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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Rifle Headed To NCAA Championships
2/21/2006 | Rifle
Feb. 21, 2006
OXFORD, Miss. - For the first time in the program's 10-year history the Ole Miss Rebel rifle team has advanced to the NCAA Championships and will compete beginning March 10 for a national title.
"I can't explain what this means for our players and our program," said Ole Miss head coach Valerie Boothe, who is the only head coach in Ole Miss rifle history. "The girls worked so hard all year, and I am proud of them for reaching their goals."
Ole Miss will join Alaska-Fairbanks, Kentucky, Murray State, Navy, Nebraska and defending national champion Army, at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., for the two-day event.
"It is an honor to be included with this group of programs," said Boothe, who also serves as the chairperson of the NCAA Rifle Committee. "This group represents the last seven national champions and we are very excited to compete with the best in the nation."
The Rebels had a banner season in 2005-06, setting team meet records for aggregate scoring (4666), air rifle (2344) and smallbore (2325). Senior Samantha Leach set a new school record in the individual smallbore (587) and sophomore Shannon Wilson tied junior All-America Jennifer Lorenzen's school record in the individual air rifle (590). Ole Miss also won its first-ever NCAA Sectional.
"We had a great year," said Boothe. "All of the girls worked hard on improving their shooting and it showed in our results this season."
The NCAA uses a formula to determine the participants for the Championships. The top seven teams are determined based on an average of the three highest aggregate regular season scores, with not more than one match at any given site. That average score will then be added to the score attained at the designated qualifier to determine the top seven teams.
Senior Samantha Leach was also selected to compete as an individual in the air rifle competition and she will join the team in Colorado Springs.
Ole Miss hosts the Great America Rifle Conference Championships this weekend at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center in Oxford. The event includes NCAA participants Army, Kentucky and Nebraska, as well as conference members Memphis, West Virginia and Xavier. Nebraska is the defending conference champion.
"This weekend will be a warm-up for what we will face at the NCAA's," said Boothe. "We can't wait to prove what we can do."