High Scores Lift Georgia Over Delaware State, 15-4

Friday, February 28

Bishop, Ga.

1:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

Delaware State

February 28, 2020 | Equestrian

BISHOP, Ga. --- The sixth-ranked University of Georgia equestrian team took down Delaware State, 15-4, with impressive rides on Friday afternoon at the UGA Equestrian Complex.

All Jumping Seat riders, in both Flat and Fences, rode to scores of 83 or better. Freshman Rachel McMullen was recognized with the Fences Most Outstanding Performance honor after riding to a career-high score of 90. This marks McMullen's first career MOP. She is only the fourth Bulldog to achieve a score of 90 this season. Similarly, senior Ali Tritshler earned the Flat MOP after matching her career best score of 91.

Sophomore Kaitlin Dierks earned her second Most Outstanding Performance honor of the season after riding to a score of 75.5 in Horsemanship. Senior Annabeth Payne finished the day earning MOP honors for her ride in Reining.

"Always great to come right back and get into competition when there is something you want to get accomplished and done," Georgia head coach Meghan Boenig said. "I thought there were a lot of great rides, big scores, really willing to push things and really good growth. Our test is not over yet. It's can we do this tomorrow? We are on a right roll. We're closing some doors, and we are a lot more accurate. We have to keep doing it, and we're excited to go back and do it again tomorrow."

Starting in Fences, Georgia jumped to a 4-1 lead. Freshman Rachel McMullen rode to a career-high score of 90 and she is only the fourth Bulldog to achieve that mark this season. Following her, senior Maddy Darst scored an 84 for her ride to top a 70 from Delaware State's Miranda Adcock. The Hornets grabbed the next point before Georgia finished the event with two more. Junior Hayley Mairano added to the Bulldogs' lead after scoring an 87 for her ride and senior Kate Kramer contributed a win with her 86.

Over in the Western arena the Horsemanship squad split points with Delaware State. Georgia took the first two points with sophomore Sara Lewis (74.5) and Dierks (75.5) adding points for the Bulldogs. Delaware State won the next two rides. In her first-ever ride as a Bulldog, sophomore Kendall Gill scored an impressive 76.5, but was matched by DSU's Casey Johnson to push the point.

Georgia led 6-3 with two events remaining.

The Bulldogs added four points in Flat. Darst rode to her best Flat score of the season earning a 90 for her ride. Mairano (87), Tritschler (91), and senior Grace Bridges (83) followed scoring the next three points securing the Bulldog win.

Georgia swept in Reining notching a perfect 5-0 over the Hornets. Sophomore Courtney Blumer rode the best score in Reining for the Bulldogs this season with a career high 74 and earned Georgia's first point of the event. Senior Julia Spreng outscored her opponent by a seven-point margin, 68.5-61.5. Sophomore Lindsay Guynn rode to a score of 71. Junior Jordan Carpenter and Payne closed out the day earning a pair of 70.5s for their rides.

The exciting weekend continues for Georgia as the team faces UT Martin tomorrow morning, February 29 at 9:30. Following competition against the Skyhawks, Georgia will honor its 15 seniors and thank them for their contributions to the program. Delaware State and UT Martin will go head-to-head on Saturday afternoon after Georgia Senior Day festivities.

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.