University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
SMU
No. 2 Georgia Bounces Back to Defeat No. 6 SMU, 10-8
October 26, 2019 | Equestrian
BISHOP, Ga. — The No. 2 University of Georgia equestrian team defeated No. 6 Southern Methodist University (SMU), 10-8, at the UGA Equestrian Complex on Saturday.
Senior Ali Tritschler and junior Hayley Mairano earned Most Outstanding Performance (MOP) honors for their rides in Flat and Fences. Mairano and sophomore Sara Lewis scored their career-best scores of 91 in Fences and 76 in Horsemanship, respectively.
"It feels very good," Georgia head coach Meghan Boenig said. "First thing you want to do is go back out and compete after something like [yesterday] and say—here we are. Here is what we can do. Here is how we can close those little gaps. Having said that, we have more work to do and need to be more dominant in every way. We are hungry for more!"
The Bulldogs (1-1, 0-1 SEC) jumped to a 5-0 lead with scores of 84 or above, sweeping SMU (1-2) in Fences. Freshman Rachel McMullen put Georgia on the board with an 87-83 win over SMU's Vivian Yowen. Tritschler scored an 89 over Olivia Woodson's 83 and senior Maddy Darst jumped to a score of 84 to best an 82. In the anchor position, junior Hayley Mairano earned a career best score and MOP distinction of 91 to top SMU's Tali DeJong's score of 83.
The Bulldogs claimed one point in Horsemanship. Lewis used her career-high score of 76, in the lead off position, to earn the lone point for Georgia. SMU won the next four points of the event.
Georgia held a 6-4 advantage after two events.
Seniors Isabelle Heckler and Grace Bridges earned the first two points for Georgia scoring a 85 and 88, respectively. Tritschler's MOP ride notched another point for the Bulldogs ousting her opponent by a 10-point margin, 91-81. Mairano's final ride of the day secured the win for Georgia beating Haley Zimmerman 84-83.
The Mustangs claimed Reining over the Bulldogs, 3-0. Sophomore Lindsay Guynn and junior Jordan Carpenter matched their opponents scores pushing two points of the event, scoring a 71 and 72.5, respectively.
The Bulldogs travel to Fresno, Calif., for back-to-back meets. Georgia will compete against Fresno State on Nov. 8 and Baylor University on Nov. 9.
HOW TO FOLLOW GEORGIA EQUESTRIAN: For complete information on Georgia equestrian, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGAEquestrian on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
