No. 2 Georgia Rides Past No. 7 Fresno State, 10-9

Saturday, November 9

Fresno, Calif.

1:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

Fresno State

November 09, 2019 | Equestrian

FRESNO, Calif. --- After trailing by one point after two events, the No. 2 Georgia equestrian team rallied to defeat No. 7 Fresno State, 10-9, in a close matchup on the road Saturday afternoon.

Seniors Ali Tritschler and Kate Kramer were rewarded with Most Outstanding Performance honors after riding to scores of 79 and 84 in Flat and Fences, respectively. Sophomore Kaitlin Dierks was also recognized with MOP honors for her ride in Horsemanship. This marks the first career MOP honors for Kramer and Dierks.

The Bulldogs (4-1, 1-1 SEC) are coming home from California with two wins after beating No. 8 Baylor, 10-6, on neutral footing Friday.

"We knew today was going to be a close meet and the team found ways to be creative in their rides to eliminate errors and get the points," Georgia head coach Meghan Boenig said. "We need to continue to be consistent and close those gaps. I was really impressed with the way Jumping Seat stepped up today and earned bigger scores. It was great riding and the way they rode with such grit knowing it was close at the end was great to see."

Kicking off the meet in Fences, Georgia jumped to a 3-2 advantage. Junior Hayley Mairano led off with a score of 80 to top her opponent's 72, before Fresno State won the following point. Kramer's event-high score of 84 gave UGA the next point. Fresno State won another ride and freshman Rachel McMullen finished with a win to give Georgia the lead after the first event.

Dierks rode to a score of 75.5 to earn the only Horsemanship point for Georgia. Sophomore Sara Lewis pushed a point with a score of 74.5.

Georgia was down by one after two events. The teams alternated the next four points in Flat and Reining before the Red and Black ultimately rode away with the win.

UGA earned a 4-1 advantage in Flat. Junior Grace Bridges topped her opponent's score with a 72 to claim the first point of the event and senior Maddy Darst followed suit to beat her opponent, 78-71. Tristchler rode to an event-high score to earn MOP honors with a 79. In the anchor position, Mairano scored a 74 to better her opponent's 70 and grab the last Jumping Seat point.

Fresno State edged Georgia, 3-2, in Reining. Fresno State won the first two points before junior Jordan Carpenter won one for Georgia with a score of 71.5 and senior Julia Spreng added another, edging her opponent 71-70. FSU won the final point of the day, but it was not enough, as Georgia will make its way home with a 10-9 win.
Georgia wraps up competition for the fall on the road at undefeated and top-ranked Auburn on Friday, November 15. Action will resume for the Bulldogs in College Station, Texas, against Texas A&M on Saturday, February 1.

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