No. 3 equestrian knocks off No. 2 Auburn

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

No. 3 SMU Dominates Second Half, Defeats No. 2 Auburn 12-8

DALLAS (SMU) – The third-ranked SMU equestrian team took home 4-1 victories on the Flat and Reining to seal a 12-8 win over second-ranked Auburn at the Dallas Equestrian Center on Saturday.

"The fan support today was incredible, and was able to help push us to an awesome second half," said Head Coach Carol Gwin. "The whole team rode lights-out. Today was a great win for our program."

The Mustangs captured three Most Outstanding Performers (MOP) for the second consecutive meet. Nya Kearns (Horsemanship) earned her fourth MOP of the season, while Taylor Zimmerman (Reining) and Taylor Madden (Flat) also earned MOP honors.

Saturday's meet began with Fences and Horsemanship events occurring simultaneously.

Elli Yeager got the Mustangs on the board first in Fences, posting an 82 to defeat Auburn's Avery Glynn's 78.5. Hensley Humphries scored SMU's second Fences point with a 72-68.5 win over Mary-Grace Segars.

Nya Kearns picked up her third MOP of the season with 79.5-75.25 over Auburn's Alexis Potts. Lily Anderson also added a point to SMU's total, notching a 74.75-71.25 win over Caroline Fredenburg.

The second half of the meet saw Reining and Flat coincide with Auburn leading, 6-4.

Taylor Madden earned her MOP on the Flat with an 88.5 to defeat Baylee Mckeever's 75. Emma Engel also added a point on the Flat, beating Mary-Grace Segars 79.5-75. SMU tied the meet with Elli Yeager's 86.5-84.5 win over Ellie Ferrigno.

Katy Merchant's 79-75 win against Auburn's Avery Glynn on the Flat helped the Mustangs take the lead for the first time of Saturday's meet.

SMU capped off the afternoon by taking four points in Reining to secure the victory. Lily Anderson posted SMU's first Reining point, defeating Kate Buchanan 69.75-68.5. Shelby Clausen followed for the second point in her 71-70 win over Caroline Buchanan.

Maria Richards earned SMU's 11th point of the meet with a 70.5-69.75 win over Alexia Tordoff, securing the Mustang victory. Taylor Zimmerman finished the afternoon with her second MOP of the season, edging past Auburn's Olivia Marino 72.75-72.5.

Saturday's win marks SMU's second consecutive victory over Auburn after defeating the Tigers 11-8 in the 2023 NCEA National Championship.

SMU heads west to for back-to-back road meets with Fresno State (Nov. 17) and ninth-ranked UC Davis (Nov. 18) for its final slate of fall competition.