WACO, Texas – The National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) saw six meets in the fifth week of spring action.
02/26 - TCU narrowly defeats Fresno State to close out regular Spring Big 12 play
FORT WORTH – On a bittersweet day at KSM Bear Creek Farms, the seventh-ranked TCU equestrian team took down Big 12-foe Fresno State, 12-8, to close out the regular season.
Following the meet, TCU honored nine seniors for their immeasurable impact made to the program over the past four seasons.
The Horned Frogs (7-5) swept all the MOPs on Thursday and claimed two of three events. This was the second meeting between the two teams, with Fresno State getting the best of TCU in California during the month of October.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The meet opened up in Fences and after faltering on the opening point, the Horned Frogs fought back to take the next four and open up a three-point lead. Point earners for the Frogs were Lily Muzzy, Lilly Goldstein, Lex Lipacis and Jordyn Scelsa, with Lipacis taking home the MOP.
TCU’s momentum continued in Reining, taking three points to make the lead 7-3 at the break. Cassie Hacking, Sydney Sargent and Lannie-Jo Lisac were the point scorers, and Lisac earned the MOP on senior day.
After the break, Fresno State (4-4) took three of five points to fight back into the meet, with Sydney Feager and Piper Keller able to salvage points for the team in purple. However, Keller was able to bring home the MOP.
To close out the win for the Horned Frogs, TCU claimed three points by way of Hanna Dolan, Madi Lo Porto and MOP earner Lilly Goldstein to finish off the afternoon.
FROG FACTS
· TCU is now 22-12 all-time against Fresno State, with a 12-2 home record.
· The Horned Frogs secured a winning record at the end of the regular season for the fifth consecutive year.
· TCU posted a 5-1 record at home this season.
· Maria Fagundes made her debut for TCU in Reining.
· Lex Lipacis earned her 10th career victory in Fences, and her third career MOP.
· Lilly Goldstein grabbed her 20th career victory in Fences, and her 25th career win on the Flat. She also earned her fifth career MOP on the Flat.
· Lannie-Jo Lisac earned her third career MOP in Reining and second of the season.
· Piper Keller earned her second career MOP in Horsemanship.
· Cassie Hacking won her fifth straight in Reining.
Dual Discipline Meet of The Week
02/27 - Fresno State defeats OSU for the first time in program history on the road
STILLWATER, Okla. - The No. 8 Fresno State equestrian team earned a critical Big 12 win at No. 6 Oklahoma State on Friday, defeating the Cowgirls 10-9. Fresno State earned its first-ever win in Stillwater and handed Oklahoma State its second loss of the season and first loss at home.
The win marked Fresno State's first outright win (no tiebreaker) over Oklahoma State since 2023, and was the fifth win over the Cowgirls in program history.
Paloma Primavera brought home the fences Most Outstanding Performer honor and Abby Goddard earned the horsemanship honor. Goddard scored a 79.75 in her MOP ride, the highest horsemanship score by a Bulldog since 2022 and the third-highest score in program history.
How it Happened
Fresno State started strong with a 3-1 win in the fences. Oklahoma State won the first points, but the Bulldogs took the next three with strong rides from Paloma Primavera, Bridey Jones and Sage Lindvall. Primavera earned the first point with an 85-83.5 score, earning her the MOP for the day. Jones had an 83 in her ride while Lindvall rode for a 58.5 against her opponent's zero. Molly Stewart tied in her ride with an 85, a new season-best.
In the western arena, the Bulldogs kept it close in horsemanship but fell 3-2. Aubrey Gerdes earned the first point for the Bulldogs with a 76.25-72.5 score. Abby Goddard earned her MOP with a 79.75 to her opponents 78.5.
At the half, the Bulldogs held on to a 5-4 lead.
With strong first-half rides from the Bulldogs, Oklahoma State pulled away with a 3-2 win in the reining. Brogan Hill and Alana Becker earned the first two points of the event. Hill opened scoring with a narrow 70.5-70.25 win over Ava Bush. Becker followed with another close one, earning the point on a 72.25-72 ride. The remaining three points went to the Cowgirls with two of them being by one point or fewer.
Oklahoma State tied the meet at seven through three events.
Over in the flat arena, the Bulldogs lost the first point but picked up the next two with points from Paris Mahoney and Autumn Bradbury. Fresno State had a one-point lead with two rides left. Oklahoma State earned the next point, tying the meet at nine and leaving it all to the final ride. Molly Stewart had to do better than a 76 scored by Lourdes Low in the first set of rides. The senior Bulldog exited the arena and earned a score of 81 to secure the final point and the win for Fresno State.
02/27 - #3 College of Charleston secures a home win against #1 Lynchburg
College of Charleston secured a home win against College of Charleston in a dominating 7-3 fashion.
College of Charleston won both events, going 3-2 in Fences and 4-1 in Flat. Madeline Rubin who picked up one of the only Lynchburg points in Fences secured an MOP honor with a score of 88, defeating her opponent 86-88. Samantha Aisenberg from College of Charleston picked up a MOP in Flat, outscoring her opponent 88-69.
02/27 - No. 1 Lynchburg tops Centenary on the road
Lynchburg picked up a road win on a neutral site against Centenary 5-3. Lynchburg took a win in Fences, going 3-1 and tying 2-2 in Flat. Madeline Rubin from Lynchburg picked up her second MOP honor of the weekend in Fences, defeating her opponent 86-78. Lynchburg secured another MOP in flat with Rebecca Collier’s 86-76 win.
Single Discipline Meet of The Week
02/27 - No. 5 Sweet Briar defeats Sewanee
SEWANEE, Tenn. - The No. 5 single discipline Sweet Briar College NCEA team (5-3, 4-2 ODAC) captured a hard-fought 5-5 (762-737) victory over the University of the South Tigers (1-5, 1-1 ODAC) today.
The Vixens scored three out of their five points in fences competition, with wins by senior Naomi Dachis (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) and first-years Hallie Nelson (Duette, Fla.) and Sadie Swift (Leonardtown, Md.).
Dachis scored a team-high 84 on Tuck for a 19-point margin of victory, while Swift totaled an 83 on Carl to take down her Tiger opponent by five points.
Nelson's score of 79 on Leo helped the Vixens add to their point total as her Sewanee opponent only scored a 40.
On the flat, points were scored by Nelson and sophomore Abigail Schreiner (Villa Rica, Ga.). Nelson totaled an 80 on Carl against Emma Sameth's 78 and Schreiner bested Rebecca Love's 74 with a score of 78 on Archie.
With both teams tied at five points following the conclusion of both disciplines, Sweet Briar took the victory on raw scores, 762-737.
Highlights
- Nelson was named Most Outstanding Performer (MOP) on the flat for the first MOP honor of her career.
- Sweet Briar remains undefeated against Sewanee with a 7-0 record.
02/28 - No.1 Auburn defeats No. 3 Georgia on the road
BISHOP, Ga. – The No. 1 Auburn equestrian team earned a hard-fought Southeastern Conference win on the road, besting No. 3 Georgia at the UGA Equestrian Complex Saturday afternoon, 11-9.
“I’m really proud of the whole meet we put together today,” head coach Jessica Braswell said. “The energy was outstanding all day and they fought for every point. Winning on the road is big for this sport and Georgia is difficult to beat at their place. This was a great team win as we get closer to the postseason. Knowing we can ride well, compete tough and come out with a win away from our place gives this team a lot of confidence.”
Auburn (8-2, 3-2 SEC) won three of four Most Outstanding Performer honors. Freshman Sofia Tieche picked up the first MOP honor of her career in Reining, while classmate Caroline Olsen took MOP in Fences for the first time in her career. Senior Caroline Fredenburg won MOP in Horsemanship as well.
“Having three MOPs on the road is a big accomplishment,” Braswell said. “It’s great to see two of our freshmen get the first MOPs of their career on the road. Caroline Olsen continues to be consistent and really solid for the team. Sofia has been working really hard in practice and it’s carrying over into competition.”
The Tigers held a slim 8-7 lead after the first three events going into Reining, needing three points to seal the team victory.
Junior Callie Hogg had an outstanding ride for the Tigers, scoring a 72 to beat her opponent by one in the first match up of Reining and making it 9-7 Auburn. Tieche followed with her MOP ride, scoring a career-high 72.25 to push the Tigers ahead, 10-7.
The Bulldogs took the next match up to make it 10-8, but senior Caroline Buchanan came in clutch under pressure, laying down a beautiful ride to score a 70.75 to beat her opponent by one and giving the Tigers the team win.
“Caroline has dealt with the pressure before and so we were confident in her going into this ride,” Braswell said. “She executed everything she planned on to get that win for her team.”
The Tigers opened the day with a 6-4 lead behind a strong showing from the Fences corps.
Fences put together a 4-1 mark against the Bulldogs, starting with a win from sophomore Kate Hagerty, 81.5-78.5. Sophomore Ariana Marnell edged her opponent, 84.5-83, and Olsen scored a meet-best 87 points in her MOP win. Junior Avery Glynn captured the fourth point of the event with an 84.5-78.5 win over Tessa P. Brown.
The Horsemanship corps got two wins from Fredenburg and junior Brooke Jolstad. Fredenburg bested Ava Hathaway, 76.25-76, for the MOP win, while Jolstad scored a 75.25 to take a two-point victory.
Marnell and Olsen finished their day undefeated as the pair each picked up wins on the Flat. Marnell scored an 82.5 in her match up to take the victory, while Olsen bested her opponent, 84-78.5.
02/28 - #3 College of Charleston garners their second win of the weekend
College of Charleston picked up their second 7-3 at home win of the weekend against College of Charleston. Once again they took both events, Fences 3-2 and Flat 4-1. Both MOP honors went to College of Charleston, Samatha Aisenburg picking up her second honor in Fences with a 87-81 win and Lannie Rubin with a 90-77 win in Flat.
About the NCEA
A non-profit corporation, the NCEA is a governing body to advance the sport of equestrian. The NCEA is responsible for the development and administration of equestrian rules and guidelines. Equestrian is subject to all NCAA policies and procedures in the same manner as other sports. In 1998, Equestrian was identified and adopted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) as an emerging sport for women at the Division I and II levels.
NCEA competitions are in a head-to-head format, and schools may choose to compete as a single or dual discipline team (Jumping Seat and Western). Each discipline has two events: in Jumping Seat, Fences and Flat, and in Western, Horsemanship and Reining. Teams can have five riders per event, with horses assigned by random draw at the start of the competition. Riders from opposing teams compete on the same horse, and whichever rider receives the higher score earns one point for her team. The level of difficulty is demonstrated by the accuracy of the pattern and how the competitor uses the horse to the best of her ability.
To stay up to date all year long on all things NCEA Equestrian, follow the organization on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @NCEA_Equestrian and @ncea_eq.
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