April 20, 2018
WACO, Texas -- The No. 2 Auburn equestrian team had huge performances all day Friday at the 2018 National Collegiate Equestrian Association Championship as all four events advanced to the final round of the event championship in Waco.
"It was a big day," head coach Greg Williams said. "There was a lot riding and this was a day we've geared up for. We wanted to put ourselves into a position to win and focus on what is in our control. The team did a fantastic job at that and are going to compete in every championship tomorrow. It's really exciting."
The Tigers will have a full day Saturday in the Extraco Events Center, beginning with the national championship at 8:30 a.m. CT. It will be a rematch between the SEC's finest as No. 2 Auburn and No. 1 Georgia will go head-to-head in the full team competition.
"We have unfinished business to attend to tomorrow," Williams said. "Our goal is to win a national championship and that is first and foremost in our minds. All of our sights are on the morning competition. We want to win in everything we compete in, but we will not lose focus on that national championship."
Friday saw the Tigers compete in all four event quarterfinals and semifinals -- Equitation Over Fences, Reining, Equitation on the Flat, and Horsemanship. The newly expanded NCEA format includes four team-seeded brackets as squads compete for four event titles. Auburn was seeded second in both Equitation on the Flat and Horsemanship, while earning a No. 3 seed in Equitation Over Fences and Reining.
The Hunt Seat corps kicked off the day in Equitation Over Fences. As the No. 3 seed in the event, the Tigers opened with a 3-1 win over No. 6 South Carolina before besting No. 2 Georgia, 3-1, in the semifinals. The Tigers will take on No. 5 Oklahoma State in the final at 2 p.m. CT.
Reining competed in the morning session as the No. 3 seed in the discipline, opening with a 3-1 win over No. 6 Baylor. The Tigers then battled to a 2-2 tie with No. 2 Oklahoma State, edging the Cowgirls with a raw score tiebreak, 550.5-415.5. AU will face SEC rival Texas A&M in the final match at 3:30 p.m. CT.
Hunt Seat continued its dominating performance Friday in Equitation on the Flat, only giving up one point between two matches. The No. 2 Tigers opened with a 3-0 victory over No. 10 South Carolina and followed with a 3-1 win against No. 3 Oklahoma State. Auburn and Georgia will meet in the event final Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT.
After earning a first round bye, No. 2 Horsemanship saw huge rides throughout Friday afternoon. The team blanked No. 7 SMU, 4-0, before riding to a 2-2 tie with No. 6 Baylor. Auburn edged the Bears in raw score, 581.5-580, to round out competition for the day. The Tigers face off with the rival Bulldogs from Georgia at 2 p.m. CT for the event crown.
A complete list of all matches is below.
EQUITATION OVER FENCES
vs. South Carolina -- W, 3-1
Caitlin Boyle (AU) def. Lizzie van der Walde (SC), 164-158
Taylor St. Jacques (AU) def. Madison Sellman (SC), 172-161
Hayley Iannotti (AU) def. Madison Brayman (SC), 155-152
Chloe Schmidt (SC) def. Ashton Alexander (AU), 166-165
vs. Georgia -- W, 3-1
Taylor St. Jacques (AU) def. Ali Tritschler (UGA), 169-156
Caitlin Boyle (AU) def. Addyson Cord (UGA), 169-164
Ashton Alexander (AU) def. Emma Mandarino (UGA), 162-161
Maddy Darst (UGA) def. Hayley Iannotti (AU), 175-169
REINING
vs. Baylor -- W, 3-1
Charlotte Green (BU) def. Terri-June Granger (AU), 143-139.5
Betsy Brown (AU) def. Carly Salter (BU), 138-137.5
Alexa Rivard (AU) def. Abbi Demel (BU), 139.5-0
Blair McFarlin (AU) def. Georgia Smith (BU), 139.5-137
vs. Oklahoma State -- W, 2-2 (550.5-415.5)
Julia Purus (OSU) def. Alexa Rivard (AU), 137.5-133
Betsy Brown (AU) def. Danielle Cohen (OSU), 138.5-0
Terri-June Granger (AU) def. Hannah Mitchell (OSU), 140-138
Ebba Lange (OSU) def. Blair McFarlin (AU), 140-139
EQUITATON ON THE FLAT
vs. South Carolina -- W, 3-0
Caitlin Boyle (AU) def. Madison Sellman (SC), 175-167
Ashton Alexander (AU) tied Louisa Brackett (SC), 160-160
Taylor St. Jacques (AU) def. Madison Brayman (SC), 171-168
Hayley Iannotti (AU) def. Chloe Schmidt (SC), 158-151
vs. Oklahoma State -- W, 3-1
Ashton Alexander (AU) def. Carly Barrick (OSU), 167-158
Taylor St. Jacques (AU) def. Hannah Janson (OSU), 164-157
Kendall Pedigo (OSU) def. Caitlin Boyle (AU), 170-166
Hayley Iannotti (AU) def. Abigail Brayman (OSU), 166-156
HORSEMANSHIP
vs. SMU -- W, 4-0
Taylor Searles (AU) def. Kara Vickery (SMU), 149-145
Kara Kaufmann (AU) def. Haylee Schoonover (SMU), 150-147
Kelsey Jung (AU) def. Ashley Mauney (SMU), 147.5-145.5
Deanna Green (AU) def. Michaela Dinger (SMU), 147.5-141.5
vs. Baylor -- W, 2-2 (581.5-580)
Kelsey Jung (AU) def. Katie Davis (BU), 146-143
Deanna Green (AU) def. Abbi Demel (BU), 147-138.5
Kaylee Mellott (BU) def. Taylor Searles (AU), 150-148.5
Charlotte Green (BU) def. Kara Kaufmann (AU) 148.5-140
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