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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
GARC Tournament
Freshman Shooter Powers To Finals Of Conference Tournament
2/24/2003 | Rifle
Feb. 24, 2003
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Samantha Leach turned in the best performances of her career in both air rifle and smallbore at the Great American Rifle Conference Tournament over the weekend, reaching the finals in air rifle competition with a 388, and firing an 1140 in smallbore, as the Rebels finished sixth overall in the standings with a score of 6045 overall.
Leach led the way for Ole Miss, who finished in the final spot in smallbore with a 4513, but edged out Army for fifth in air rifle with a score of 1532. The score in air rifle was the second best performance of the year for Ole Miss in the event.
"We didn't do as well as we wanted in smallbore, but air rifle more than made up for it," said head coach Valerie Boothe. "We finished ahead of Army in the standings and 11 points out of first place overall. This shows that we are able to get in there and compete with the big guns on a national scene. These are some of the top 10 teams in the nation."
Leach, a freshman from Orlando, Fla., proved to be the surprise of the tournament for Ole Miss. She had been shooting well, coming on strong to lead the team at the NCAA Sectional, but jumped up her shooting another level with her career-high marks in both events this time out. Leach led the way with a combined score of 1528 for Ole Miss. She fired a 91 out of 100 possible points in the finals to tie for ninth place overall.
"We are very proud of Samantha Leach," Boothe said. "She made it to the air rifle finals, but I think some of the pressure she put on herself may have gotten to her. I'm proud that we ended the season with a strong finish. I'm especially proud that some of our young shooters stepped up to the challenge this weekend. It speaks well for the future of this program."
Megan Sandage, another freshman on the team, also turned in solid marks for the Rebels. The Sutter, Calif., native fired an 1141 in smallbore and a 383 in air rifle to finish second on the team with a combined score of 1524, four points behind her freshman teammate.
Also shooting for the Rebels were sophomore Shanda Duval and junior Kristin Parker. Duval, who fired an 1118 in smallbore and a 381 in air rifle to end the meet with an aggregate score of 1499, while Parker scored an 1114 in smallbore and a 380 in air rifle for a 1494 total score.
This marks only the second time that all four squad members have fired 380 or above in air rifle. The first time this was accomplished was earlier this season at the Ole Miss Invitational. The Rebels scored a 1536, the school record in air rifle at that meet.
Senior Maranda Stockton, who served out her final season as the team captain, competed as an individual in the tournament, recording a score of 372 in air rifle. She did not compete in smallbore.
The GARC Tournament marked the end of the 2002-03 season for the Ole Miss rifle team.
TEAM SCORES Smallbore Air Rifle Total
1. Jacksonville St. 4632 1543 6175
2. West Virginia 4631 1543 6174
3. Xavier 4631 1536 6167
4. Kentucky 4612 1539 6151
5. Army 4628 1523 6151
6. OLE MISS 4513 1532 6045
OLE MISS' INDIVIDUAL SCORES Smallbore Air Rifle Total
Samantha Leach 1140 388 1528
Megan Sandage 1141 383 1524
Shanda Duval 1118 381 1499
Kristin Parker 1114 380 1494
Maranda Stockton* - 372 372
*Competed as an individual
