April 13, 2018
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Southeastern Conference announced its postseason awards for equestrian Friday and 10 student-athletes of the No. 2 Auburn equestrian team were honored.
A pair of juniors in Hayley Iannotti and Betsy Brown earned Rider of the Year recognition in their respective events. Iannotti was named the SEC Flat Co-Rider of the Year, while Brown was honored as SEC Reining Co-Rider of the Year.
Iannotti has a team-best 12-3 mark in Equitation on the Flat, including a perfect 6-0 record in the event in regular season SEC competition. In addition, Iannotti has two Most Outstanding Performer (MOP) honors to her credit this year and was named a first team NCEA All-American.
Brown stands at 9-3-2 overall in Reining for the Tigers with a 4-2 mark against SEC opponents in the regular season. The Waxhaw, N.C., product has a pair of MOPs to her name this season and was placed on the SEC All-Championship team at the conclusion of the 2018 SEC Championship, finishing with a 2-0 mark in the conference meet.
Auburn took home at least a share of all four Freshman Riders of the Year awards. Taylor St. Jacques was named the SEC Freshman Flat Rider of the Year as well as the Freshman Fences Co-Rider of the Year, while Deanna Green earned Freshman Horsemanship Co-Rider of the Year and Terri-June Granger was awarded the Freshman Reining Rider of the Year.
St. Jacques, of Glen Allen, Va., holds a 7-1-1 record in Flat and a 7-3-0 mark in Fences. She has a team-best six MOPs over the two events ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" three Flat and three Fences. St. Jacques went undefeated against SEC opponents in the regular season in Flat and has the team's highest score in the event with a 93 at Georgia (Feb. 9). She was most recently named a first team All-American in Flat and second team in Fences.
The honor for Green is the third consecutive for an Auburn newcomer in Horsemanship. The Pilot Point, Texas, native leads the Tigers with seven MOPs in the event and holds the team's highest score of 78. Green is 11-3-1 overall for Auburn and went undefeated at the SEC Championships. She adds the award to her second team All-America recognition.
Granger, a product of Dothan, Ala., is tied for first on the team with nine wins in Reining. Her five MOPs in the event is the most by a Tiger rider and she holds the two top scores recorded this season, including a 74 at Georgia (Feb. 9). She was also named a first team All-American.
In total, seven Tigers earned All-SEC accolades. Junior Caitlin Boyle and St. Jacques were placed on the Fences team, while Iannotti secured a spot on the Flat. Green was joined by redshirt junior Kelsey Jung on the Horsemanship squad as Jung also has 11 wins on the year. Brown and Granger were placed on the Reining team.
Six freshmen were selected to the four SEC All-Freshman teams. St. Jacques was placed on both Fences and Flat and was joined by Carly Hoft on the Fences team. Green and classmate Taylor Searles secured a place on the Horsemanship, while Granger, Green, and Savannah Ostner were honored on the Reining squad.
The Tigers earned the No. 2 overall seed for the 2018 NCEA Championship. In addition, Horsemanship and Equitation on the Flat also earned No. 2 seeds, while Equitation Over Fences and Reining came in at No. 3. The national meet is slated for April 18-21 and will take place at the Extraco Events Center in Waco, Texas.
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