Georgia Riders Earn NCEA Academic Honors

April 13, 2017 | Equestrian

April 13, 2017

WACO, Texas— The University of Georgia equestrian team had 11 members placed on National Collegiate Equestrian Association Academic All-America Teams at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2017 NCEA National Championship on Wednesday night.

First-Team Academic All-Americans were junior Bailey Anderson, sophomore Madison Anger, senior Liza Finsness, junior Kyndall Harper, sophomore Emma Mandarino, and senior Charley Thiel.

Selected to the Second Team was sophomore Maddie Newman and senior Claudia Spreng.

Senior Lindsey Cheek and juniors Payton Anderson and Sammie Johnson received Honorable Mention.

Additionally, 20 Bulldogs were named to the NCEA Academic Honor Roll including Madison Beasley, Sydney Beasley, Taylor Carman, Carissa Duvall, Chaney Getchell, Vanessa Gillette, Allie Harbert, Ashlin Liedberg, Katherine LoChiatto, Eva Marcelis, Alexis Mougalian, Ashlyn Perry, Grace Porter, Caroline Robinson, Emma Schauder, Kelly Skoglund, Agne Stoskute, Cat Sullivan, Jane Sutcliff, and Danielle Walawender.

To qualify for the Academic first team, a rider must have competed in 70 percent of her team's meets and must have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.5. To qualify for the Academic second team, a rider must have competed in 60 percent of her team's meets, while maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.25. To earn honorable mention Academic honors, a rider must have participated in 50 percent of her team's meets and must have maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.0.

Georgia is set to compete at the 2017 NCEA National Championship in hopes of bringing the program's seventh national title back to Athens. Georgia holds an 11-4 record on the season after claiming the SEC Championship Title. As the No. 2 seed, the Bulldogs received a first round bye and will face the winner of No. 7 Fresno State versus No. 10 New Mexico State on Friday in the quarterfinals.

The NCEA has partnered with EQSportsNet to provide live coverage of the NCEA National Championship. EQSportsNet's live video feed will be free for the NCEA National Championship. To watch this year's NCEA National Championship, visit https://eqsports.net/schedule to create an account or log into an existing account.

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