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UK Rifle Takes Down Ole Miss in Season Opener
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The
University of Kentucky rifle team opened the season Saturday with a
4688-4621 win over 14th-ranked and conference opponent Ole Miss, with
three UK shooters breaking 590 in air rifle.
“I thought it
was a good start to the season,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “I
was really proud of the effort our team put forth today, the hard work
in practice leading up to this really showed.”
The
Wildcats jumped out to an early 12-point lead after kneeling and never
looked back, besting Ole Miss in prone 790-784 and in standing 761-742
to hold a 2322-2285 advantage heading in air rifle.
Senior
Emily Holsopple led the way in smallbore for the Wildcats, delivering a
587 to open the day. Sophomore Connor Davis propelled the team with the
best smallbore performance of his college career, shooting a 585.
As counters, Aaron Holsopple and Heather Kirby delivered 575s in smallbore, while freshman Sonya May shot a 574.
Kentucky claimed the victory in air rifle, shooting a 2366 to Ole Miss’ 2336.
Davis
shot the best air rifle score of the day with a 595, with Emily
Holsopple posting a 593 in the first match of the year. May had a
strong air rifle performance to open her collegiate career with a 591.
“I
was really happy to see Emily and Connor shoot in the 1180s aggregate,”
Mullins said. “I felt that the freshman really stepped up and help up
under the expectations.”
Junior Jonathan Pinkel shot a 588 in air rifle and Aaron Holsopple delivered a 587.
The Rebels were led in smallbore by Abbey Stanec’s 574 and Melissa Quartarone’s 586 in air rifle.
“Overall,
pleased with today’s performance but there is still work to be done,”
Mullins said. “We want to keep working hard in practice and focus on
steady improvement.”
“I feel that what we are doing in
training is working,” Mullins said. “It is just a matter of continuing
to work at what we are doing. I was real proud of the whole team in the
effort that they gave and the work that they committed to. Now it is
just time to get back to work this week and prepare for our next test.”
“The
great part about our sport is there is always a shot that gets you to
come back and push yourself harder. I felt that we are off to a solid
start and hope to see the continued work during training so that we can
smooth some things out during competition.”
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