Equestrian - SMU vs. Oklahoma State

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

The Mustangs head north to Stillwater for a Hunter Seat competition against Oklahoma State on Saturday at 10am. This meet will certainly be SMU's toughest test so far this season. After defeating the 9th seed (TCU) and 7th seed (Fresno State) from last year's Varsity Equestrian Hunter Seat National Championship Bracket, SMU now will face the team who was the 4th seed.

SMU fell to Oklahoma State 7-2 to close out last season. Surprisingly, this meet will be the first meet of the year for Oklahoma State - so while being on the road will certainly present a new challenge for the Mustangs, having the experience of two meets over the past two weeks should certainly work in the favor of the Mustangs - especially in matchups involving less experienced riders from OSU.

Oklahoma State returns the bulk of their riders on the flat from last season - with Jordan White, Ellie Sparks, Andrea Robbins, and Allison Rose all expected to participate. In the meet against SMU last season Rose took MVP honors with a remarkable score of 89. Sparks and White also earned a point. Allison Dooman is listed as the likely fifth flat rider for the Cowgirls.

The flat competition against a strong squad like OSU will provide a nice measuring stick for the Mustangs who have shown remarkable improvement on the flat so far this year. In the OSU meet last year the Cowgirls won the flat portion of the competition 4-0 with stellar scores (mostly in the mid-80s) across the board.

Over fences, OSU is expected to use Robbins and Sparks, as well as Sammy Elser. All three participated in the SMU meet last year, although only Elser earned a point. Also expected to participate are Maggie Gamfer and Olivia Trueb.

SMU put up a good fight against the Cowgirls over fences last year, but OSU was still able to take the fences portion of the competition 3-2. OSU was certainly a little more vulnerable over fences last season, with usual scores closer to 80.

In order to win this competition, SMU will almost certainly need to come close to breaking even on the flat and come through with at least 3-4 points over fences.

Strong rides from Renick Townsend, Claire Wenholz, and Molly Osier on the flat will be crucial. Jordyn Pettersen and Julianna Fischer will most likely need to earn a point over fences. Emily Gardner and Mallory Olson will certainly need to post strong scores as well.

Realistically, an SMU win would have to be classified as an upset, but if SMU can post solid scores on the road like the team has done so far in the two meets at BuckBranch, the Mustangs will certainly have a chance to win the meet.

Oklahoma State rider information is taken from their preview:
http://www.okstate.com/sports/w-equest/spec-rel/092911aaa.html

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Uh oh - fences were first and OSU is leading 4-1 heading to the flat competition.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Oklahoma State swept the flat 5-0.

Final score OSU 9, SMU 1.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

The SMU release is out:

http://smumustangs.cstv.com/sports/w-equest/recaps/100111aaa.html

Lauren Hogan won the point for SMU.

Raw score over fences was 383-370 in favor of OSU. On the flat OSU had a 395-333 advantage in raw score.

Obviously, a tough day for the Mustangs...