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The University of Mississippi Athletics
2008-09 Ole Miss Rifle Season Outlook
10/7/2008 | Rifle
The Ole Miss rifle team first tasted the NCAA Championships just three seasons ago. The Rebels have fallen just short of postseason play the last two years, but Ole Miss enters the 2008-09 season with four returnees from last year's squad, and with talent and experience returning, the Rebels have their sights set on a return to the postseason.
While the Rebels return four from last year's line, they must replace All-American Shannon Wilson, last year's Great America Rifle Conference smallbore champion.
"We are going through a little bit of a rebuilding period," said head coach Valerie Boothe, the 2006 Collegiate Rifle Coaches' National Coach of the Year. "We lost both of our All-Americans (Wilson and Jennifer Lorenzen) in the last two years, so now we are looking for our younger talent to step up. I still think we are going to be strong with the talent we have here and the talent we have coming in."
The Rebels will be led by senior Jessica Hornby, who set career highs in both the air rifle and smallbore last season.
"Jessica is our team captain this year. I am a little afraid that because she is the only senior that she will have too much placed on her, but she has been through all of this before, and I know she can handle it. Shannon Wilson is also still around (finishing her degree), so help is never too far away.
"I'm looking for her to be a really strong team leader. She has always tried to step out and be a fierce competitor. I expect her to come in with that same fire in her last season."
The Rebels return three freshmen, Meredith Holman, Stacie Leatherman and Erica Swanson, who all contributed on the line last season.
"I think they got smarter. Toward the end of the season they were finally stopping some of the mistakes they were making and their scores started to improve. They got their feet wet in college and everybody came out with good grades, so I'm happy with their well-roundedness.
"Erica stepped up for us last year. We really counted on her at crunch time and I expect the same this season. Stacie shot a lot over the summer and I think it will help her build on what she did last season."
Over the summer Holman took 10th in the air rifle at the U.S. Junior Olympics. Boothe believes that success should propel Holman into a solid season.
"Meredith came on really strong in air rifle last season and I expect her to continue that progression."
The Rebels added two newcomers to the squad for this season, in freshman Keely Stankey and junior college transfer Colleen Tillson.
"Keely was one of the most-sought after recruits this year, so I am happy to have her here. She is a very level-headed competitor. She is a calm shooter, but I think she will push everybody to be a better shooter.
"Colleen comes to us from junior college and after a year in school. I think she is very mature for her age and she will be a good competitor for us. She has done some coaching at the junior level, so she brings quite a bit of knowledge."
Boothe hopes the Rebels' combination of talent and experience produces a winning formula in 2008-09.
"Even though we lost Shannon I still think we should be strong. We have the experience coming back and ones coming in were already posting scores as good or better than whar we had last year," Boothe said.