Sept. 19, 2014
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MARTIN, Tenn. - The No. 4 Auburn equestrian team defeated the UT-Martin Skyhawks, 13-7, in its season-opening meet on Friday at the at the Ned McWherter Agricultural Pavilion in Martin, Tenn.
"We had some great rides today," head coach Greg Williams said. "The thing you want to do when you start out the year is measuring your riders to see what you got. I wish we could have picked up more points on the hunt seat side. Elizabeth Benson has been a dominant rider for us from day one, and she was on it today. She was very determined. We were almost flawless on the western side. You hope you get a solid win and we did on the western side. While they already loved Coach (Katherine) Berg, I think this is just fuel to the fire now. It makes me so pleased."
Auburn jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in equitation over fences as junior Peyton Smith defeated Reid Rickett 76-74, and junior Elizabeth Benson topped Hunter Ralston 82-73. Nora Wilson edged out Demi Stiegler 80-79 to give the Skyhawks their first point of the meet before reeling off back-to-back wins over sophomore Ashley Foster and junior Megan Bifano.
In horsemanship, junior Griffin Knight edged out Cora Rogaski, 70.5-70, before the Skyhawks evened the event at one with a 74-72.5 victory by Carli Pitts over Hannah Stephens. The Tigers rebounded with three-straight points from juniors Hannah Loseke and Lucy Igoe and senior Katie Buff to take a 6-4 lead at the break.
Benson earned her second win of the meet, defeating Claire Ottinger 83-53 in equitation on the flat. For her efforts, the Whitehouse Station, N.J., native was named MOP in both English events. UT-Martin regained the lead as Reid Rickett and Mykaela Vanselus defeated Ashley Foster and Tory Hoft, respectively. The Tigers battled back, led by seniors Demi Stiegler and Jennifer Delman. Stiegler, a 2014 All-American, earned an 80-76 victory over Mia Bray, while Delman defeated Hunter Ralston 78-75.
Junior Hailey Munger gave Auburn its 10th point of the meet after defeating Laney Hixson, 63.5-53 in reining. Freshman Alexa Rivard sealed the win for the Tigers, claiming a 72-57.5 win over Sam Knight. Senior Katsy Leeman earned MOP honors in the event after posting a score of 75 to defeat Maddie Williams, before senior Julianna Cook closed the meet with a 70.5-68.5 win over Katie Kallevig to give Auburn its 13th point.
The Tigers return to action October 10 against top-ranked South Carolina at 3 p.m. CT at the Auburn University Horse Center.
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