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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Rifle Targets NCAA Championships In 2012
9/21/2011 | Rifle
Sept. 21, 2011
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss rifle head coach Valerie Boothe has plenty of reasons to be excited. With a strong group of shooters returning, led by senior Keely Stankey and a talented group of six sophomores, Boothe has the Rebels aiming high as the 2011-12 season kicks off this Friday with the Ole Miss Invitational at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center.
"Last season we didn't close out the year like we wanted," said Boothe, the only head coach in Ole Miss rifle history. "Everything was in place for us to succeed, and we while did have a great overall season, we did not have a good day at the NCAA qualifier and that ultimately cost us our goal of reaching the NCAA Championships. However, we have capitalized on that experience coming into this season and have used the momentum from last year as motivation. Everyone has been working so hard and doing so well; it's so exciting to see what they will be capable of this season."
The Rebels return nine members of last year's squad that won six matches and set the single-match scoring record with a total of 4654 against Kentucky. Boothe believes this year's squad will bring a wealth of experience to the table.
"The girls have definitely matured over the summer and gained some knowledge in training," said Boothe, the 2011 Great America Rifle Conference Coach of the Year. "They know what to expect at this level, and that will help carry them through the entire season this year. I expect all of them to step up this year. Based on what I have seen over the summer and the amount of training they have put in on the range, there could be a different mix of people in the top five this year because we are so deep."
Ole Miss' depth this season starts with senior Keely Stankey, who returns for her final season in Oxford. Last year, Stankey led the Rebels with a 576.1 average in the smallbore and finished fourth on the team in the air rifle with a 581.7 season average.
"Keely is definitely one of our top shooters and we need a good final year from her," Boothe said. "She had a solid year last season, but I think she felt like she didn't contribute as much as she could. This is her last year and she will have a really big push to capitalize and finish really strong. I told her to take control and be the steering force to show the rest of the team the direction we need to go in."
Joining Stankey will be a pair of veterans in juniors Kim Coffey and Emma Holman. Coffey, who earned team MVP honors a year ago, led the Rebels with a 584.6 average in the air and finished second to Stankey with an 1156.0 combined average. Holman also returns after posting season averages of 565.0 in the air and 556.1 in the smallbore.
"Kim is just a great motivator for our team," said Boothe. "She does a great job training and is always so focused and so driven that it carries through to the rest of them. Emma has gotten much more serious since she first arrived. All the conversations I've had with her over the summer have been directed at where our program should be and focused on the team. I think she will bring that leadership factor that we will need and will keep an eye on everything to make sure everybody is going in the same direction."
The Rebels also return all six members of last year's freshman class in MaryAnn Banks, Rena Goodwin, Melissa Quartarone, Kelly Rosales, Abbey Stanec and Alivia Yeager to make up quite a large sophomore class. Boothe believes that the large group is a year wiser and could pay huge dividends for Ole Miss this season.
"This was the largest and most talented freshman class I have had in my time at Ole Miss," said Boothe, who enters her 15th season at the helm of the Rebel program. "They all have a different style, but bring so much to the table in terms of talent. They all now have a year under their belts and understand what it takes to compete on this stage. This year I think we could see them really jump to that level and make the team even better."
The only two newcomers this season aren't really that new to the Ole Miss program. Twin sisters Evalyn and Virginia Holman join sister Emma on the squad and just missed older sibling Meredith, a four-year letterwinner who finished her career with the Rebels last year, by one season.
"I am so excited for the twins to join our team," said Boothe. "I'm a little anxious about having three sisters on a team, but I'm not worried about the twins because they have been together literally their entire life, so they know how to work well together. They have big shoes to fill if they are going to break into the top five, but we are just excited to have new blood on the team. They are very hard workers and come from a very prestigious junior club that is nationally known, so they are not afraid of competition."
The Rebels also add a full-time assistant coach, as graduate assistant coach Natasha Dinsmore slides over in the newly created position.
"So much weight will be lifted from my shoulders by having a person who understands the challenges of our program," Boothe said. "Natasha came from a great program at West Virginia and brings a great drive and energy for the sport that is contagious. She has been invaluable to our program and will continue to help us reach new levels of success."
"She will move more into the forefront in coaching and will have a bigger role in decisions we make with training. She will be there on a day-to-day basis working with the team, and she has a different experience of coming from a co-ed team to an all girls team. It is nice to have that different perspective so we can study what we are doing in training and how we can improve."
Boothe believes this season she has all the pieces in place to make the team's first trip to the NCAA Championships since finishing sixth in the nation in 2006.
"I really like where the program is right now," Boothe said. "With the talent and depth we have on the team and the support of two full-time coaches, I think we can make our mark on the national stage this year."