The UGA equestrian team fell to Auburn 11-7 in the 2016 Southeastern Conference Championship Finals on Saturday afternoon at the UGA Equestrian Complex. Meg O’Mara earned MOP and All-Championship Team honors in Equitation on the Flat for Georgia.
“This is a very strong team and determined team,” Georgia head coach Meghan Boenig said. “This gives you a bit of fire that you really can utilize in these next two weeks, so that hunger and fire is going to be a big motivation and drive. We saw a lot of great rides today, very few errors, so really we are just talking about polishing some little things. Now we just need to make sure we concentrate on getting rides to go our way. This fire, that is what’s going to result in a national championship, we have done it before and it’s going to be no different this year.”
Georgia and Auburn split points in Equitation Over Fences. Georgia dropped the first point before Addy Cord rode to a tie score of 162-162 against Auburn’s Hayley Iannotti. O’Mara topped Auburn’s Elizabeth Benson to even the score. Auburn took the next point before Liza Finsness closed out the event with a point for Georgia, defeating Ashton Alexander 166-163.
Georgia dropped a 4-0 decision to Auburn in Horsemanship. After a video review, Heather Schmidt dropped a tight 149-149.5 point to Auburn’s Griffin Knight. Madison Anger rode to a tie against Lauren Diaz with a score of 149.5. Auburn riders Hannah Loseke, Megan Rauh, and Hannah Stephens grabbed the final three points for the Tigers in close matches.
Halfway through competition, Georgia trailed 6-2.
Georgia rode to a 3-2 decision in Reining. Lauren Garmon took the first point for Georgia in a 135.5-132.5 victory over Auburn’s Griffin Knight. Auburn took the next two points before Georgia closed out the event with winning rides from Graysen Stroud and Kyndall Harper.
Competition concluded in Equitation on the Flat with Auburn edging Georgia 3-2. Auburn took the first point before Finsness outscored Tory Hoft 166-160 to earn a point for Georgia. Auburn took the next two points. In the anchor position, Meg O’Mara rode to an MOP-earning score of 175 over Auburn’s Alexander’s 167 to earn a final point for Georgia.
Earlier in the consolation round, Texas A&M fell to South Carolina with a final score of 11-8.
Georgia heads to Waco, Texas for the 2016 NCEA National Championship April 14-16, where the Bulldogs will compete for the program’s seventh national title.