Feb. 1, 2018
No. 5 Auburn (3-2) | No. 8 Baylor (2-3) | No. 3 Oklahoma State (3-2)
MEET
| Friday, Feb. 2 | 10 a.m. CT | |
| Auburn at Baylor | ||
| Saturday, Feb. 3 | 10 a.m. CT | |
| Auburn at Oklahoma State | ||
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬"The No. 5 Auburn equestrian opens the full spring schedule this weekend, facing a pair of tough opponents on the road. The Tigers travel to No. 8 Baylor Friday, Feb. 2, before heading to No. 3 Oklahoma State Saturday, Feb.3, in Stillwater. Both meets will kick off at 10 a.m. CT.
"I can't talk about kicking off the second half of the season without talking about how upbeat and ready the team is," head coach Greg Williams said. "We are ready to get on the road and Coach Mary Meneely and Coach Jessica Braswell have done an amazing job preparing the team for the next part of the season."
AUBURN LINEUP
The Auburn competition lineups for the weekend will mostly mirror each other and are junior and freshman heavy, featuring nine juniors and five freshmen. Joining the group will be two seniors and two sophomores.
Leading the Hunt Seat corps is a trio of junior All-Americans in Ashton Alexander, Caitlin Boyle, and Hayley Iannotti. The group is set to compete in both Equitation Over Fences and Equitation on the Flat in both meets. Boyle leads all Tigers with 11 wins on the year, having six in Flat and five in Fences. Iannotti is tied with Boyle in Flat with six wins, while Alexander has three wins in each of the two events.
Also competing in both events Friday and Saturday is freshman Taylor St. Jacques. The Glen Allen, Va., product won both of her matches at South Carolina to close out the fall, picking up MOP honors in Flat with a team-best 90 points.
Junior Alex Ladove is set to ride in Equitation Over Fences both against the Bears and the Cowgirls. Senior Caitlin Creel will compete in Equitation on the Flat vs. Baylor Friday, while sophomore Becky Kozma will go against Oklahoma State Saturday.
The Horsemanship corps will remain the same for both meets and is full of experience as two juniors and one sophomore lead the squad. Freshmen Deanna Green and Taylor Searles will join sophomore All-American Kara Kaufmann and juniors Lauren Diaz and Kelsey Jung. Green and Jung are tied for first on the squad with five wins apiece in the event, while Diaz has three. Green opened up her career with three-straight MOP honors for the Tigers.
Senior Alexa Rivard leads Auburn's Reining crew. The Suwanee, Ga., product is just two wins away from breaking Indy Roper's (2009-13) career wins record of 34. Freshman Terri-June Granger and juniors Blair McFarlin and Betsy Brown are also set to compete both days. Granger and McFarlin lead the team in the event with four wins each. Junior Ali Fratessa will get the starting nod against Baylor Friday, while freshman Savannah Ostner is set to compete against Oklahoma State Saturday.
AUBURN-BAYLOR SERIES HISTORY
Friday's meeting is the 12th in the all-time series with Baylor. The Tigers are undefeated vs. the Bears at 11-0 and are 2-0 in meets competed at the Willis Family Equestrian Center.
AUBURN-OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Tigers and the Cowgirls will square off for the 13th time in the program history Saturday. Auburn holds a 10-2 lead in the series history and is 3-1 in meets competed in Stillwater.
UP NEXT
The Tigers face another tough road trip, traveling to rival and No. 1 Georgia next weekend. Auburn and the Bulldogs will go head-to-head Feb. 10 in Bishop, Ga., with the first ride at 12 p.m. CT.