Equestrian - SMU vs. South Dakota State

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

The No.9 SMU Mustangs (6-4) return to action this Friday in a Hunt Seat competition against South Dakota State at BuckBranch Farm in Wilmer.

The Mustangs will be looking to continue their impressive start to the spring portion of the schedule which started with a big 6-4 win over the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies.

The Jackrabbits come into this meet with a 2-6 overall record in the Hunt Seat portions of their competitions this year. SDSU, however, has been strong over fences which is also SMU's primary strength - which could make for a very interesting show.

The Jacks are led by Santana Wright (5-3, 2 MVP) and Megan Violan (4-4, 1 MVP) over fences. Violan is also 3-5 with 2 MVP honors on the flat this season.

The young Mustangs are led by freshman Emma Roberts who has 8 wins and 1 MVP over fences already this season. All-American and captain Jordyn Pettersen has also contributed 6 victories over fences. Sophomore Julianna Fischer has added 5 wins and 1 MVP and is also coming off an impressive showing at the WEF Invitational where she finished as the reserve champion in the consolation bracket after a 1-point loss in her first ride of the main draw.

On the flat, SMU has shown remarkable improvement this season. Leading the Mustangs is Julianna Fischer with 4 wins and 1 MVP. Freshman Courtney Line has also added 4 wins.

SMU should have the overall strength to win this competition, although after the shock against West Texas A&M the Mustangs certainly should not overlook the Jackrabbits.

Note - no information is available for the Sacred Heart and West Texas A&M meets, so all SMU statistics do not include those competitions.

Good luck to the team Friday. Go Ponies!!!!!

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

SMU improved to 7-4 today with a huge 10-2 win over South Dakota State! What a fantastic showing for the Mustangs!

SMU was 6-0 on the flat, continuing to show the improvement in that discipline we have shown so far this year.

Greer Hindle, Renick Townsend, Rachel Reid, Lauren Hogan, Maddy Stover, and Courtney Line each picked up a point for SMU. Greer Hindle took MVP honors with a score of 75.

Over fences, SMU was 4-2. The great Jordyn Pettersen was MVP with an awesome score of 85. Emma Roberts also continued her fantastic season with a win, scoring 83. The other SMU points were won by Ramsay Hanson and Julianna Fischer.

SDSU's only points on the day were won by Santana Wright who has been formidable all season, and by Jordan Goodall who just barely won 81-80 over Kendall Skredan.

SMU dominated the raw score 967-793.

Here is a link to the SMU press release:

http://www.smumustangs.com/sports/w-equest/recaps/030212aaa.html

Next up for SMU is No. 1 Georgia next Friday at BuckBranch Farm. Hopefully we will have a nice crowd for that one!

Go Ponies!