No. 8 equestrian tops No. 6 TCU, 11-8

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

No. 8 SMU Rolls To 11-8 Season-Opening Victory Against No. 6 TCU
Lexi Murphy, Kara Vickery Earn First Career MOP Honors

DALLAS (SMU) – The eighth-ranked SMU equestrian team downed No. 6 TCU, 11-8, in the season opener Friday at the Dallas Equestrian Center.

"I thought that we won with mistakes. Now we know what we need to go back and work on next week," SMU head coach Carol Gwin said. "However, it is so nice to have highly-talented young women to work with. They seem to have a great work ethic and I want to continue to improve."

The Mustangs (1-0) jumped out to a 4-1 lead after Equitation Over Fences. Sophomore Vivian Yowan won SMU's first point with an 86-84 decision over Carley Barnett. Newcomer Brett Burlington used an 83 to top Raegan Rast's 80 for the second point, before Nora Gray edged Alex Beneson, 81-80, to give SMU a 3-1 lead. Alexandra Murphyscored the final point of the discipline and won her first collegiate most outstanding player (MOP) honor with a dominant 86-81 win over Patricia Gill.

In Reining, the Mustangs won two points, behind wins from Holly Lansidel and Jill Pfisthner. Lansidel earned SMU's first point with a 65.5-59.5 rout of Josie Ferrante, before Pfisthner tallied a 70.5 to knock off Claire Dittrich's 69.5.

SMU and TCU rode to a 2-2 tie in Equitation on the Flat. Gray opened scoring with an easy 85-76 win over Misty Redd, before Mary Elizabeth Cordia won her first collegiate point with an 82-73 rout of Gill.

Up 8-6 with the five Horsemanship points remaining, the Mustangs sealed the victory with a 3-2 discipline win. Ashley Mauney opened scoring with a 73-72.5 edge over Marah Huston. Sophomore Kara Vickery sealed the victory with an MOP-winning 75-73 decision over Cydney Benes. The point is her first collegiate point. Michaela Dinger posted a 72.5 to round off the day, resulting in a 72.5-71.5 win over Josie Mootz.

SMU returns t0 the Dallas Equestrian Center on Saturday, Oct. 14, as the Mustangs host Baylor. The meet is slated for 10 a.m.

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