No. 6 Georgia Loses Close Battle to No. 8 TCU, 10-9

Saturday, March 7

Fort Worth, Texas

11:00 a.m.

University of Georgia

TCU

No. 6 Georgia Loses Close Battle to No. 8 TCU, 10-9

March 07, 2020 | Equestrian

Final Results- TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas — The sixth ranked University of Georgia equestrian team lost a narrow battle to No. 8 Texas Christian University, 10-9, in their final regular-season meet on Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth, Texas.

Senior Maddy Darst swept Jumping Seat Most Outstanding Performance (MOP) honors winning recognitions in both Fences and Flat. Darst was awarded MOP for her two wins of the day, upping her career overall MOP total to 17, 11 for Fences and six for Flat. Sophomore Courtney Blumer earned her first career MOP with a meet-best 74 in Reining.

Georgia riders secured the highest scores in all four events, Darst for Fences and Flat (88 and 91, respectively), and sophomores Sara Lewis in Horsemanship (79) and Blumer in Reining (74).

"I love the fight that came back in these Bulldogs today," Georgia head coach Meghan Boenig said. "We have not seen that kind of fight and determination. Obviously, we would have much preferred the win, but thrilled to have those three MOPs. It felt like there were a lot of places that we made some huge improvements on away horses. Having said that, there is a lot of fight left in this team to prove something. We are just going to have to do that at day one at SECs."

The Georgia (6-6, 1-5 SEC) Fences squad opened the day for Jumping Seat losing, 3-2. Seniors Ali Tritschler and Darst claimed the two Bulldog points. Tritschler defeated her opponent by a 10-point margin, 87-77. Darst's MOP ride followed with the event-high score of 88 beating Misty Reed by 9-points (79).

The Hornfrogs (6-7, 2-4 Big 12) edged the Bulldogs in Reining, 3-1. Blumer notched Georgia's lone point matching her career-high 74, handing her the MOP honor. Junior Jordan Carpenter rode to a score of 71, resulting in a push.

TCU lead 6-3 at the half.

Behind a big ride from Darst, the Bulldogs' Flat riders went 3-2 versus the Frogs. The Lebanon, Ohio, native scored the day's best score of 91 topping Izzy Baxter's 83. Tritschler went unbeaten with a 90-83 win. Sophomore Hayley Mairano's season high score capped the event with a 88-80 win over Misty Reed.

Three Georgia Horsemanship riders rode to career-high scores. The event opened with a career high score of 77.5 from sophomore Taylor Burgess outscoring her opponent by four points. Lewis' career-high ride extended her win streak to four with a 79-76 edge over Drew Rogers. Senior Maddie Fiorante scored a 78, the third career high score of the day, handing the Bulldogs the team point. Mattie Dukes' 78 sealed the Frogs' victory besting sophomore Lexie Lane's 75.

Georgia will host the Southeastern Conference championship in Bishop, Ga., from March 27-28. The NCEA National Championships will close out postseason competition from April 15-18 in Waco, Texas.

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