Georgia Leaps Over UT Martin on Senior Day, 17-2

Saturday, February 29

Bishop, Ga.

10:00 a.m.

University of Georgia

Tennessee at Martin

February 29, 2020 | Equestrian

BISHOP, Ga. --- The sixth-ranked Georgia equestrian team leapt over University of Tennessee at Martin with a dominant 17-2 victory on Senior Day at the UGA Equestrian Complex on Saturday afternoon.

Georgia (6-5, 1-5 SEC) jumped to a big lead, taking the first ten points of the day with sweeps in Fences and Horsemanship. Senior Kate Kramer was recognized for her Fences ride with Most Outstanding Performance honors. Senior Maddy Darst was also awarded with MOP honors after earning her career-best Flat score of 92. The Bulldogs also earned MOP in Western with sophomore Kaitlin Dierks being recognized in Horsemanship and senior Annabeth Payne in Reining.

"A great day! We came out and were very dominate—closed some doors in many ways," Georgia head coach Meghan Boenig said. "What a wonderful way to recognize our seniors from start to finish, from locker room decorations to celebrations afterwards. We really built on some great things from yesterday. Again, I would reiterate that we are not done yet. We want to continue to find the littlest of places to continue to improve and really set that standard as we go to TCU, our last regular season competition."

The Fences squad leapt through the course with ease as all Georgia riders scored an 83 or above. Senior Ali Tritschler rode to an 87 to top her opponent's 83. Then Kramer earned the highest score of the day with a 90 to knock down UTM's Brooke Pfieffer's 72. Behind her, freshman Rachel McMullen recorded an 89 and Darst followed with an 83. In the anchor position, junior Hayley Mairano completed the sweep after jumping to a score of 84.

The Bulldogs continued to make strides in Horsemanship, taking all five points for the first time this season. Sophomores Dierks and Taylor Burgess claimed the first two wins of the event before Sara Lewis edged her opponent by half a point. Junior Lexie Lane and senior Maddie Fiorante rode to victories, topping their UTM counterparts.

Georgia piled it on in Flat, winning four points. Seniors Tritschler and Grace Bridges began the event by topping their opponent's scores by 10 points to add to UGA's total. Darst then rode to the best score of the day with a 92 on Leo and earned MOP honors. Mairano pushed the next point with the Skyhawks' Kelby Kane after both riders scored an 86. Isabelle Heckler grabbed the last point of the day with another great score for the Bulldogs.

To finish the meet in Reining, the Bulldogs edged the Skyhawks by a point. Sophomore Courtney Blumer claimed the first point before the team dropped the next one. Payne and Jordan Carpenter beat their opponents before UTM grabbed the point for the final ride of the day.

Following the meet, Georgia honored its 15 seniors in their final regular season home meet. The team then hosted a neutral-site meet between Delaware State and UT Martin.

Georgia concludes regular season action next weekend at Texas Christian University on Saturday, March 7 at 11 a.m. The Bulldogs host this year's SEC Championship on March 27-28 at the UGA Equestrian Complex.

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.