April 16, 2011
For the third time throughout the championships, the Tigers dominated their competition, downing No. 2 seed Georgia 6-2 for the hunt seat title. With the win, Auburn secured the 2011 overall national championship.
The Tigers also earned three of four MVPs that were awarded to the most valuable players in equitation over fences, equitation on the flat, horsemanship and reining. Junior Grace Socha was the over fences MVP, junior Maggie McAlary was the flat MVP and senior Paige Monfore was the reining MVP.
"I knew this was a special group coming in, and these past three days, they proved it," said head coach Greg Williams. "This national championship for the Auburn fans is due to the hard work of coach Neubarth and coach Helfer and a group of girls that will do anything for each other."
Auburn started the title competition with a bang, taking flat 3-1 with impressive scores. Tiger points came from sophomore Lindsay Portela, who defeated Carly Anthony 172-163, junior Maggie McAlary, who defeated Grace Rogers 175-157 and freshman Christina Lin, who defeated Abby O'Mara 165-163.
The Tigers continued their winning ways in the over fences competition, as they once again stunned the Bulldogs with a 3-1 victory. Auburn winners included Socha over Anthony 165-162, McAlary over Kacy Jenkins 157-0 and senior Anna Schierholz over Michelle Morris 161-110.
The victory marked the third time Auburn hunt seat defeated Georgia, bringing the Tigers' total record to an impressive 18-1 during the 2010-11 season.
At the national championship, the hunt seat squad went 22-2, with two sweeps and one decisive victory for the title. Sophomore Anna Becker, freshman Jennifer Waxman, Portela, McAlary, Lin and Schierholz all went undefeated throughout the competition.
In western competition, Auburn picked up points from sophomore Indy Roper in horsemanship, senior Paige Monfore in reining and junior Kristin Hansen in reining. Senior Bailey Dymond tied her Bulldog opponent with a score of 147.5.
Auburn finishes the season with three championship titles, as the team defeated conference foe Georgia for the SEC championship, the hunt seat national championship and the overall national championship.