Ole Miss Rifle Team Finishes Seventh At NCAA Sectionals

Feb. 11, 2002

MURRAY, Ky. - The Ole Miss rifle team turned in a seventh place finish at the NCAA Sectional over the weekend with a score of 5,949 behind the strong shooting of freshman Shanda Duval and senior Misty Ballard.

The Rebels missed the cut for the NCAA Championships, however, in a strong sectional that saw three teams break the 6,000 point mark on the weekend.

"We didn't do as well shooting as we had hoped we would," said Ole Miss head coach Valerie Boothe. "We're shooting better than we did the weekend before, which I think will only push us as we head into our last two meets of the season and our conference tournament."

Duval led the Rebels with a composite score of 1507 to put her in the No. 12 spot for the weekend. The freshman fired an 1123 in smallbore for the 25th spot in that event and a 384 in air rifle to finish 12th.

Ballard fired a 1494 for the weekend to take the No. 20 spot in the final standings with scores of 1116 in smallbore and 378 in air rifle. She finished 22nd in the final air rifle standings.

Kristin Parker and team captain Maranda Stockton rounded out the scoring for the Rebels. Parker fired a 1489 to take the No. 22 spot overall with score of 1118 in smallbore and 371 in air rifle. Stockton shot a 1459 with scores of 1086 in small bore and 373 in air rifle.

The surprise of the weekend was the performance of freshman Megan Roberts, who competed as an individual and was not included in team scoring. Roberts fired a 371 in air rifle and a team best 1139 in smallbore which would have placed her 17th in the overall smallbore standings. Roberts' smallbore score is a career best for the freshman who had never competed in the event before this season.

"I have been really impressed with Megan and how quickly she has picked up smallbore," Boothe said. "We have never had anyone rocket up in scoring like she has. What she has been able to do says a lot about her dedication and what she will be able to provide this team in the future."

The Rebels will return to action when the team competes in the GARC Tournament at West Virginia, February 23-24.

TEAM SCORES

1. Kentucky (Blue) 6211

2. Tennessee Tech 6175

3. Murray State 6168

4. Jacksonville St. (Red) 6100

5. Kentucky (White) 5985

6. UT-Martin 5979

7. OLE MISS 5949

8. Jacksonville St. (White) 5882

9. UT-Martin ROTC 5838

10. Austin Peay 1459

11. Birmingham-Southern 1455

Memphis 1455

13. Arkansas 1385

14. Saint Louis 1329

15. UAB 1227

INDIVIDUAL SCORES Air Rifle Smallbore Total

Shanda Duval 384 1123 1507

Misty Ballard 378 1116 1494

Kristin Parker 371 1118 1489

Maranda Stockton 373 1086 1459

Megan Roberts* 371 1139 1510

*competed as individual, did not count in team standings

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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