Jan. 18, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky rifle team will face two top-15 teams over the weekend, traveling to Oxford, Miss., to take on No. 11 Ole Miss Saturday and No. 10 Memphis Sunday.
“This weekend gives us a great opportunity to get on the road and gain some experience,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “We’re playing two conference opponents and those matches are always competitive, we know we’re going to have to be prepared.”
Kentucky is coming off a win over Alaska-Fairbanks, breaking the 4700 barrier with a 4705 – 4687 victory. Freshman Connor Davis led the Wildcats in air rifle, shooting a 597. Junior Emily Holsopple delivered a 592 in air rifle.
The Wildcats’ counters on Saturday will feature Emily Holsopple, Davis, seniors Heather Greathouse and Stacy Wheatley and junior Aaron Holsopple.
The 11th-ranked Rebels are coming off a fall that featured third-place finishes at the Ole Miss Invitational and the Tiger Invitational, while also notching wins over Murray State and North Carolina State.
“They’ve been working hard, they’re right there,” Mullins said on Ole Miss. “This is their first match after the break so they are going to be hungry. We’re going to have to bring our ‘A-game’ to get the win. I think we’re ready for another stiff contest.”
Memphis enters the spring with a second-place finish at the Gamecock Invitational and third-place finish at the Tiger Open. The Tigers recorded a win over Columbus St., while all three losses came against top-five opponents.
“Memphis is a good team, they’re in that top-10 tier,” Mullins said. “They’re going to be hungry and ready to go. They started to find a groove at the end of last semester and were putting up some solid numbers.”
Kentucky will be without senior Henri Junghänel throughout the weekend as he is traveling abroad to compete in the Bavarian Air Gun Championships in Munich, Germany, for his native country Germany. Davis, Ellis and Emily Holsopple will be leaving following the Ole Miss match to join the United States team at the Bavarian Air Gun Championships.
Live scoring of this weekend’s matches can be found at olemisssports.com.
