Mustangs Rally To Advance To NCEA National Championship Semifinal
OCALA, Florida – No. 1 SMU equestrian defeated No. 8 Baylor, 10-8, in the first round of the 2023 NCEA National Championships Thursday afternoon at the World Equestrian Center. It marks the third consecutive year the Mustangs have advanced to the NCEA semifinal.
Trailing by one entering the final event, the Mustangs Horsemanship squad pieced together a dominant performance to propel the Mustangs to victory.
SMU took four out of the five points in the event, starting with all-American Mallory Vroegh’s 226-177.5 victory. Megan Waldron won her ride 224.5-214.5.
In a re-ride for the meet deciding point, all-American Nya Kearns outrode her opponent 231-226, to clinch the victory for the Mustangs.
The meet started with Reining and Fences coinciding. Taylor Zimmerman picked up the first point of the contest with a 210-206 victory over Baylor’s Shelby Clausen.
After Baylor picked up the next two points, SMU countered with back-to-back points from Dani Latimer and Lily Anderson. Latimer won her ride 209.5-208, and Anderson defeated Baylor’s Madaline Callaway 209.5-206.
In Fences, Alex Pielet won SMU’s lone point of the contest with a 255-240 victory.
The second half of the meet consisted of Flat and Horsemanship. SMU and Baylor split the Flat contest 2-2. Miranda Seade took down her opponent 230-228, and Madigan Eppink picked up a 232-223 victory.
Horned Frogs Defeat Texas A&M, to Face SMU in NCEA Championships Semifinals
OCALA, Fla. – As sports clichés go, the saying, “it’s hard to beat a good team three times in one season,” stacks up among the most frequently uttered.
Well, TCU equestrian proved the prevailing idea a myth on Thursday at the World Equestrian Center.
No. 4 seed TCU downed No. 5 Texas A&M 12-8 in the quarterfinals of the NCEA National Championships, notching its third victory over the Aggies in 2022-2023 along the way.
The Horned Frogs (13-3) move on to face No. 1 SMU at 1 p.m. CT on Friday for a spot in the grand finale. The Mustangs narrowly defeated No. 8 Baylor 10-8 to set up a Battle for the Iron Skillet in the Sunshine State.
TCU scored eight of the meet’s final 10 points, transforming a 5-5 tie at the half into a comfortable victory.
Texas A&M finished with the advantage in cumulative points (4,500.5-4,460). But as was the case in the teams’ first meeting in September, a 10-10 tie that TCU won on cumulative points, the Horned Frogs’ dominance in Western was the difference.
The Horned Frogs rolled to an 8-2 combined win in the discipline. A 3-2 triumph in Reining forced the halftime gridlock. Leading 8-7, TCU closed the meet with a 5-0 Horsemanship shutout – its sixth of the season.
The victory sends TCU to its second consecutive NCEA National Championships semifinals. TCU picked up its 10th all-time victory in the history of the tournament.
The Horned Frogs also seg a Big 12 era record for single-season victories. A win on Friday will make the group the winningest team in program history, surpassing the 14-10 season record produced by the 2009-2010 squad.
Fences – Isabella Baxter was the first athlete on either side to enter the winner’s circle. The four-time All-American edged Texas A&M’s Brooke Brombach 225-224.
TAMU claimed the next three points to build a 3-1 head start.
Ella Bostwick countered with a 228-223 win over the Aggies’ Morgan Rosia in the event’s final ride.
The Aggies’ 40-point margin of victory in the cumulative tally ultimately came down to Fences. TAMU outscored the Horned Frogs 1,201-1,151.
Reining – Bostwick’s result in Fences ignited a string of three consecutive Horned Frog victories.
Mattie Dukes, the reigning Big 12 Reining Rider of the Year, grinded out a 215-214.5 win against TAMU’s Ariana Gray.
Freshman Lannie-Jo Lisac regained the Horned Frogs’ lead at 4-3. She was awarded 208.5 points to the 204 given to the Aggies’ Lauren Hanson.
The see-saw affair soon continued, as TAMU rallied to take the ensuing two rides.
Shea Graham emphatically forced the halftime tie. The TCU junior earned an event-leading score of 219 on her way to a 6.5-point takedown of Emmy Lu Marsh.
The Horned Frogs finished with 1,056 cumulative points to TAMU’s 1,050.5.
Flat – The scoring breakdown in Flat was identical to Reining, with TCU taking the first, second and fifth rides and assuming a narrow 8-7 lead entering the meet’s final event.
Laurel Smith and Wynne Weatherly teamed up to stake TCU to a 7-5 edge with double digit victories behind respective scores of 230 and 246. Weatherly was TCU’s top performer in Jumping Seat.
Sydnie Young gave TCU the lead for good on the strength of a 222-209 win over Maggie Nealon.
Horsemanship – Two of Texas A&M’s rides were sent to the judges for review, but by the time the scores were announced, the meet was decided.
First team All-American Giorgia Medows put TCU within two points of victory, cruising past Cori Cansdale 226-219.5.
Graham picked up her second of two wins on the day shortly thereafter. She produced a 222.5-218 win over Hannah Olaussen, setting up the Horned Frogs for the meet-clincher.
Payton Boutelle punched TCU’s ticket to the semifinals, scoring a match-leading 229 points and bettering TAMU’s top performance – a 225-point ride from Ellie Gerbrandt.
TAMU was unable to trim TCU’s final margin of victory with its reviewed rides. Jessica McAllister picked up TCU’s 12thpoint, as the Big 12 Horsemanship Rider of the Year eased by Alexis Robins on 223.5-215.5. Dukes joined her discipline-mate Graham in entering the win column twice. She sealed the six-point win with a 227-225 win against Ella Petrak.
TCU boosted its season record in Western to 14-1-1 with its Horsemanship sweep.
Cowgirl Equestrian Advances to National Semifinal
OCALA, Fla. — Third-ranked Oklahoma State defeated six-seed Georgia 13-7 to advance to the semifinals of the NCEA National Championship Thursday in Ocala, Florida.
The win advances the Cowgirls to the national semifinal for the fourth-straight season, excluding when the event was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. It is also the second time this season Oklahoma State beat Georgia, having won 11-8 on February 11.
“There were great rides across the board all day,” head coach Larry Sanchez said. “When we prepared for this, we prepared with all we had, because we knew it was going to take that to beat Georgia. It was a great win for us today and kudos to Georgia on a hard-fought meet.”
The meet began with Fences and Reining running simultaneously. In Fences, the Cowgirls took an early lead, winning three of the five points. Second-team All-American Riley Hogan kicked things off for the Cowgirls, winning 259-253. Sydnie Ziegler then fell to the high-scorer of the meet, 262-260, before OSU claimed the next two points, with All-Americans Sydney North and Emma Pacyna each winning their points, 238-165 and 251-241. The Bulldogs took the final Fences point when Tessa Brown beat Grace McReynolds 254-246.
In Reining, Oklahoma State won four of five points. Georgia’s only Reining point was the first one, with Raegan Shepherd beating Hannah Lovrien 202-199.5. Jojo Roberson then started a stretch of four-straight Cowgirl points, winning 216-211.5. Tristan Bagby followed that with a 199.5-195.5 win before Molly Mitchell earned her point with a meet-best 219-210 win. Quincee Clark closed the event with a 216-211 win to give OSU a 7-3 lead.
The meet continued with Flat, where Georgia bested Oklahoma State, 3-2. Ella Reinauer fell to open the event, 257-249, but the Cowgirls rebounded to win the next two. Grace McReynolds won 221-218 and Elizabeth Carter won 231-226. Georgia would claim the final two points, with Hope King falling 235-217 and Riley Hogan losing 259-255 despite and team-best score.
The meet concluded with Horsemanship, where the Cowgirls slammed the door shut, winning four of five points. The Bulldogs opened the event with a win as Hannah Lovrien fell 202-199.5. Jojo Roberson then won her point 216-211.5 and Tristan Bagby won 199.5-195.5. Molly Mitchell then defeated Jax Bound 219-210 before Quincee Clark closed things with a 216.5-211 win to complete the Cowgirls 13-7 victory.
No. 2 Auburn advances with a 13-7 victory over No. 7 South Carolina
OCALA, Fla. – The No. 2 seed Auburn equestrian team put together a complete team effort to advance at the 2023 NCEA Championships, topping No. 7 seed South Carolina with a 13-7 win at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida.
“I’m really proud of this team,” head coach Greg Williams said. “One thing I love about this team is the way that they’re always united. They are a threat when they’re like that. It was good to get this first day under our belts so that we can be ready to get after it tomorrow.”
With the win, the Tigers will face No. 3 seed Oklahoma State in the NCEA Semifinals on Friday at 1 p.m. CT.
Leading the charge were a pair of seniors in Ava Stearns and Maddie Spak. Stearns finished 2-0-0 in Jumping Seat action, scoring the meet’s highest scores in both Fences and Flat. Spak sealed the team win with her victory in Horsemanship.
“I felt like we really set our sights on Ocala this year,” Stearns said. “I felt really prepared coming into today and got a great Fences draw. I had the support of my teammates behind me, and it worked out in the end.”
“It was a great day for us today,” Spak said. “We rode really hard, and we knew that today was a great opportunity to establish ourselves in this tournament.”
Auburn opened the meet up with a 7-3 victory after Fences and Reining with the Fences squad going 4-1-0 against South Carolina.
After the Gamecocks took the first point in Fences, the Tigers rattled off the next four points to win the event. Sophomore Sophee Steckbeck scored a 227 in her win before Stearns put up a huge number, downing Bella Primavera, 270-260. Fifth year Emma Kurtz edged South Carolina’s Natalie Jayne, 251-248, and junior Ellie Ferrigno bested SC’s Jordan Allen with 253 points.
A trio of juniors in Kate Buchanan, Olivia Marino and Isabella Tesmer won their points in Reining for the squad. Buchanan led things off with a 212-210.5 win before Marino scored the most points of the meet with a 219 to take her point. Tesmer bested Haley Turner with a 212.5 to finish off Auburn’s scoring in the event.
The Auburn Flat corps went 3-2 against the Gamecocks, seeing wins from Stearns, sophomore Mary-Grace Segars and Kurtz. South Carolina took a one-point win in the first match up before Stearns downed Trinity Hammerschmidt, 264-234. Segars and Kurtz closed things out with a pair of victories for the squad.
Horsemanship sealed the deal with three points in the event. Spak kicked things off with her meet-winning point, 223.5-216. Freshman Caroline Fredenburg won her match, 217-213, and classmate Alexia Tordoff had a huge score to edge her opponent, 231-228.
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