Karen Monez Position: Head Coach | 8th Season

The 2011 CRCA Coach of the Year and 2007 NRA Distinguished College Coach of the Year, Karen Monez just completed her eighth season as the Head Coach of the nationally-recognized and highly-regarded TCU Women's Rifle program.

The Horned Frogs have risen to national prominence under the guidance of Monez as TCU recorded a top-five national ranking in each of the previous five seasons, including a 2010 National Championship.

The program has received respect at the national level since Monez took over. In 2009, TCU played host to its first-ever NCAA National Championship. The success of the tournament lended itself to a second bid to host as the committee brought the championships back to Fort Worth in 2010.

TCU made the most of its hosting opportunity by taking home the team title. Additionally, the squad was crowned the air rifle National Champions, while Sarah Scherer took home the National Championship trophy in smallbore. The squad was the first-ever all-female team to win the National Championship.

At the 2009 NCAA National Championships, the Frogs finished fifth overall and were the only all-female squad competing at the national competition while seven other programs were filled with a co-ed roster. Under the direction of Monez, Mattie Brogdon finished third overall in air rifle, which was the highest-finish in program history, and seventh overall in smallbore.

Since taking over the helm of the Frogs' rifle program, TCU has become one of the most dominant programs in the country that has received national recognition. Monez has guided eight Frogs to All-American accolades in Erin Lorenzen, Emily Paper, Simone Riford, Lauren Sullivan, Sarah Scherer, Sarah Beard, Caitlin Morrissey and Mattie Brogdon. In total, Monez has coached these eight athletes to 25 All-American honors.

Lorenzen and Riford became the program's first three-time All-American award winners since Sue Ann Sandusky during the 1972-74 campaigns. In addition, Lorenzen became the first shooter in program history to capture All-American accolades in both air rifle and smallbore. Lorenzen added to her accolades in 2010 as she was named the Most Outstanding Shooter of the 2010 National Championships.

The Frogs made their first national splash during the 2007 season when TCU garnered its first-ever berth at the NCAA National Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Frogs finished fifth overall and were only 39 points behind the first-place winner.

The Frogs had four team members - Lorenzen, Paper, Riford and Sullivan - each earned top-25 individual honors, and Monez was selected as the NRA Distinguished College Coach of the Year.

During her tenure as head coach, Monez's shooters have filled the record books after setting high marks in air rifle and smallbore. Under her direction, the Horned Frogs have set every team and individual record in both air rifle and smallbore.

After accepting the opportunity to lead the women's rifle program on June 1, 2004, the Frogs quickly rose to national prominence. In two short seasons, Monez guided the Frogs to the NCAA National Championships where they have become a staple.

A veteran of competitive shooting, Monez has participated in smallbore, air rifle, 300-meter high power, air pistol, smallbore silhouette, high power silhouette and cowboy action shooting.

The TCU Head Coach captured a gold medal at the 1979 World Championships in air rifle and regained her spot at the top in 50-meter standard rifle during the 1989 World Championships.

Monez spent 25 years in the United States military where she was a three-year member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit International Rifle Section and 22 seasons as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve Shooting Team. A resident athlete at the United States Training Center, Monez has competed in both domestic and international shooting competition, including touring over 20 countries during her career.

The TCU Head Coach was a member of three gold-medal Championship of Americas Teams (1977, 1981 and 1985) and three World Championship Teams (1978, 1979 and 1982) during her impressive shooting career.

During her career, Monez captured individual medals in five World Cup competitions, including four gold crowns, to go along with eight individual titles at the U.S. International Shooting National Championships. Monez also competed at the National Rifle Championships for 20 years and recorded 15 individual titles to go along with four team championships.

Monez has recorded 55 individual crowns to go along with 42 team national records and has competed in some of the biggest events in the world, including the NRA  Indoor National Championships, Silhouette Rifle National Championships and Cowboy Action Shooting National and World Championships.

Monez's most recent shooting endeavor has been in Cowboy Action shooting where she has captured titles at both the World Championships and European Championships to go along with three gold medals at the National Championships.

A member of the NRA, Monez is also affiliated with USA Shooting, Texas State Rifle Association and Single Action Shooting Society. Monez was recognized by Shooting Sports Magazine as one of the 50 Greatest Shooters of the 20th century.

Monez and her husband, John Chapman, reside in Weatherford.