Rifle Heads To Ole Miss Open Wednesday

Wednesday, October 4

Oxford, Miss.

9 am

University of Memphis

Ole Miss Open

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Oct 03, 2017 | Rifle

Tigers competing in an 11-team field at the event.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis rifle team gets back on the range Wednesday, Oct. 4 when it travels to Oxford, Miss., to shoot in the Ole Miss Open. The Rebels' annual season-opening event began Sept. 30 and runs through Oct. 8.

Memphis is looking for a "bounce-back" at Wednesday's Ole Miss Open after a subpar season opener in its own Tiger Open Sept. 24.

Head coach Dan Hermsmeier comments
"Even though we were disappointed in our performance, our shooters handled themselves well. They did not shoot a good score, and they knew it throughout the match. The team had high expectations going into the first match, and sometimes, the start doesn't work out the way you wanted it to. It's our job, as a staff, to help the team regroup and focus on the right things instead of looking at the past.

"Ole Miss has gone through a coaching transition the last couple of years too. Ole Miss won its first match of the season and shot some good scores. If we improve in practice and do the little things right, Wednesday will be a good opportunity for us to bounce back."

Tigers Tidbits

The Ole Miss Open features 11 schools, all of which were ranked in the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) preseason poll. The teams shooting in the Ole Miss Open are: No. 2 TCU, No. 3 Murray State, No. 4 Kentucky, No. 9 N.C. State, No. 10 Army, No. 11 Memphis, No. 12 Ole Miss, No. 15 Jacksonville State, No. 18 Morehead State, No. 19 UT Martin and No. 20 North Georgia.
With the Ole Miss Open running from Sept. 30-Oct. 8, some teams already have competed. Teams that have shot are TCU, Jacksonville State, Morehead State and North Georgia. Ole Miss and Army shoot Saturday, Oct. 7.
Although it is a short jaunt to Oxford, Miss., freshmen Matt Dorey and Adriana Hickerson make their first road trip as Tigers Wednesday.
Last season, Memphis placed third in the eight-team Ole Miss Open field. The Tigers shot a 4649 aggregate score and finished behind No. 5 Murray State and No. 6 Kentucky. Memphis was No. 11 going into last season's Ole Miss Open.
Senior Haylea Broughton placed in the top-20 in both smallbore and air rifle at last season's Ole Miss Open. She was 17^th in smallbore and 20^th in air rifle.
Sophomore Levi Clark was 21^st in smallbore at the 2016 Ole Miss Open.
To wrap up the 2017-18 season-opening Tiger Open, Memphis placed sixth out of nine squads.
Levi Clark was the Tigers' top shooter in smallbore, finishing eighth with a 580 score.
Junior Leighton Dempster was the squad's top performer in air rifle, placing sixth with a 591.
In his final Ole Miss Open in the fall of 2013, head coach Dan Hermsmeier was second in smallbore (586) and 12^th in air rifle (587).

Up Next
The Tigers are back in action with two home matches after Wednesday's Ole Miss Open. Memphis hosts N.C. State Oct. 7 and Army Oct. 9. Both matches are scheduled for the Memphis Rifle Facility in South Hall.