No. 1 Tigers Fall to No. 9 Fresno State, 11-5

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Oct. 7, 2016

FELTON, Del. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The No. 1 Auburn equestrian dropped a neutral site meet Friday morning, falling to No. 9 Fresno State, 11-5, at Delaware State's Dovington Training Center in Felton, Del.

"I feel have let our focus shift and that today's tough loss is my fault," head coach Greg Williams said. "With this much talent and the plan and practices the position coaches have set up, we should overcome anything. We will get that focus back. I don't like any loss, but am glad this happened now because we will use it throughout the season. I really believe in this group."

"Congrats to Fresno State as they did a great job coaching and riding," Williams added. "Delaware State is hosting a great tournament so far and we appreciate all of their hard work."

The Tigers picked up three points in Reining, defeating the Bulldogs 3-1. Sophomore Ali Fratessa earned Auburn's first point of the day with a 68-66.5 victory. Classmate Blair McFarlin won her match, 66-63, and junior Alexa Rivard topped Fresno State's Ally Frias, 69.5-67.5.

A pair of Tigers in sophomore Hayley Iannotti and senior Ashley Foster earned wins in Equitation Over Fences. Iannotti topped Natalie Wendt, 84-81, while Foster defeated Paige Pastorino, 77-68.

Auburn concludes the weekend with a meet vs. host Delaware State. The Tigers and the Hornets will face off at 11 a.m. CT at the Dovington Training Center.

#9 FRESNO STATE 11, #1 AUBURN 5
Equitation on the Flat
Sierra Swaffar (FSU) def. Caitlin Boyle (AU), 74-65
Natalie Wendt (FSU) def. Tory Hoft (AU), 64-60
Alex Dirickson (FSU) def. Alex Ladove (AU), 60-42
Kylina Chalack (FSU) def. Ashley Foster (AU), 58-0

Equitation Over Fences
Hayley Iannotti (AU) def. Natalie Wendt (FSU), 84-81
Ashley Foster (AU) def. Paige Pastorino (FSU), 77-68
Alex Dirickson (FSU) def. Caitlin Boyle (AU), 79-74
Kylina Chalack (FSU) def. Ashton Alexander (AU), 76-69

Horsemanship
Taylor Brown (FSU) def. Hannah Stephens (AU), 74-73
Taylor Dixon (FSU) def. Megan Rauh (AU), 73-72.5
Taeya Harle (FSU) def. Kelsey Jung (AU), 72.5-67
Rachel Williams (FSU) def. Lauren Diaz (AU), 69.5-62.5

Reining
Ali Fratessa (AU) def. Kara Gustafson (FSU), 68-66.5
Taylor Brown (FSU) def. Betsy Brown (AU), 70.5-62
Blair McFarlin (AU) def. Taylor Dixon (FSU), 66-63
Alexa Rivard (AU) def. Ally Frias (FSU), 69.5-67.5

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