The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Set To Face Familiar Foes In Charleston
1/26/2012 | Rifle
Jan. 26, 2012
OXFORD, Miss. - Less than two weeks ago, the No. 6 Ole Miss rifle team returned to action after a two-month layoff between matches and picked up two quality wins over then No. 20 NC State and The Citadel. Ole Miss will once again face the Wolfpack and Bulldogs this time on the road, as the Rebels will take on NC State Saturday and host The Citadel and No. 14 Air Force Sunday.
"This is an extremely crucial weekend for us to hopefully gain some momentum," Rebel head coach Valerie Boothe said.
The Rebels have not competed against Air Force this season, but expect the Falcons to be a tough opponent.
"We've been watching Air Force off and on," Boothe said. "They're a good quality program and the school that I'm probably most worried about."
While Ole Miss defeated NC State and The Citadel back on Jan. 14, junior Kim Coffey said she and her teammates aren't overlooking either opponent.
"It's going to be more of a personal battle this time trying to beat them again," Coffey said. "We're trying to beat our own scores from the last time we faced them too."
At the same time, the Rebels will face a larger obstacle this weekend on the road compared to the earlier home meeting. However, many of the Rebel shooters are looking forward to stepping away from their comfort zone.
"I love shooting on the road," Coffey said. "It gets you a little bit more prepared for the match setting because we're used to shooting at home. It's good to not have the nerves when you're shooting at home because you're so used to your own range, but in a way, the nerves kind of keep me in check."
Senior Keely Stankey continues to be the Rebels top performer this season. The Minneapolis native shot a match-high 592 air score when Ole Miss first faced the Wolfpack and Bulldogs. Stankey was pleased with her air score that day, but is aiming for a better smallbore score this weekend.
The Rebels won't face a long layover after this weekend's pair of matches, as Ole Miss hosts No. 11 Memphis in a mid-week match scheduled for Wednesday at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center.
"It's very important for us to get off to a positive start this weekend," Coffey said. "We're going to be shooting a lot of matches in a row in the next few days and if we get off to a good start it should carry over for the Memphis match."
