University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Comes Up Short at VENC
April 16, 2005 | Equestrian
April 16, 2005
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Santa Fe, NM --- The Georgia equestrian team came up just short in a gutsy comeback attempt on day two of the Varsity Equestrian National Championships, falling to Southeastern Conference rival South Carolina 60-51 in the Bulldogs bid to win a third straight national title at the Santa Fe Horsepark in Santa Fe, New Mexico on April 15-16.
A series of three first place finishes early in Saturday's competition put Georgia back in contention for the title as the team recovered from a disappointing sixth place finish with just 16 points at the close of competition on day one. After Friday's events, defending Western champion Oklahoma State led the field of 12 teams with 33 points and South Carolina held second place with 24 points. Georgia's three early victories on Saturday allowed the Bulldogs to blow past Oklahoma State, but South Carolina maintained its strong performances from day one to stay just out of reach.
"I'm very proud of the way we rode," Georgia head coach Meghan Boenig said. "We had some frustrating breaks and difficult rides again today. My hat is off to USC. They had some phenomenal rides and they deserved to win."
The Bulldogs opened the day in full stride, leaping into second place with 41 points after the first four classes of the day, just behind South Carolina's 44 while Oklahoma State dropped into third with 35.
"It was exhilarating to win those classes in the morning," Boenig said. "The girls had some smart rides and performed well, which allowed us to make a big comeback."
The outstanding performances began with a first place ride in horsemanship from senior Carly Veldman. Junior transfer Logan Fiorentino followed with a first place ride in equitation over fences and then senior Megan Richardson won her second victory of the weekend in a closely contested equitation over fences duel that required an additional ride- off to separate her from South Carolina standout Tara Brothers. Meanwhile, freshman Dana Kennedy finished third in her horsemanship class to add four points to the Georgia tally.
Junior Sarah Meier gave the Bulldogs a strong start in the afternoon's events, finishing second with a difficult draw in her reining class while sophomore Rachel Berkowitz added a third place finish in her equitation class and Fiorentino finished sixth in her equitation class. South Carolina never broke its stride, however, in a performance that included first and second place finishes in the equitation classes.
Texas A&M finished third in the overall team standings with 43 points, just ahead of Oklahoma State in fourth with 42 points. South Carolina also ended Georgia's three year rein as English national champions, winning that discipline with 40 points to Georgia's 29. Sacred Heart finished in third with 27. On the Western side the Bulldogs climbed as high as second overall following Meier's reining ride, but eventually fell to fourth with 22 points behind first place Texas A&M (30), and Oklahoma State and Fresno State who tied for second with 25 points.
"What a day we had!" Georgia associate head coach Beth Bass said. "I couldn't be more proud of my riders and the way they climbed back to second. Unfortunately we had some breaks at the end."
Georgia's dramatic turnaround was sparked by Richardson's win in equitation on the flat at the close of competition on day one, which was otherwise filled with Bulldog frustrations.
Georgia faced a challenging set of draws on Friday, which led to re-rides for junior Kari Ellingson and Berkowitz. Veldman and junior Ashley Slocumb battled adversity to post fourth place finishes in reining and horsemanship, respectively, adding three points each to Georgia's total.
Berkowitz finished fifth in her equitation over fences class after the re-ride to score two points for the team and junior Byerly Vaughn added another point with a sixth place finish in her equitation over fences class.
Georgia defeated South Carolina twice during the regular season and at the Southern Equestrian Championships.
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