Dual Discipline Results
SMU Equestrian Advances to National Championship Meet After 14-6 Win Over TCU
OCALA, Florida – No. 1 SMU equestrian cruised past No. 4 TCU, 14-6, at the World Equestrian Center in Friday’s semifinal round of the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) Championship. The Mustangs advance to Saturday’s National Championship meet, where SMU will face No. 2 Auburn.
This marks SMU’s second appearance in the NCEA National Championship meet. The Mustangs finished as Reserve National Champions in 2021.
“We rode great today and I’m proud of how our girls competed,” SMU head coach Carol Gwin said. “TCU is a good team and we all saw what they did to Texas A&M yesterday, so we knew we needed to have a really sharp day today. I thought we did a great job of taking control early and I’m proud of our entire team for how well they rode today.”
The Mustangs jumped out to a 5-0 lead after sweeping all five fences points.
Taylor Madden won SMU’s first of five straight points with a 263-250 victory over TCU’s Ashleigh Scully. After Devin Seekedged by her TCU opponent, 258-257, Alex Pielet gave the Mustangs a 3-0 lead after she beat TCU’s Jordyn Scelsa, 253-90. SMU’s Augusta Iwasaki followed with an event-high 273, knocking off her TCU opponent by 16 points. Elli Yeagercompleted the sweep and gave the Mustangs a 5-0 lead after she defeated TCU’s Sydney Berube, 253-209.
SMU extended its lead to 8-2 with a 3-2 victory in reining. After TCU won the first reining point, SMU won three straight points to give the Mustangs a six-point lead at halftime.
Dani Latimer won SMU’s first reining point when she beat out TCU’s Mattie Dukes, 209-208. Lilly Anderson followed with a 206.5-202.5 victory over her TCU opponent, and Maria Richards gave the Mustangs a 7-1 lead after she beat TCU’s Giorgia Medows, 213.5-210.5. The Horned Frogs won the final reining point.
In the second half of Friday’s meet, the Mustangs wasted no time in clinching the victory and punching their ticket to Saturday’s National Championship, as SMU won 4-of-5 flat points to take a commanding 12-3 lead.
SMU won the first three flat points to extend their lead to 11-2 as Miranda Shade, Hensley Humphries, and Madigan Eppink all won their points. After TCU won their first flat point, Madden completed her 2-for-2 day with a 248-237 win over her opponent, giving the Mustangs a 12-3 advantage.
Up by 9 points and with their spot already secured in Saturday’s championship meet, SMU’s horsemanship team added two more points, as Nya Kearns and Mallory Vroegh won won their points. Kearns knocked off TCU’s Payton Boutelle, 234.5-227, and Vroegh beat Shea Graham, 231-227.
No. 2 Tigers down No. 3 Oklahoma State to advance to national title match
OCALA, Fla. – The No. 2 Auburn equestrian team is one step closer to another national title as the Tigers topped No. 3 Oklahoma State in the NCEA Championship Semifinals Friday by a score of 14-6.
“We rode like the Auburn team we know we are,” head coach Greg Williams said. “We keep building and building and these riders are really finding their stride. It’s a fun time to be a part of this team right now and I’m so proud of them.”
The Tigers (13-2) will face No. 1 SMU (12-1) Saturday at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida. The two squads will kick off action at 9 a.m. CT.
It will be the second meeting of the season between the Tigers and the Mustangs. Auburn hosted SMU in late February and captured a 15-5 win. The last time the two squads met in the postseason, the Mustangs ousted the Tigers in the first round of the 2022 NCEA Championship.
“This is a group that has deserved to be in the national title match these last couple of years and what I’m most grateful for is that they’re in it,” Williams said. “I’m looking forward to seeing big rides tomorrow on all sides. I believe that this team will step up and deliver.”
“We’ve talked all year about laying it all on the line,” senior Olivia Tordoff said. “There is no better time than tomorrow to do that and just give it everything we have. This is all about the people around us. This push to the national championship is not for us personally, but for those that came before us and for those that will come five years from now. We want to give it all we got.”
The Jumping Seat corps continued to dominate as the squad put together an 8-2 mark against Oklahoma State.
“I feel like we’ve been adapting on the fly really well this week,” fifth year Emma Kurtz said. “We’ve had some tough horses and had to face some adversity and we’ve handled it so well.”
Fences went 4-1 against the Cowgirls, seeing big scores across the board. Sophomore Mary-Grace Segars led off with a 241-225 win, while junior Ellie Ferrigno picked up her 13th win of the season with a 254-157 victory. Kurtz scored a 251 to take the point and sophomore Sophee Steckbeck had a meet-best 258 to win her match by seven.
The Flat crew opened the second half of the discipline with another 4-1 margin over Oklahoma State. Segars once again led things off, earning a 240 and the point. Steckbeck followed with a 223-220 edge and Kurtz bested her opponent, 243-224. Senior Ava Stearns rounded out the Auburn wins with a meet-high 252 in her victory.
Auburn’s Horsemanship squad had a huge showing as well in the Western arena, going 4-1 in the event.
Junior Madison Parduhn sealed the Auburn victory as her 229-228.5 edge over Jojo Roberson gave the Tigers their 11th point of the day. The Cowgirls responded with a win in the second match up before the sister tandem of senior Olivia Tordoff and freshman Alexia Tordoff put together massive scores, earning a pair of 235.5s to win their points. Freshman Caroline Fredenburg continued her dominating ways in the postseason with a 229-228 victory.
The Tigers picked up two points in Reining to start action in Western. Freshman Caroline Buchanan put together a big score, winning her match with a 215.5. Junior Olivia Marino continued her winning trend in the postseason as she bested her opponent with a 217.5.
Single Discipline Results
No. 1 Sweet Briar Advances to National Championship Meet with Victory Over No. 4 Sacred Heart
OCALA, Fla. – The No. 1 seed Sweet Briar College NCEA team (10-2, 7-1 ECAC) has advanced to the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) National Championship Meet after taking down the No. 4 seed Sacred Heart Pioneers 5-3 today.
The Vixens earned two points in fences competition to tie the Pioneers heading into action on the flat.
Sophomore Katherine Atherton (Montpelier, Va.) and first-year Naomi Dachis (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) were the point-getters in fences.
Atherton earned a 255 on Rio to defeat Emma Grimes by 35 points while Dachis scored a 165 on Steve for a five-point victory over Hanna Lloyd.
Sweet Briar pulled away during the fences portion of the meet, snagging three out of the four available points.
First-year Wyette Felton totaled a 226 on Favorite to take down Lilly Bove by eight points while sophomore Ella Peterson (Ashland, Va.) earned a 217 on Swank for the one-point win over Raegan Olson.
Rounding out the field for the Vixens was senior Kacie Freeburg (Orlando, Fla.) who scored a 250 on Chunky for an 18-point margin of victory over Emma Grimes.
No. 3 Eagles Fall to No. 2 Hornets at NCEA National Championships
OCALA, Fla. – The Bridgewater College equestrian team competed at the NCEA National Championships today at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida, falling to No. 2 Lynchburg, 7-1.
The first session of the Single Discipline National Championships included one phase over fences and one phase over flats where four riders from each team competed in each phase.
Kelsey Quinn, Caroline Warren, Emily Nuthall and Ellie Weinreb were the riders for the Eagles as competition got underway.
Quinn secured the only point of the day for the Eagles in fences winning 257-252. The Hornets took home the remaining three points in fences securing a 3-1 lead through the first half of competition.
In the flat, the Eagles comeback attempt fell short as Lynchburg swept the phase winning 4-0. The Hornets won 7-1 and will advance to the final round to face No. 1 Sweet Briar for the NCEA Championship.
CLICK HERE to read more from NCEA.
