AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 1 Auburn equestrian team kicks off a long month away from the Plains with a Southeastern Conference showdown at No. 3 South Carolina Saturday, Feb. 16. The Tigers and the Gamecocks will face off at 9 a.m. CT in Blythewood, S.C., at One Wood Farm.
"This is just the start of a tough road test for this team," head coach Greg Williams said. "We have three tough opponents in a row, going against three of the Top 4 teams in the country away from home. I can't ask for our team to do much more than they are now in having a tight knit, talented group. Coaches Jessica Braswell and Mary Meneely are continuing to do an incredible job and I'm looking forward to what's in store this weekend."
AUBURN LINEUP
The Auburn (9-0, 3-0) lineup at South Carolina (5-3, 1-2) boasts eight seniors, one junior, four sophomores and two freshmen.
Seniors Caitlin Boyle and Hayley Iannotti with sophomore Taylor St. Jacques and freshman McKayla Langmeier will compete in both Equitation Over Fences and Equitation on the Flat for the Hunt Seat corps. Iannotti leads the squad with a 7-0-0 mark in Fences, while Langmeier is undefeated in both Fences and Flat.
Senior Ashton Alexander is set to ride in Fences for the Tigers, while serving as the alternate on Flat. Freshman Emma Kurtz looks to remain undefeated in Flat for Auburn and will be the team's alternate in Fences.
The Horsemanship corps features a wealth of experience and success with seniors Lauren Diaz and Kelsey Jung leading the way. Diaz has a team-best eight victories and four MOPs in the event, while Jung isn't far behind with seven wins. Sophomore Taylor Searles also has seven wins and has scored back-to-back 77s for Auburn. Junior Kara Kaufmann is 6-1-2 on the season, while sophomore Deanna Green has five wins under her belt.
Auburn's lineup in Reining boasts three seniors and two sophomores. Senior Ali Fratessa has had an outstanding season so far, having a team-best eight wins with three MOPs. Green has also had a solid year, totaling seven wins and is coming off an MOP performance vs. South Dakota State (Feb. 9). Seniors Blair McFarlin and Betsy Brown each have five victories, while sophomore Terri-June Granger rounds out the group with four.
SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES
Auburn holds a slight 23-19 edge in the series history with the Gamecocks, winning the last 10 meetings. The Tigers are also 8-7 on the road vs. SC.
In the first meeting of the season in September, Auburn downed the Gamecocks, 18-2, at the Auburn University Equestrian Center. The Tigers swept the MOP honors as well – Deanna Green (Horsemanship), Caitlin Boyle (Flat), Ali Fratessa (Reining), McKayla Langmeier (Fences).
UP NEXT
Auburn takes a week off before a long trip to Texas, March 1-2. The Tigers kick off the trip with another SEC contest, facing No. 4 Texas A&M, March 1, at 11 a.m. CT in College Station. The squad caps the trip at No. 2 SMU, March 2, squaring off with the Mustangs at 10 a.m. CT in Dallas.