Hornets ride into ECACC Semifinal with shutout of Minnesota Crookston
 
Harrington, Del. --- The Delaware State equestrian team posted the first dual discipline shutout in team history with a dominating 20-0 win over Minnesota Crookston in the opening round of the 2022 ECAC Tournament at the State Fairgrounds today.
 
The third-seeded Hornets will face No. 2 seed Tennessee Martin in the tournament semifinals on Friday. Top-seed SMU will face No. 4 Cal Davis in the other semifinal.
 
Delaware State swept all four disciplines and Hornet riders also earned Most Outstanding Performer Awards in each.
 
Delaware State's Maranda McCarthy was MOP in Fences with a combined score of 164. Gabrielle Fournier (158), Megan Windborne (154), Victoria Croston (146) and Jordan Wicklund (101) also had winning performances in Fences for the Hornets.
 
Mirey Kurkcuoglu topped all riders on the Flat to earned MOP honors with a score of 149.5. Fournier (139), Croston (128), Wicklund (94.5) and McCarthy (42) also collected points for the Hornets on the Flat.
 
On the Western side, Delaware State's Kelsey McArthur took home MOP honors in Horsemanship with a combined score of 142. Teammates Casey Johnson (144), Aniela Cortina (143) Alexis Grogan (141) and Sierra Kane (130.5) also rode to victory in Western competition.
Delaware State's Aiden Stetzer was the standout performer in Reining, topping all riders in the competition with a score of 146.5 to capture MOP honors.
 
Amber Van Segbrook also impressed with a score of 143.5, while Anastasia Brugger (140.5), Grace Wilson and Abbey Craver were also winners in Reining for the Hornets.
 
 
Jacks fall to Aggies at ECAC Championships
 
HARRINGTON, Del. - Fourth-seeded UC Davis swept the flat and reining events and went on to defeat South Dakota State, 15-5, in the opening round of the ECAC Equestrian Championships Thursday at the Delaware State Fairgrounds.
 
The Aggies, who improved to 4-7 overall, advance to face top-seeded Southern Methodist on Friday. Fifth-seeded SDSU dropped to 4-8 in head-to-head competition.
 
UC Davis opened the day by building a 3-2 lead in the fences competition. Winners for the Jackrabbits were Hannah Steele with an event-high score of 169 from the two-judge panel and Margaret Franke with a score of 143.
 
The Jackrabbits' Natalie Gydesen had her nine-match winning streak in reining come to an end as she was edged by UCD's Amber Nusser, 136.5-134.5. That propelled the Aggies to a 5-0 sweep in the event for what proved to be a commanding 8-2 lead.
 
The Aggies posted another sweep in the flat competition. Franke recorded the top score for SDSU in the event at 141.
 
SDSU salvaged an event win in horsemanship by winning three of the five matchups. Kodi O'Boyle notched the top score in the event with 145.5 to win her matchup, while Jadyn Taylor (140) and Grace Blake (129) also victorious.