NCAA rifle championships on March 14. Schnupp will be in lane four and is scheduled to begin at 11:45 a.m. The live targets may be watched at this link.
Learn more about the Akron rifle team and NCAA rifle competition.
