Ole Miss Rifle on the Road for the Final Time Against Akron

On the Line

• Ole Miss rifle stay on the road for another top-10 matchup against No. 10 Akron on January 21, starting at 8 a.m. The Rebels are coming off a win over No. 9 Navy for their third top-10 victory.
• The Rebels try to extend a two-match win streak and improve on their 4-3 record against Akron. Ole Miss is 0-1 in Akron, Ohio,
• Ole Miss are 3-2 in GARC matches this season and are 15-3 in the conference the last three seasons. Akron is also 4-1 in the conference this year
• The Rebels win over UT Martin earned Coach Marsha Beasley her 200^th career win.
• Ole Miss posted their best aggregate score in program history and a season-high against No. 12 Memphis with an aggregate score of 4743. The score is the eighth highest in the nation this season
• Senior Kristen Derting broke her career-high air rifle score with a 598 against UT Martin. Derting broke her career-high in aggregate score against No. 12 Memphis with an 1187.
• Freshmen Julianna Hays and Emma Pereira both have a score of 590 or higher in smallbore. Ole Miss is the only program in the nation with two freshmen to score 590 or higher in smallbore.
• Hays scored her season best and career best in air rifle as she scored a 593 in the match against No. 12 Memphis and No. 3 Kentucky.
• Pereira broke her season best in air rifle with a 594 against No. 3 Kentucky.
• Junior Lea Horvath shot her best match ever in the win over No. 12 Memphis. In smallbore, she tied, with Derting, for the program record score of 594. Then in air rifle, Horvath fired a perfect score for the third time in her career, making her the only women to do so in NCAA history. She combined for a career-high 1194 aggregate score, which breaks her own school record.
• Horvath’s 1194 aggregate score is tied third highest in the nation with Julie Johannessen and behind only Peter Fiori and Mary Tucker.
• Katelyn Tinsley broke career highs in smallbore, air rifle, and aggregate score this season. Tinsley shot 580 in smallbore and a 1166 aggregate score in the win over No. 12 Memphis. She topped her air rifle score with a 591 in a win over Murray State.
• Ole Miss rifle is ranked No. 5 by the College Rifle Coaches Association.

Last Time on the Range
ANNAPOLIS, MD – After a long break, Ole Miss rifle didn’t miss a beat defeating No. 9 navy , 4700-4684. It’s the Rebels third top-10 win of the season.
 
Ole Miss (5-2, 3-2) edged the Midshipmen (8-6, 2-4 GARC) in both disciplines, firing a 2333 in smallbore and 2367 in air rifle.  The Rebels scored 4700 or higher for the sixth straight match.
 
The Rebels placed the top two performers of the match and three of the top five. Lea Horvath led the pack with her aggregate score of 1185. Kristen Derting followed closely behind with a 1183 aggregate score. In fifth place, Julianna Hays fired a 1175 aggregate score.
 
Horvath helped the Rebels tremendously as she was the only shooter to score over a 590 in smallbore. The junior’s 594 is seven points higher than the next person in the smallbore standings. Derting shot the third best score in smallbore with a 586. Hays also scored higher than a 580 with a 584 in smallbore. The Rebels led 2333-2321 heading into air rifle.
 
Ole Miss rifle also outperformed Navy in air rifle. The Rebels once again finished with the top performing shooter in the discipline. Derting scorched a 597, missing a 10 just once in her first 30 shots. In no surprise, Horvath finished a tick behind Derting. She shot a 591, placing third in the field for air rifle. Emma Pereira hit the 590 mark exactly for a spot in the top-10 of air rifle performances.
 
The Midshipmen scored a 4684 (2321 in smallbore and 2363 in air rifle). Navy fell behind in smallbore and could not catch up with a solid air rifle performance. Parker Haydin continues to excel as a freshman. Haydin fired the second best smallbore score with a 587 then shot a 589 in air rifle. Marleigh Duncon also continued a great season as she scored a 584 in smallbore and a 593 in air rifle which was second in the match.
 
Ole Miss stays on the road for another top-10 matchup in Akron, Ohio. The Rebels face No. 10 Akron on Saturday, January 21 at 8 a.m.
 
Coach Marsha Beasley

• Eight-time NCAA Championship head coach
• Sixth season coaching the Rebels
• Earned her 200^th victory against UT Martin this season
• Two-time College Rifle Coaches Association Coach of the Year with Ole Miss, has guided six Rebels to All-American honors and 12 to All-GARC honors
• Inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2022 after coaching at the school for 16 seasons 
• Drafted the bylaws to create the Mid-America Rifle Conference (now GARC) and was a staff member at the (then) national governing body of shooting (the NRA) and the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games 

Scouting the Opponent
The Zips are coached by the longest tenured coach in Akron rifle history, Newt Engle, in his 45th season. Akron is ranked 10th in the nation by the College Rifle Coaches Association. The team has competing against some of the best programs in the country, including Kentucky, Murray State, Morehead State, NC State, Army, Memphis, Air Force, and Navy. The Zips scored a season high 4709 in a win over No. 16 Morehead State in October.
 
Akron averages an aggregate score of 4690.6 per match, which is 10th in the nation. The Zips are also 10th in smallbore average and 8th in air rifle average (2326.4 in smallbore and 2364.1 in air rifle). Zips’ men are leading in aggregate average with junior Gavin Perkowski in front averaging 1174.7 per match. Freshmen Andrew Duross is not far behind with an 1173.4 aggregate average. Perkowski and Duross also are the top two smallbore averages at 583.4 and 582.6. However, sophomore Alexis Kirk tops them both in air rifle with a 591.8. Perkowski averages 591.3 in air rifle and Duross averages 590.9 in air rifle.
 
Series History
Ole Miss has the edge of the Zips in the all-time series with a 4-3 record. The Rebels won the last two meetings but are winless at Akron. The two teams are meeting for just the second time in Akron, Ohio.
 
Final Road Bout
Ole Miss hits the road for the final time in the 2023 regular season. The team heads to Akron, Ohio with a 3-1 road record. Ole Miss is 9-4 in away matches in the last three season.
 
Tough Competition
The Rebels’ schedule has been far from easy, competing against six ranked opponents already this year and three left on their schedule. Ole Miss rifle shot against a top-5 team and five top-10 opponents.
 
The Rebels are 5-2 against nationally ranked teams.
 
January Jubilee
In the last four season, Ole Miss rifle is a combined 14-5 during the month on January. The Rebels compete in three matches this season in January. The team secured another January victory with the win over No. 9 Navy last Saturday.
 
Horvathing A Good Time
Lea Horvath became the only women in NCAA history to score a perfect 600 in air rifle three times in their career. The junior has scored perfect in every season of her career as a Rebel. She is one of four to shoot perfect this season.
 
Horvath also broke some school records. She tied the match smallbore score with a 594 and shatter the record for match aggregate score, which she previously held with a 1194.
 
Innocent Until Proven Tinsley
Sophomore Katelyn Tinsley steadily improved her scores throughout the season to the point of breaking career-highs in the win over No. 12 Memphis. She surpassed her career-high is smallbore with a 580 after topping her season-high in every match but one.
 
The Indiana native also bested her career-high in aggregate scoring with a 1166. She posted back-to-back 586’s in air rifle. Her 591 in air rifle in the win over Murray State was also a career high.
 
Top of Her Game
Kristen Derting, the Oregon native, is shooting at a high level.  The 2022 GARC Combined Second Team honoree has scored her career high aggregate of 1185 in two straight matches against UT Martin and No. 9 Army. Then proceeded to snap that score, shooting a 1187 against No. 12 Memphis.
 
Derting also broke her career-high in air rifle with a 598 in the win over UT Martin. She is currently averaging 587.2 in smallbore, 596.2 in air rifle and 1183.6 aggregate.
 
Freshman Duo
In their first year at Ole Miss, Julianna Hays and Emma Pereira are making significant impacts in the lineup. They are two of the 34 different shooters to score a 590 or above in the nation in smallbore. Hays, from Maplewood, Minnesota, has been a counter for the team in both smallbore and air rifle all season. She shot 591 and twice shooting a 593 in air rifle this season. She is third on the team for smallbore average, air rifle and aggregate score.
 
Pereira is one of Ole Miss’ five smallbore counters. She shot a 594 in air rifle against No. 3 Kentucky. She also scored a 590 in smallbore and an 1183 aggregate against No. 12 Murray State. All were season and career highs.
 
High Scoring
Ole Miss rifle has the 12th highest scoring match of the season. The Rebels broke the program’s all-time match score, scoring a 4743 in a win over No. 12 Memphis. In the same match they also tied the program record for smallbore score of 2361.
 
The Rebels have outscored their opponents 259 points the last five matches. The team has also scored 4700 or higher five times this season.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports