Georgia Falls to Auburn in NCEA National Championship, 10-5
April 21, 2018 | Equestrian
WACO, Texas – In an NCEA National Championship matchup between the top-two teams in the country, the top-ranked Bulldogs dropped a 10-5 battle to the second-ranked Auburn Tigers on Saturday morning at the Extraco Events Center.
The Bulldogs cap the 2018 season with a 13-2 record, featuring a Southeastern Conference Championship. In the NCEA National Championship, Georgia defeated both South Carolina and Texas A&M to advance to the finals for the 11th time in 12 years.Â
 "I saw some incredible rides today," Georgia head coach Meghan Boenig said. "I couldn't ask any more from anybody. Of course, one little thing goes wrong and it can unfortunately create a loss – but there were so little, so very few. I'm so proud of this team. It's hard not to get emotional about the senior class. Their performance exceeds so much more than just in the ring."
On Saturday, the Bulldogs were led by Most Outstanding Performance honors from senior Kyndall Harper on Reining and junior Graysen Stroud on Horsemanship.
Auburn took an early lead in Equitation on the Flat. Ashton Alexander claimed the first point with a two-point edge over junior Maddie Newman's score of 175. After Taylor St. Jacques used a 179 to best sophomore Grace Bridges' 171, Hayley Iannotti won another close matchup, 175-173, against senior Addy Cord. The Tigers added one final point with an 181 from Caitlin Boyle, topping a 175 from sophomore Maddy Darst.
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In Horsemanship, Stroud put Georgia on the board and earned MOP honors with an event-high 153.5, topping a 150.5 from Taylor Searles. The Tigers responded with a 148.5 from Kelsey Jung against senior Bailey Anderson's 147, before senior Payton Anderson pushed the third Horsemanship point with a 151, matching Deanna Green. A re-ride sent senior Sammie Johnson back into the pen, where she collected a 147.5, just one point shy of Lauren Diaz's 148.5 in the following ride.
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Georgia used Reining to cut into the Auburn advantage. Stroud sealed the first Bulldog point with a 146, knocking off Blair McFarlin's mark by half a point. Harper made her last ride as a Bulldog count, defeating Terri June Granger by one point with a score of 142 on her way to MOP honors. After sophomore Annabeth Payne secured three Georgia Reining points with a 137.5 to Betsy Brown's 132, Auburn snagged one last point from an Alexa Rivard score of 141.5 over freshman Jordan Carpenter's 134.5.
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The Georgia-Auburn matchup entered Equitation over Fences at 7-4. Junior Emma Mandarino provided the first Bulldog point with a 167, countering Hayley Iannotti's 161, before Auburn notched its eighth point of the day with a 177 from Caitlin Boyle against Cord's 168. With two riders remaining in competition, including sophomore Ali Tritschler, the power of the Extraco Events Center went out, forcing a short hiatus before Tritschler rode to a 168. Her score was just shy of the 171 posted by St. Jacques, and the Tigers sealed the 10-5 final on a 160 from Ashton Alexander, which bested a 153 re-ride of Darst.
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The Bulldogs continue to compete for NCEA event titles this afternoon. Top-ranked Georgia faces the second-ranked Auburn squads of Equitation on the Flat and Horsemanship.
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The Bulldogs cap the 2018 season with a 13-2 record, featuring a Southeastern Conference Championship. In the NCEA National Championship, Georgia defeated both South Carolina and Texas A&M to advance to the finals for the 11th time in 12 years.Â
 "I saw some incredible rides today," Georgia head coach Meghan Boenig said. "I couldn't ask any more from anybody. Of course, one little thing goes wrong and it can unfortunately create a loss – but there were so little, so very few. I'm so proud of this team. It's hard not to get emotional about the senior class. Their performance exceeds so much more than just in the ring."
On Saturday, the Bulldogs were led by Most Outstanding Performance honors from senior Kyndall Harper on Reining and junior Graysen Stroud on Horsemanship.
Auburn took an early lead in Equitation on the Flat. Ashton Alexander claimed the first point with a two-point edge over junior Maddie Newman's score of 175. After Taylor St. Jacques used a 179 to best sophomore Grace Bridges' 171, Hayley Iannotti won another close matchup, 175-173, against senior Addy Cord. The Tigers added one final point with an 181 from Caitlin Boyle, topping a 175 from sophomore Maddy Darst.
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In Horsemanship, Stroud put Georgia on the board and earned MOP honors with an event-high 153.5, topping a 150.5 from Taylor Searles. The Tigers responded with a 148.5 from Kelsey Jung against senior Bailey Anderson's 147, before senior Payton Anderson pushed the third Horsemanship point with a 151, matching Deanna Green. A re-ride sent senior Sammie Johnson back into the pen, where she collected a 147.5, just one point shy of Lauren Diaz's 148.5 in the following ride.
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Georgia used Reining to cut into the Auburn advantage. Stroud sealed the first Bulldog point with a 146, knocking off Blair McFarlin's mark by half a point. Harper made her last ride as a Bulldog count, defeating Terri June Granger by one point with a score of 142 on her way to MOP honors. After sophomore Annabeth Payne secured three Georgia Reining points with a 137.5 to Betsy Brown's 132, Auburn snagged one last point from an Alexa Rivard score of 141.5 over freshman Jordan Carpenter's 134.5.
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The Georgia-Auburn matchup entered Equitation over Fences at 7-4. Junior Emma Mandarino provided the first Bulldog point with a 167, countering Hayley Iannotti's 161, before Auburn notched its eighth point of the day with a 177 from Caitlin Boyle against Cord's 168. With two riders remaining in competition, including sophomore Ali Tritschler, the power of the Extraco Events Center went out, forcing a short hiatus before Tritschler rode to a 168. Her score was just shy of the 171 posted by St. Jacques, and the Tigers sealed the 10-5 final on a 160 from Ashton Alexander, which bested a 153 re-ride of Darst.
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The Bulldogs continue to compete for NCEA event titles this afternoon. Top-ranked Georgia faces the second-ranked Auburn squads of Equitation on the Flat and Horsemanship.
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