NCEA SCOREBOARD: MARCH 30, 2018

Friday, March 30, 2018

Georgia Defeats South Carolina, Advances to SEC Championship

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. - Georgia equestrian defeated the Gamecocks of South Carolina, 16-4, in the semifinal round of the 2018 SEC Championship on Friday at One Wood Farm. With the win, the Bulldogs (10-1, 6-1 SEC) advance to the championship round for the fifth-straight year.

Earlier in the day, Auburn (10-3, 5-2 SEC) defeated Texas A&M (9-6, 3-4 SEC), 14-6, to advance to the SEC Championship. This marks the third year in a row Georgia and Auburn will be competing for the title. The championship round is set to begin on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Four Bulldogs collected MOP honors for their rides in today’s semifinal. Senior Addy Cord received the award for Equitation on the Flat, while sophomore Ali Tritschler was recognized for Equitation Over Fences. Junior Graysen Stroud was named the Horsemanship MOP and senior Kyndall Harper earned the honor in Reining.

“It takes a lot of hard work to get here and I am so proud of the rides from our team today,” Georgia head coach Meghan Boenig said. “ We had solid performances in every event and that’s what we expect. However, we also know that it will be a battle tomorrow and it’s never anything less, especially when you’re talking about a championship. There is a ton of excitement, but we still have to execute and make sure we take care of the details.”

Georgia began competition with a sweep in Horsemanship. Senior Sammie Johnson earned the first point for the Bulldogs with a 149.5- 147 victory. Stroud earned the event-high score of 154.5 to top her opponent, before senior Bailey Anderson scored a 151 to win another point for the Bulldogs. Junior Madison Anger and senior Payton Anderson completed the sweep with scores of 150 and 149, respectively.

Georgia extended its lead in Equitation Over Fences with four more points. Tritschler earned the first Hunt Seat point with an event-high score of 149.5. Cord added a point with a 165-148 victory over South Carolina’s Louisa Brackett. South Carolina earned the next point before Georgia claimed the last two with rides from junior Emma Mandarino and sophomore Maddy Darst. Mandarino scored a 162 to top her opponent’s 149 and Darst rode to a 153 over Lizzie van der Walde’s 144.

The Bulldogs held a 9-1 advantage over the Gamecocks after two events.

Georgia added three points in Equitation on the Flat. Darst rode to a 157-148 win, before sophomore Grace Bridges scored a 151 to defeat her USC opponent. Cord earned Georgia’s final Hunt Seat point with an event-high 166-155 win.

The Bulldogs concluded competition in Reining, claiming four points to seal the victory. Sophomore Annabeth Payne edged her opponent, 140-139.5. South Carolina won the next point, before freshman Jordan Carpenter defeated her opponent 138.5-136. Stroud earned her second point of the day, beating South Carolina’s Paisley Roberts, 138.5-136. Kyndall Harper rode to a 142.5- 141.5 win to finish the meet.

Solid Second Half Leads Auburn Past Texas A&M, 14-6

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. – The No. 2 Auburn equestrian team put together a strong showing on the first day of the 2018 SEC Championship, defeating No. 4 Texas A&M, 14-6, in Blythewood, S.C., at One Wood Farm.

“The team never lost their focus,” head coach Greg Williams said. “We knew Western was going to ride hard and the Equitation on the Flat crew turned right around and focused on what they could control. It feels really good to be back in the championship match.”

Auburn, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will take on No. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship for third-straight season. The Bulldogs topped No. 4 seed South Carolina, 16-4,. The title match is slated for 12 p.m. CT Saturday.

Highlighting the day was the dominate performance from the Western side of competition as the group dominated the Aggies, going 9-1 overall.

“Our Western squad have been bringing it week after week in both competition and practice,” Williams said. “Looking at our lineup, we just don’t have a hole anywhere and it’s been fun to rely on that.”

The Tigers kicked off with a 4-1 record in Horsemanship, marking the fourth-straight meet where the crew earned four or more points for the team score. Freshman Taylor Searles opened with an impressive 152 to edge Bailey Cook’s 151.5. Searles, of Scottsdale, Ariz., was awarded the first MOP honor of her career for her efforts.

Redshirt junior Kelsey Jung and freshman Deanna Green each earned their 10th victory of the season to lead the squad in the event. Jung edged her opponent, 150.5-150, while Green outscored Avery Ellis, 152-149.5. Junior Lauren Diaz capped the first half with a 148.5-141 win over Ashley Davidson.

The Auburn Reining corps swept the Aggies, 5-0, to close out Western’s impressive showing. Junior Betsy Brown and senior Alexa Rivard each scored 141 points in their wins to open up the event, while junior Blair McFarlin followed with 142.5.

Freshman Terri-June Granger earned her team-best fifth MOP honor in Reining this season as she bested Haley Franc, 143.5-139. The victory gave the Dothan, Ala., native her team-leading ninth win in 2017-18. Green finished with a 137.5-127 win over Ashton Dunkel.

Auburn saw a dominate performance from the Equitation on the Flat crew, 4-1. Junior Caitlin Boyle secured MOP honors in her 161-160 victory over Rachael Hake. Freshman Taylor St. Jacques bested Alex Desiderio, 165-162, before junior Hayley Iannotti scored an event-best 166 points to record her team-leading 12th victory of the season.

Junior Ashton Alexander went undefeated on the day for Hunt Seat. She defeated Brianna Peddicord, 142-132, in Flat after topping Rhian Murphy, 163-152, in Equitation Over Fences.

The Aggies rode to a 4-1 win in Fences to open the morning.

OSU Equestrian Defeats TCU in Dramatic Fashion

SPRINGTOWN, TEXAS – The No. 3 Oklahoma State equestrian team completed a come-from-behind win to defeat No. 5 TCU, 11-9, in the opening round of the Big 12 Equestrian Championship Friday at Turning Point Ranch.

Down 7-4 at the beginning of the second half of competition, the Cowgirls began their comeback and outscored the Frogs 7-2 down the stretch to clinch the victory.

The outcome came down to Equitation on the Flat, and the Cowgirls took the event, 3-2, to seal the deal. Carly Barrick recorded the first point in the event for the Cowgirls, and Abigail Brayman won her matchup to make it 10-9.

It all came down to TCU’s Carley Barnett for the final ride of the meet, and her score of 153 came up short of Maggie Drysch’s score of 164 to give OSU the victory.

The Reining team is ranked No. 2 in the country, and they showed why today. After sweeping Baylor in OSU's last meet, they outscored TCU, 4-1. Danielle Cohen, Ebba Lange, Hannah Mitchell and Julia Purus earned the points for the Cowgirls. Cohen earned the highest Reining score of the day with a mark of 146.5.

The Cowgirls fell in Horsemanship, 4-1, with Harley Huff earning the lone point. Her score of 151.5 was highest among all the Horsemanship riders.

OSU also took Equitation Over Fences, 3-2, to win the English side by a 6-4 margin. Barrick and Brayman earned wins as did Hannah Janson. Brayman had two of the highest scores of the day in the English discipline; she scored a 179 in Fences and a 171 in Flat.

The Cowgirls return to action against Baylor Saturday following Baylor and TCU’s meet. With a win tomorrow, the Cowgirls would clinch the sixth overall Big 12 championship in program history.

SMU Advances to UEC Championship with 15-1 Rout of South Dakota State

DALLAS (SMU) -- The SMU equestrian team put together a dominant victory on the opening day of the 2018 United Equestrian Conference Championship, as the top-seeded Mustangs toppled No. 4-seed South Dakota State, 15-1, Friday at the Dallas Equestrian Center.

With the win, the Mustangs (9-5) advanced to the UEC final and will take on No. 3 seed Fresno State at approximately 12 p.m. CT.

The Hunt Seat corps had another outstanding showing for SMU and did not give up a point the whole day, coming away with an 8-0 mark.

Equitation Over Fences kicked off the meet with a 4-0 sweep against the Jackrabbits. Vivian Yowan opened scoring for the Mustangs with a 170-155 win over Taylor Duerr. The UEC Equitation Over Fences Rider of the Year Nora Gray recorded a 150, to best Sydney House's 121. Brett Burlington edged Jacey Chorlton, 153-146, before Hayley Banas secured the sweep with a 166-78 rout of Jessica Martinez.

Haley Zimmerman opened Equitation on the Flat with a 132-115 victory over Claire Garduno, 132-115, before Yowan used a discipline-high 160 to cruise past Taylor Duerr, 160-112. Gray won her second point of the day with a 147-117 win over Jessica Martinez. Kirsten Ostling, the UEC Equitation on the Flat Freshman of the Year, closed out the event by besting Chorlton 137-98.

In the western arena, the Mustangs rolled past South Dakota State, 7-1. The SMU Reining crew picked up a four-point sweep, while the Horsemanship side won 3-1.

Olivia Pakula won the first reining point by way of a 146-141 win over Catelyn Hall, before Madison Steed edged Miranda Sullivan, 141.5-137.5. Sophomore Holly Lansidel used a 143, to knocked off Mariah Wright, 143-140. Senior Keagan Snively posted a 139.5-137 win to keep the Mustangs undefeated in the event.

In Horsemanship, Michaela Dinger beat Rylee Streit 147-144 to open the event. Ashley Mauney followed with a 146-121.5 win over Jordan Gates, before Haylee Schoonover scored a discipline-high 149.5 to best Mariah Wright, 149.5-140.

No. 3-seed Fresno State earned a spot in the UEC Championship round following a 10-6 win over second-seeded UT Martin. The Bulldogs beat the Skyhawks, 5-3, in both the Hunt Seat and Western arenas.

'Dogs advance to UEC Championship finals with 10-6 victory over Skyhawks

DALLAS, Texas- The No.3 seed Fresno State equestrian team defeated No. 2 seed UT-Martin, 10-6, in the first round of the United Equestrian Conference Championships on Friday afternoon at the Dallas Equestrian Center.

"Today proved to us how hard we have worked in the past few weeks," said head coach Eric Hubbard. "We will spend some time tonight to focus on tomorrow and how we can be successful against a good SMU team."

Fresno State will face the No. 1-seeded SMU tomorrow morning in the finals set to begin at 10 a.m PT.

The Bulldogs opened the competition with a 3-1 victory in the fences event. Kylina Chalack, Paige Pastorinoand Sierra Swaffar chalked the Bulldog points. Chalack remained undefeated on the day with a 133-128 ride. Pastorino secured the highest score in the arena with a 142 to UTM's 141.

Fresno State kept the momentum in the horsemanship, defeating the Skyhawks 3-1. Taeya Harle, Rachel Williams and Taylor Dixon tallied the Bulldog points. Williams saw the highest score of the event with a 148.5 to her opponent's 140.

The Bulldogs lead 6-2 at the intermission.

Fresno State was evenly matched in the reining, finishing the event 2-2. Shea Gilson and Kara Gustafsonearned the pair of points for the 'Dogs. Gustafson earned a team-high 139.5 to her opponent's 135 for the point that tied the event.

The Bulldogs and Skyhawks tied in the flat, 2-2. Kylina Chalack and Alexandra Dirickson earned the 'Dogs points. Chalack scored a team-high 138 to her opponent's 102 for the largest margin of victory of the competition. Dirickson followed with a 135 to UTM's 117.