Jan. 30, 2012

OXFORD, Miss. – After dropping a heartbreaker to Air Force Sunday in Charleston, the No. 6 Ole Miss rifle team will look to bounce back Wednesday as the Rebels host GARC foe Memphis in a match set to begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center.

“Memphis has really come on strong for this part of the season,” Rebels head coach Valerie Boothe said. “They have been moving up in the rankings and I expect it to be a good challenge match this week.”

Whatever the sport may be, the Ole Miss-Memphis match-up always draws attention and appeal, especially with only 80 miles separating the two schools.

“Memphis is definitely a rivalry match,” junior Kim Coffey said.

Boothe added, “They are our closest competitor and the team we see most throughout the year.”

Back on Sept. 29, Ole Miss participated in Memphis’ Tiger Invitational and placed third.

Memphis, ranked No. 11 in the nation, has picked up recent momentum in wins over No. 10 Murray State and No. 12 Nebraska.

All Ole Miss home matches are free to the public.

“This is a conference match and we’re coming off a loss,” assistant coach Natasha Dinsmore said. “It’s definitely going to be an important match. We can never have any doubts about our opponent, regardless of who they are. Hopefully we will come out strong, be confident in what we can do and come out with a win.”