AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 1 Auburn equestrian team capped another successful home schedule Saturday with an 11-8 win over rival and No. 7 Georgia at the Auburn University Equestrian Center.
“It was overall a great day to celebrate our seniors at home,” head coach Jessica Braswell said. “I’m happy with where we are and we know that we still have a lot of work to do to put it all together. We close out the season with two big meets in Texas that are going to be really tough, but meets like today will help us prepare for them.”
The Tigers (10-1, 4-1 SEC) honored eight student-athletes participating in their final home meet of the year – Genevieve Ahlstedt, Kaitlyn Ferguson, Ellie Ferrigno, Mary-Grace Segars, Alexis Seiden, Sophee Steckbeck, Sarah Wren and Victoria Zember.
The crew finished their career with a 26-1 home record over five seasons and have won the SEC title every season in their careers so far.
“I’m so happy for our seniors to go out with a win at home,” Braswell said. “Their career home record was outstanding so very excited for them to get to add another win to that column.”
The team also enjoyed another big crowd of the Auburn faithful.
“We’re so appreciative of the support of the Auburn family,” Braswell said. “The loud crowd really helped our energy and very grateful for all the support this season at home.”
Auburn’s Western crew put up big rides on the day, going 8-2 vs. Georgia between Reining and Horsemanship.
“The Western squad was outstanding today and came to play,” Braswell said. “Watching the effort they put in practice this week has been great and it was good to see it all come to fruition today.”
Three Tigers earned Most Outstanding Performer honors. Junior Alexia Tordoff picked up MOP in Reining for the third time this year, while sophomore Brooke Jolstad was honored for her performance in Horsemanship. Sophomore Avery Glynn earned MOP in Fences for the team.
It was a tight contest from the beginning as the two teams rode to a 5-5 tie following Flat and Reining.
The Reining corps had a big showing, going 4-1 vs. the Bulldogs to start the day.
After Georgia took the first point, Tordoff followed with her MOP win as she bested Shelby Lynch, 73-68.5. Sophomore Callie Hogg followed with a 69.5-69 edge and freshman Michelle Fumagalli downed her opponent, 68-0.
Fifth year Olivia Bradley, competing in her final meet on the Plains, capped the team scoring with a 70.5-70 victory.
Segars picked up the lone point for Auburn on the Flat, winning 88-81.
The Tigers sealed the team win by going 6-3-1 between Horsemanship and Fences.
Horsemanship continued the winning trend on the Western side, besting the Bulldogs 4-1. Tordoff led off with a victory, 75.5-68, and Jolstad followed with a 77.5 to set a career high and beat her opponent by 2.5 points.
Sophomore Sydney Swallom bested Jordan Davis, 74-72, and Hogg sealed the team win with a 75.5-74 win. That score was a career high for Hogg.
The Tigers picked up two points in Fences, starting with a win from freshman Kate Hagerty, 84-82. Glynn won MOP with a meet-best 87 points, topping her opponent’s 65. Steckbeck and her Georgia opponent rode to an 83-83 tie.
Auburn closes out the regular season on the road, traveling to the state of Texas for a pair of meets.
The team will first head to Dallas to face two-time defending national champion and No. 4 SMU on March 7 at 10 a.m. CT. The Tigers will close out the weekend at SEC rival and No. 5 Texas A&M. Auburn and the Aggies will go head-to-head at 12 p.m. CT on March 8 in Bryan-College Station, Texas.
#1 AUBURN 11, #7 GEORGIA 8
FENCES
Kate Hagerty (AU) def. Tessa Downey (UGA), 84-82
Tessa P. Brown (UGA) def. Mary-Grace Segars (AU), 83-7
Avery Glynn (AU) def. Catalina Peralta (UGA), 87-65
Sophee Steckbeck (AU) tied Melissa Deryn Foster (UGA), 83-83
Jordan Toering (UGA) def. Ellie Ferrigno (AU), 82-79
FLAT
Mary-Grace Segars (AU) def. Isabella David (UGA), 88-81
Jordan Toering (UGA) def. Avery Glynn (AU), 85-84
Jessica Guginsky (UGA) def. Kate Hagerty (AU), 74-70
Sophia Pilla (UGA) def. Ariana Marnell (AU), 91-76
Catalina Peralta (UGA) def. Ellie Ferrigno (AU), 86-75
HORSEMANSHIP
Alexia Tordoff (AU) def. Emma DeJong (UGA), 75.5-68
Brooke Jolstad (AU) def. Abbey Zawisza (UGA), 77.5-75
Sydney Swallom (AU) def. Jordan Davis (UGA), 74-72
Alyvia Dixon (UGA) def. Caroline Fredenburg (AU), 75.5-74
Callie Hogg (AU) def. Jillian Stopperich (UGA), 75.5-74
REINING
Raegan Shepherd (UGA) def. Caroline Buchanan (AU), 69-0
Alexia Tordoff (AU) def. Shelby Lynch (UGA), 73-68.5
Callie Hogg (AU) def. Kinsey Cooper (UGA), 69.5-69
Michelle Fumagalli (AU) def. Kennedy Buchanan (UGA), 68-0
Olivia Bradley (AU) def. Abbey Zawisa (UGA), 70.5-70