Rifle Preview: Ole Miss

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis rifle squad brings the 2018-19 regular season to a close Saturday, Feb. 9 when it hosts Mid-South rival Ole Miss in the Tigers' home finale.

Saturday's action starts at 9 a.m. (CT) at the R.F. Fogelman Rifle Range on the University's campus.

Saturday's match should be an intense one with a few storylines. In addition to being a regional rivalry, the Memphis-Ole Miss match is a Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) encounter. Both teams have 3-4 records in league play, and Saturday's winner will place fourth in the conference regular-season standings.

Next, both squads are vying for the final two spots at the 2019 NCAA Championships. Heading into Saturday's top-10 match-up, Ole Miss is No. 8 nationally and ahead of No. 9 Memphis by just over a point. The nation's top-eight teams qualify for the NCAA Championships.

Added to Saturday's match is Memphis' Senior Day with Leighton Dempster being honored as the team's lone senior.

Head coach Dan Hermsmeier comments
"Saturday is setting up to be a good match for both us and Ole Miss. They are ranked eighth, and we're ninth right now. It should be a really exciting match to watch."

(On Leighton Dempster's final home match)
"Leighton's had an amazing campaign. She's had a 'crazy-good' year after earning an individual qualification to the NCAA Championships last year. She's shot some really great scores this season. She's looking to go out on top.

"She's responded to the pressure of being a team leader. Leighton's been a phenomenal team captain this season. She's helped elevate our team, and I look forward to see what she can do the rest of the season."

(On postseason possibilities)
"It's going to be a crazy last few weeks of the season. I don't think it's ever been this close for the qualification for the NCAA Championships, for those top-eight teams. The top 5-to-6 are pretty set right now, and there are 8-to-10 teams looking to take those last two spots."

College Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) Poll

Rank	Team	Rank	Team
1.	TCU	11.	Nebraska
2.	West Virginia	12.	Army
3.	Air Force	13.	Morehead State
4.	Kentucky	14.	Akron
5.	Murray State	15.	Ohio State
6.	Alaska Fairbanks	16.	Nevada
7.	Navy	17.	NC State
8.	Ole Miss	18.	UTEP
9.	*Memphis*	19.	North Georgia
10.	Jacksonville State	20.	UAB

Tigers Tidbits

Ole Miss makes its second trip to shoot at the R.F. Fogelman Rifle Range. The Rebels were one of the first Tigers' opponents to compete in the facility after it opened in January of 2017.
Saturday's match is the first meeting between the Tigers and Rebels this season. In eight of the previous nine campaigns (2009-10 to 2017-18), the Mid-South rivals competed against each other in the season-opening Ole Miss Open and Tiger Open and then also had a head-to-head encounter later in the schedule. The last time Memphis and Ole Miss competed against each other only once in a season was in 2014-15.
The two head coaches – Memphis' Dan Hermsmeier and Ole Miss' Marsha Beasley – have a West Virginia connection. Hermsmeier served as a graduate assistant (2014-16) for the Mountaineers before taking the Memphis head job and was a part of two NCAA title teams. Beasley served as West Virginia's head coach from 1990-2006 and led the Mountaineers to eight NCAA crowns.
Memphis and Ole Miss enter Saturday's match on a winning note. The Tigers and Rebels posted home victories over Nebraska last weekend.
Saturday is Senior Day, and the Tigers will honor their lone senior, Leighton Dempster. The Loranger, La., native has had a tremendous senior campaign, shooting aggregates of 1174 or higher in eight of 11 matches. She shot a career-high 1179 aggregate in a home win over NC State in late October, and twice this season against Army and NC State, she posted a school record-tying 596 air rifle mark.
Matt Dorey had a career day against Ole Miss last season. He posted career-bests for air rifle (589) and aggregate (1169). His 580 smallbore score was a career-high at the time, but he improved that to 585 this season.

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Players Mentioned

Leighton Dempster

Matt Dorey

University of Memphis Athletics