Equestrian Edged Out By Fresno State, 7-4

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Equestrian Edged Out By Fresno State, 7-4

Feb. 13, 2011

DALLAS (SMU) --- The SMU equestrian dropped its match against Fresno State, 7-4, at Buck Branch this weekend. Claire Wenholz earned MVP honors on the flat to help lead the Mustangs win that event.

"Kudos to the flat team for winning their portion of today's competition. Claire Wenholz winning the MVP was the icing on the cake," said SMU head coach Haley Schoolfield. "Coach Natalie Burton has worked very hard and done a great job getting this team off the ground again."

In addition to Wenholz, Julianna Fischer and Renick Townsend each earned points on the flat. SMU combined to outscore Fresno State, 403-399, in the event.

The Mustangs were edged over fences, 4-1. Emily Gardner earned SMU's point and earned the event's highest score with an 82.

"Our fence girls had a tough day and lost some very close matches," said Schoolfield. "Losing 5 days of practice due to snow and ice really showed itself today."

Next weekend SMU returns with meetings against Baylor and Sacred Heart next weekend in Waco, Texas.

"We will recover from these mistakes and prepare for our competitions against Baylor and Sacred Heart one week from today," said Schoolfield.

In other SMU equestrian action, Jordyn Pettersen defeated Georgia's top rider in the WEF Championships in Wellington, Florida. Pettersen advanced to the following round, held in the International Arena, before falling to last year's tournament winner, Maggie McAlary of Auburn.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

What a shame. I was hoping we could continue with some momentum from the win over Delaware State.

Nice to see Jordy Pettersen do well in the national competion though!

[RGV Pony]

Sometimes you fall off and just have to get back up on

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Taking a look at the scoresheet - this event really was a lot closer than the 7-4 final shows.

We had two one-point losses over fences, and also a draw - so the match result easily could have been 7-5 in SMU's favor.

Considering the lack of practice time and the fact our best rider put up a decent score but still lost her matchup, I feel much more positive about the result now.

Good luck this weekend!