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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, January 27
West Point, N.Y.
8 AM
Ole Miss
at
Army
Rifle Begins Spring Slate with Doubleheader
1/26/2024 | Rifle
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss rifle heads to West Point, N.Y., for two matches to open up the spring season. The Rebels first face Army on Saturday, January 27 then John Jay College on Sunday morning.
On the Line
Ole Miss fired high marks and competed against some of the best teams in the nation in the fall. The Rebels went 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the GARC to begin their 2023-24 campaign. The team started strong with two straight wins in back-to-back days. Fell to No. 1 West Virginia but scored tied for the fifth-highest mark in program history. The team rattled off two more victories over Navy and Akron. Ole Miss took on two top-10 teams, No. 9 Kentucky and No. 4 Georgia Southern, to wrap up the fall.
The Rebels are sixth in the nation, averaging a match aggregate 4717.86. Smallbore was the Rebels mainstay in the fall, averaging 2343.57, third in the country. Lea Horvath led the team with an 1181.29 aggregate, a 595 air rifle, and a 586.29 smallbore average. Sophomores Julianna Hays and Emma Pereira are significant reasons for the high smallbore scores, averaging 585.43 and 585.14, respectively. The two are also second and third in aggregate scoring.
Coach Rachel Martin
Scouting the Opponent
Army
The Black Knights, led by Leighton Dempster in her 2nd season, are ranked 16th in the nation by the CRCA. Dempster has turned the team around from a 2-8 record in 2022-23 to a 6-3 overall and 2-2 GARC record this year. Army looks to finish strong in its last two home matches, and the NCAA Qualifier is left on its schedule.
Their three seniors lead Army with Anusha Pakkam in front of the pack. Pakkam has the highest averages in all three disciplines. She averages an 1174.78 aggregate score and above a 590 in air rifle. Fellow senior Kyle Kutz is second on the team in aggregate score, firing an 1168.38 per match.
John Jay
The Bloodhounds, led by Tom White in his sixth season, started 0-4 before winning their last three matches before the winter break. Sophomore Danny Canning leads the team in smallbore, air rifle, and aggregate average.
Series History
Ole Miss and Army are even in the 10 all-time matches, five wins each. The Rebels have controlled the series in recent memory with three straight wins over the Black Knights. In the last meeting, Ole Miss won 4720-4616 in Oxford. In the previous match in West Point, Ole Miss also came out victorious, scoring a program record 4737 at the time.
Winter Air Gun Championships and Olympic Trials
Eight Rebels traveled to Colorado Springs for the Winter Air Gun Championships, which is also the site for air rifle and smallbore Paris Olympic trials. Ole Miss rifle landed three in the top-40 at the Championships. Diamond led the way, firing a two-match score of 1245.3 for a top-30 placement. The freshmen tied her career-high integer score of 595 for a 623.9 decimal score on the first day.
Immediately following the air gun championships, USA Shooting hosted the second trial for Olympic smallbore. Diamond again excelled, placing 14th with an 1171 mark after two matches. She shot her first-ever 590 in the second match. Pereira also finished in the top-20, hitting 585 in both matches and shooting perfectly in prone on day two.
After placing in the top-25 in the third and final air rifle trial, Derting and Pereira finished in the top-25 in the Olympic Qualifier rankings.
Spring in Full Bloom
In recent memory, the Rebels have excelled in the match following the break in the season. Ole Miss Rifle has won the first game after the winter break in four of the last five years, with the lone loss being against No. 1 Alaska Fairbanks in 2022.
All five matches were against top-15 opponents. The Rebels took down No. 0 Navy last season.
January Jubilee
In the last five seasons, the Ole Miss rifle team has a combined 16-5 during January. These matches are the only ones the Rebels will play in January this season. The Navy and Red went 3-0 in 2023.
National Signing Day
Coach Rachel Martin announced the signing of four new shooters to the 2024-25 squad. One of the most decorated recruiting classes the program has signed, the Rebels' 2023 National Signing Day class features a National Junior Air Rifle Championship, four Junior Olympians, three Junior Olympic championships for their state, three state championships, two NJROTC national championships, and five other championships.
CRCA Rankings
Ole Miss ranks sixth in the latest CRCA rankings based on its current NCAA Team Standings. The standings are determined by the average of the three top scores at three different locations—the 4730 against West Virginia, 4729 against Akron, and 4715 against Murray State, averaging 4724.67.
Rebs on Socials
For more information on Ole Miss rifle, follow the Rebels on Facebook (OleMissRifle), Twitter (@OleMissRifle), Instagram (@OleMissRifle), and at OleMissSports.com.
On the Line
- Army hosts the 2024 GARC Championships.
- The 11-member roster is the largest since the 2020-21 season.
- Julianna Hays broke career records in smallbore, air rifle, and aggregate in a win over Akron.
- Regan Diamond and Gretchen Schleinkofer shot personal bests against No. 1 West Virginia in all three disciplines.
- Shot two top-five program marks in match score, two in smallbore and another in air rifle during the fall.
- One of three programs to have fired a score of 4730 or higher.
- Coach Martin earned her first win as the Rebels' head coach against Jacksonville State and her first overall since January 24, 2021, as the Nebraska coach.
- New assistant coach Will Shaner won the gold medal for men's air rifle at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Ole Miss fired high marks and competed against some of the best teams in the nation in the fall. The Rebels went 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the GARC to begin their 2023-24 campaign. The team started strong with two straight wins in back-to-back days. Fell to No. 1 West Virginia but scored tied for the fifth-highest mark in program history. The team rattled off two more victories over Navy and Akron. Ole Miss took on two top-10 teams, No. 9 Kentucky and No. 4 Georgia Southern, to wrap up the fall.
The Rebels are sixth in the nation, averaging a match aggregate 4717.86. Smallbore was the Rebels mainstay in the fall, averaging 2343.57, third in the country. Lea Horvath led the team with an 1181.29 aggregate, a 595 air rifle, and a 586.29 smallbore average. Sophomores Julianna Hays and Emma Pereira are significant reasons for the high smallbore scores, averaging 585.43 and 585.14, respectively. The two are also second and third in aggregate scoring.
Coach Rachel Martin
- First season as the Rebels head coach, promoted after one season as assistant coach
- Two years of head coaching experience at Nebraska, guiding them to the NCAA Championships in both seasons
- Coached three All-Americans
- Former collegiate shooter with Nebraska from 2014-17
- NCAA Individual Smallbore Champion in 2015
Scouting the Opponent
Army
The Black Knights, led by Leighton Dempster in her 2nd season, are ranked 16th in the nation by the CRCA. Dempster has turned the team around from a 2-8 record in 2022-23 to a 6-3 overall and 2-2 GARC record this year. Army looks to finish strong in its last two home matches, and the NCAA Qualifier is left on its schedule.
Their three seniors lead Army with Anusha Pakkam in front of the pack. Pakkam has the highest averages in all three disciplines. She averages an 1174.78 aggregate score and above a 590 in air rifle. Fellow senior Kyle Kutz is second on the team in aggregate score, firing an 1168.38 per match.
John Jay
The Bloodhounds, led by Tom White in his sixth season, started 0-4 before winning their last three matches before the winter break. Sophomore Danny Canning leads the team in smallbore, air rifle, and aggregate average.
Series History
Ole Miss and Army are even in the 10 all-time matches, five wins each. The Rebels have controlled the series in recent memory with three straight wins over the Black Knights. In the last meeting, Ole Miss won 4720-4616 in Oxford. In the previous match in West Point, Ole Miss also came out victorious, scoring a program record 4737 at the time.
Winter Air Gun Championships and Olympic Trials
Eight Rebels traveled to Colorado Springs for the Winter Air Gun Championships, which is also the site for air rifle and smallbore Paris Olympic trials. Ole Miss rifle landed three in the top-40 at the Championships. Diamond led the way, firing a two-match score of 1245.3 for a top-30 placement. The freshmen tied her career-high integer score of 595 for a 623.9 decimal score on the first day.
Immediately following the air gun championships, USA Shooting hosted the second trial for Olympic smallbore. Diamond again excelled, placing 14th with an 1171 mark after two matches. She shot her first-ever 590 in the second match. Pereira also finished in the top-20, hitting 585 in both matches and shooting perfectly in prone on day two.
After placing in the top-25 in the third and final air rifle trial, Derting and Pereira finished in the top-25 in the Olympic Qualifier rankings.
Spring in Full Bloom
In recent memory, the Rebels have excelled in the match following the break in the season. Ole Miss Rifle has won the first game after the winter break in four of the last five years, with the lone loss being against No. 1 Alaska Fairbanks in 2022.
All five matches were against top-15 opponents. The Rebels took down No. 0 Navy last season.
January Jubilee
In the last five seasons, the Ole Miss rifle team has a combined 16-5 during January. These matches are the only ones the Rebels will play in January this season. The Navy and Red went 3-0 in 2023.
National Signing Day
Coach Rachel Martin announced the signing of four new shooters to the 2024-25 squad. One of the most decorated recruiting classes the program has signed, the Rebels' 2023 National Signing Day class features a National Junior Air Rifle Championship, four Junior Olympians, three Junior Olympic championships for their state, three state championships, two NJROTC national championships, and five other championships.
CRCA Rankings
Ole Miss ranks sixth in the latest CRCA rankings based on its current NCAA Team Standings. The standings are determined by the average of the three top scores at three different locations—the 4730 against West Virginia, 4729 against Akron, and 4715 against Murray State, averaging 4724.67.
Rebs on Socials
For more information on Ole Miss rifle, follow the Rebels on Facebook (OleMissRifle), Twitter (@OleMissRifle), Instagram (@OleMissRifle), and at OleMissSports.com.
Players Mentioned
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