For the sixth straight season, the Ole Miss rifle team will compete for a national title.
The Rebels punched their ticket to the NCAA Rifle Championship during Monday’s selection show. The announcement followed the team’s 10-2 regular season and second-place finish in the Patriot Rifle Conference Tournament in Indiana. Year one of the Will Shaner era as Ole Miss rifle coach proved fruitful, as the group continued a tradition of making it to the big dance that started with the 2020-21 campaign.
This will be the seventh overall time Ole Miss has made it to the tournament. The Rebels secured a 4743.3 team aggregate average in qualifying matches this year. Now they’ll prepare to compete on the biggest stage in the sport, looking to grab a national title from March 13-14 at Ohio State’s Covelli Center.
The Rebels are entering the tournament with momentum, after ousting Memphis in the NCAA Qualifier, 4738-4703. The win gave Ole Miss 10 victories on the year, marking two consecutive seasons with 10 or more wins. It’s the fourth time the team has done so. This season, Ole Miss has scored its top two air rifle scores in program history (2390 and 2388), its best smallbore score (2368), and tied its best aggregate record (4746 vs. Murray State).
Ole Miss’ dynamic sophomore duo of Audrey Gogniat, last year’s individual national champion, and Gracie Dinh has been the shining star of the team. The pair are top 10 shooters in the NCAA according to aggregate averages, with Gogniat ranking No. 4 and Dinh sitting at No. 9. Nebraska is the only other team with two top 10 shooters.
Gogniat and Dinh have both fired a perfect 600 in air rifle this season. Dinh achieved her in a career day against Murray State, when she also shot a 596 in smallbore. Her 1196 is the second-best individual aggregate score in program history, behind Gogniat’s 1197.
Gogniat shot her 600 at the PRC Tournament en route to defending her conference title in the event. She became the second rifle athlete to fire a perfect score in both a conference championship and at the NCAA Tournament, and the first to do it in back-to-back conference championship tournaments.
Joining Ole Miss in the NCAA championship field are: Alaska Fairbanks, Georgia Southern, Kentucky, Navy, Nebraska, TCU, and West Virginia.
