The No. 2 seed UGA equestrian team defeated No. 10 seed SMU 12-4 on Friday at the Extraco Events Center in Waco, Texas. With the win, Georgia will advance to the semifinal round of competition scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April 16.
Georgia will face the No. 6 seed TCU. The teams have not met since the 2014-15 season when Georgia defeated the Horned Frogs 10-5 at a neutral site competition. Today in the quarterfinals, TCU defeated third-seeded Baylor in raw score after ending competition tied in overall points 8-8.
“It’s always good to be advancing forward,” head coach Meghan Boenig said. “There were some extraordinary rides and I just have to say how proud I am of our freshmen. They had some great close out, second rides with huge scores and we’re beaming over that. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t a couple little things that we want to correct, feel better about, and build upon. Tomorrow is going to be about being willing to push things, being consistent in our relentless pursuit of that national championship and then making sure we stop for breath. It’s an endurance test. We have potentially two competitions tomorrow. We’re on day four of being out here and competing, so making sure we stay fresh is going to be of upmost importance too.”
Georgia started the quarterfinal round in Equitation on the Flat, gaining an early 3-1 lead. Georgia’s Addy Cord fell to SMU’s Nora Gray 146-141. Meg O’Mara won the next point for Georgia 179-145. The momentum continued with Liza Finsness and Leylan Gleeson each earning points for the Bulldogs, outscoring their opponents 151-135 and 155-144, respectively.
Georgia extended its lead in Reining with a 3-1 decision. Lauren Garmon outscored SMU’s Jaclyn White 138.5-135 before Kyndall Harper defeated Madison Steed 136.5-130. Claudia Spreng dropped the next point 142.5-133. Graysen Stroud closed out the event with a 139-134.5 win over SMU’s Olivia Pakula.
Georgia led SMU 6-2 with two events remaining.
Georgia rode to a 2-2 tie in Equitation Over Fences. O’Mara dropped the first point before Cord answered with a 143-135 victory over SMU’s Gray. SMU’s Alex Butterworth took the next over Finsness. Georgia’s Emma Mandarino closed out the event with a 166-161 victory over SMU’s Schaefer Raposa.
Georgia’s Horsemanship squad rode to a 4-0 victory over SMU. Bailey Anderson won the first point after SMU’s rider was disqualified. Schmidt rode to a 142.5-131 defeat of SMU’s White. Stroud followed suit with a 153.5- 148.5 victory over SMU’s Kelsey Karanges before Rachel Kolb closed out competition with a 147.5-143.5 decision.
For live scoring, live stream, and other details of the 2016 National Championship, visit http://gado.gs/5rz. Live scoring and updates will be also be available by following @UGAEquestrian on Twitter.