OXFORD, Miss. — On the eve of the Great American Rifle Conference Championships, the Kentucky rifle team pulled in a boatload of accolades, beginning with head coach Harry Mullins being named the GARC Coach of the Year.

?This means a lot for the Kentucky rifle team,? Mullins said. ?It is not an individual honor, the team put in a lot of hard work and this means more for them. I am very proud of this team and I am honored to have coached them this season.?

Mullins led UK to an 11-1 record with the lone blemish coming at the hands of defending NCAA Champion Alaska-Fairbanks. He coached a team which was laden with freshmen talent to a GARC regular-season conference crown, after UK went undefeated in conference action.

Kentucky freshman shooter Jen Pason reeled in conference Rookie of the Year honors, in addition to being named to the first-team in smallbore, air rifle, and in the combined categories.

Kentucky senior co-captain Amy Sowash was also honored, as the Richmond, Ky. native was named to the second-team in air rifle. Sowash was also named as one of the five Scholar Athletes of the Year.

?I am very proud of Amy,? Mullins said. ?She is such a hard worker and is truly a ?range rat?. She has such a will to win and to succeed, I am just proud to have coached her these last few years.?

Tom Csenge, another freshman sensation on the UK rifle team, also racked up the accolades, as he was named to the first team in the combined categories and also in smallbore. Csenge was also named honorable mention in air rifle.

?Freshman year, to put out the numbers they have, the have done a phenomenal job,? Mullins said. ?Jen and Tom are team oriented and are team players – they were really neck-in-neck for the honor. It was real close between the two. In my mind, both Tom and Jen are rookies of the year. I am very proud of them and the way they reacted in coming in and helping our program as much as they have.?

Kentucky begins the conference tournament on Saturday and will conclude competition on Sunday.