.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, October 4
El Paso, Texas
10 AM
Ole Miss
at
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
UTEP
Rifle Opens 2025-26 Season on the Road at UTEP
10/3/2025 | Rifle
EL PASO, Texas – No. 6 Ole Miss rifle is set to begin the fall portion of the 2025-26 season by traveling to El Paso, Texas, where it will face PRC rival No. 15 UTEP on Saturday.
Saturday will signify head coach Will Shaner's first match as the leader of the helm for Ole Miss (0-0), marking the beginning of a new era in Oxford. Ole Miss returned eight letterwinners from last season, including three consistent counters.
On the Line
2024-25 Season in Review
Ole Miss is coming off one of its most memorable seasons to date, headlined by the top freshmen class in the country. Audrey Gogniat burst onto the collegiate rifle season in the spring semester of competition, sweeping the Patriot Rifle Conference individual titles in February, and following that by becoming Ole Miss' first individual national champion in air rifle at the NCAA Tournament. Throughout the season, Gogniat rewrote Ole Miss' record books by setting the top three smallbore scores and the top two aggregate scores.
Alongside Gogniat, Gracie Dinh became Ole Miss' 13th All-American after earning First Team Smallbore and Honorable Mention Aggregate nods. Dinh had the 12th-best smallbore average in the country last season. Jordan de Jesus, Susan Carter, Claudia Muzik and Kayla Riewe each had strong freshmen campaigns, with de Jesus serving as the anchor for Ole Miss' starting five.
Ole Miss went 10-6, its first 10-win season since 2021-22 and only its third time doing so ever. The team earned a silver medal in smallbore and overall scoring at its inaugural PRC Tournament in February. Additionally, the Rebels bid farewell to all-time competitors Lea Horvath and M'Leah Lambdin, who helped Ole Miss reach the NCAA Tournament each year they spent in Oxford.
Head Coach Will Shaner
Scouting the Opponent
UTEP
The UTEP Miners enter Saturday's competition ranked No. 15 by the CRCA. Head Coach Andrea Palafox is entering her fourth campaign with the Miners after competing for them from 2009-12. She's found success with the Miners, having earned 2024-25 CRCA Coach of the Year while guiding sophomore Carlee Valenta to an NCAA Tournament bid as an individual. Valenta headlines UTEP's lineup in her second season.
Valenta owns two UTEP program records already, with scores of 599 in air rifle and 1181 in aggregate. She finished 17th overall in air rifle at the national tournament last season. Valenta is one of five returners for UTEP, the others being Julia Czernik, Paige Hildebrandt, Xan Keel and Kameron Wells. Wells had UTEP's second-best average across the board in events last season, and her sister, Kennedy, is UTEP's lone newcomer.
Rebs in the Rankings
The Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association ranked Ole Miss as the No. 6 team in the nation in its preseason rankings. The Rebels finished last season fourth at the NCAA Championships. It makes the third consecutive top 10 CRCA Preseason ranking for the Rebels.
Three other members of the Patriot Rifle Conference sit in the top 10 to start the new season. TCU checks in at the No. 3 spot, defending PRC Champions Alaska Fairbanks sits at fourth and Air Force is just behind Ole Miss at No. 7. Nebraska (11), Ohio State (12) and UTEP (15) are the other ranked members of the PRC.
Audrey Gogniat: National Champion
Following a historic freshman campaign where she only appeared in seven matches, Audrey Gogniat is back and looking for improvement. The reigning national air rifle and PRC aggregate champion has made a splash in the collegiate rifle world and has personally rewritten Ole Miss' record books.
Now the owner of the top three smallbore scores in program history, the top aggregate score the NCAA has seen since 2015 and a pair of perfect 600s in air rifle, there's not much to say about Gogniat that hasn't already been said. With her back in the rotation, Gogniat is looking to lead Ole Miss to a team title while continuing to excel as an individual.
Gogniat is the only active student-athlete at Ole Miss who has earned a medal in an Olympic sport, and the seventh in Ole Miss athletic history. She's the only Ole Miss rifle athlete to medal in the Olympics.
It came down to the last shot last season, after Gogniat outlasted a ferocious comeback attempt from Kentucky's Braden Peiser. She fired a 10.6 on the tiebreak shot to Peiser's 9.9.
With her accomplishment, Gogniat is the second Rebel to medal in the national tournament, joining former teammate Lea Horvath. Horvath earned two bronzes in the 2021 national tournament for both smallbore and air rifle.
Gogniat reached the final round after firing the second perfect 600 in air rifle of her career in the preliminary round. She had the highest score of the day, with Peiser and TCU's Katie Zaun firing 599 each. Gogniat and Horvath combined for three perfect scores last season for Ole Miss, showing a collective improvement in the event. Ole Miss was one of two teams, and the only one in the PRC, to fire three total perfect scores last season.
The Le Noirmont, Switzerland, native fired the best individual aggregate score in Ole Miss history with an 1197 mark. It's the highest among all NCAA shooters this season and set the best mark in Division I collegiate rifle since at least 2014-15.
To do that, Gogniat broke her own Ole Miss smallbore record with a 597 mark, as well as becoming the second Rebel to ever fire a perfect 600 in air rifle. In total, Gogniat missed only three bullseyes on the weekend while recording 99 center shots.
In her collegiate debut, Gogniat toed the line for the first time as a Rebel on Jan. 18 and casually swept the No. 1 spot in each event of the day. She tied the then-program record in smallbore with a 594 mark and followed that with a 599 finish in air rifle to form an 1193 aggregate. All three scores were the highest of the day in the field as she reached an Ole Miss season-high 100 center shots.
In the NCAA Qualifier, she fired a 596 in smallbore. In doing so, she officially holds the three highest smallbore scores by an individual in Ole Miss school history.
The Sophomore Six
Aptly nicknamed the "Sophomore Six," all members of the 2023 signing class are returning to Oxford for their second season of competition for the Rebels. Arguably the most talented class of athletes in all collegiate rifle, this group boasts some of the top competitors entering the 2025-26 campaign.
Audrey Gogniat, Gracie Dinh and Jordan de Jesus headline the group as the three most experienced competitors from last season, with Susan Carter, Claudia Muzik and Kayla Riewe providing invaluable depth to the lineup. All six were counters last season in at least one event, with Dinh being the only Rebel during the 2024-25 season to serve as counter in both smallbore and air rifle in all 13 appearances.
Rebs on Socials
For more information on Ole Miss rifle, follow the Rebels on Facebook (OleMissRifle), Twitter/X (@OleMissRifle), Instagram (@OleMissRifle) and at OleMissSports.com.
Saturday will signify head coach Will Shaner's first match as the leader of the helm for Ole Miss (0-0), marking the beginning of a new era in Oxford. Ole Miss returned eight letterwinners from last season, including three consistent counters.
On the Line
- The Rebels' roster features two juniors and six freshmen, who all competed multiple times last season.
- Ole Miss welcomed two freshmen, Savannah Criddle and Jadyn Morgan, as part of National Signing Day 2024.
- The 2025-26 year marks Ole Miss' 30th season of competition.
- Head coach Will Shaner begins his first season at the helm for the Rebels.
- Ole Miss hired former student-athlete Katie Tedeschi as assistant coach prior to the 2025-26 seaosn.
- Sophomore sharpshooter Audrey Gogniat won the 2025 individual air rifle championship at the NCAA Tournament in Lexington, Kentucky.
- Gogniat holds Ole Miss' individual smallbore and aggregate record, firing a 597 and 1197, respectively. She also tied the program air rifle record two times, shooting a perfect 600.
- Sophomore Gracie Dinh was Ole Miss' lone CRCA All-American last season, garnering First Team Smallbore and Honorable Mention Aggregate nods.
2024-25 Season in Review
Ole Miss is coming off one of its most memorable seasons to date, headlined by the top freshmen class in the country. Audrey Gogniat burst onto the collegiate rifle season in the spring semester of competition, sweeping the Patriot Rifle Conference individual titles in February, and following that by becoming Ole Miss' first individual national champion in air rifle at the NCAA Tournament. Throughout the season, Gogniat rewrote Ole Miss' record books by setting the top three smallbore scores and the top two aggregate scores.
Alongside Gogniat, Gracie Dinh became Ole Miss' 13th All-American after earning First Team Smallbore and Honorable Mention Aggregate nods. Dinh had the 12th-best smallbore average in the country last season. Jordan de Jesus, Susan Carter, Claudia Muzik and Kayla Riewe each had strong freshmen campaigns, with de Jesus serving as the anchor for Ole Miss' starting five.
Ole Miss went 10-6, its first 10-win season since 2021-22 and only its third time doing so ever. The team earned a silver medal in smallbore and overall scoring at its inaugural PRC Tournament in February. Additionally, the Rebels bid farewell to all-time competitors Lea Horvath and M'Leah Lambdin, who helped Ole Miss reach the NCAA Tournament each year they spent in Oxford.
Head Coach Will Shaner
- This year marks his first season as the Rebels head coach, after being promoted following two seasons as assistant coach.
- This is Shaner's first head coaching gig.
- Martin has coached three total All-Americans as an assistant coach, all at Ole Miss
- A former collegiate shooter, he competed with Kentucky from 2018-22.
- Shaner was a 11-time first team All-American at Kentucky, where he helped the Wildcats win two team national championships.
- He earned CRCA Senior Shooter of the year in 2021-22. That same year, he earned the NCAA Individual Smallbore National Title.
- Shaner competed for Team USA at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, winning the gold medal in the 10-meter air rifle event.
Scouting the Opponent
UTEP
The UTEP Miners enter Saturday's competition ranked No. 15 by the CRCA. Head Coach Andrea Palafox is entering her fourth campaign with the Miners after competing for them from 2009-12. She's found success with the Miners, having earned 2024-25 CRCA Coach of the Year while guiding sophomore Carlee Valenta to an NCAA Tournament bid as an individual. Valenta headlines UTEP's lineup in her second season.
Valenta owns two UTEP program records already, with scores of 599 in air rifle and 1181 in aggregate. She finished 17th overall in air rifle at the national tournament last season. Valenta is one of five returners for UTEP, the others being Julia Czernik, Paige Hildebrandt, Xan Keel and Kameron Wells. Wells had UTEP's second-best average across the board in events last season, and her sister, Kennedy, is UTEP's lone newcomer.
Rebs in the Rankings
The Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association ranked Ole Miss as the No. 6 team in the nation in its preseason rankings. The Rebels finished last season fourth at the NCAA Championships. It makes the third consecutive top 10 CRCA Preseason ranking for the Rebels.
Three other members of the Patriot Rifle Conference sit in the top 10 to start the new season. TCU checks in at the No. 3 spot, defending PRC Champions Alaska Fairbanks sits at fourth and Air Force is just behind Ole Miss at No. 7. Nebraska (11), Ohio State (12) and UTEP (15) are the other ranked members of the PRC.
Audrey Gogniat: National Champion
Following a historic freshman campaign where she only appeared in seven matches, Audrey Gogniat is back and looking for improvement. The reigning national air rifle and PRC aggregate champion has made a splash in the collegiate rifle world and has personally rewritten Ole Miss' record books.
Now the owner of the top three smallbore scores in program history, the top aggregate score the NCAA has seen since 2015 and a pair of perfect 600s in air rifle, there's not much to say about Gogniat that hasn't already been said. With her back in the rotation, Gogniat is looking to lead Ole Miss to a team title while continuing to excel as an individual.
Gogniat is the only active student-athlete at Ole Miss who has earned a medal in an Olympic sport, and the seventh in Ole Miss athletic history. She's the only Ole Miss rifle athlete to medal in the Olympics.
It came down to the last shot last season, after Gogniat outlasted a ferocious comeback attempt from Kentucky's Braden Peiser. She fired a 10.6 on the tiebreak shot to Peiser's 9.9.
With her accomplishment, Gogniat is the second Rebel to medal in the national tournament, joining former teammate Lea Horvath. Horvath earned two bronzes in the 2021 national tournament for both smallbore and air rifle.
Gogniat reached the final round after firing the second perfect 600 in air rifle of her career in the preliminary round. She had the highest score of the day, with Peiser and TCU's Katie Zaun firing 599 each. Gogniat and Horvath combined for three perfect scores last season for Ole Miss, showing a collective improvement in the event. Ole Miss was one of two teams, and the only one in the PRC, to fire three total perfect scores last season.
The Le Noirmont, Switzerland, native fired the best individual aggregate score in Ole Miss history with an 1197 mark. It's the highest among all NCAA shooters this season and set the best mark in Division I collegiate rifle since at least 2014-15.
To do that, Gogniat broke her own Ole Miss smallbore record with a 597 mark, as well as becoming the second Rebel to ever fire a perfect 600 in air rifle. In total, Gogniat missed only three bullseyes on the weekend while recording 99 center shots.
In her collegiate debut, Gogniat toed the line for the first time as a Rebel on Jan. 18 and casually swept the No. 1 spot in each event of the day. She tied the then-program record in smallbore with a 594 mark and followed that with a 599 finish in air rifle to form an 1193 aggregate. All three scores were the highest of the day in the field as she reached an Ole Miss season-high 100 center shots.
In the NCAA Qualifier, she fired a 596 in smallbore. In doing so, she officially holds the three highest smallbore scores by an individual in Ole Miss school history.
The Sophomore Six
Aptly nicknamed the "Sophomore Six," all members of the 2023 signing class are returning to Oxford for their second season of competition for the Rebels. Arguably the most talented class of athletes in all collegiate rifle, this group boasts some of the top competitors entering the 2025-26 campaign.
Audrey Gogniat, Gracie Dinh and Jordan de Jesus headline the group as the three most experienced competitors from last season, with Susan Carter, Claudia Muzik and Kayla Riewe providing invaluable depth to the lineup. All six were counters last season in at least one event, with Dinh being the only Rebel during the 2024-25 season to serve as counter in both smallbore and air rifle in all 13 appearances.
Rebs on Socials
For more information on Ole Miss rifle, follow the Rebels on Facebook (OleMissRifle), Twitter/X (@OleMissRifle), Instagram (@OleMissRifle) and at OleMissSports.com.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Players Mentioned
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
HOT SHOTS: Audrey Gogniat and Emma Holtz
Thursday, March 20
Rifle Air Rifle Runners-Up NCAA
Saturday, March 15
Audrey Gogniat Air Rifle Individual ChampionPodium
Saturday, March 15
HOT SHOTS: Jordan de Jesus and Drew Clinton
Wednesday, March 05