Baylor
Auburn (Team)
EQ Bows Out of NCEA Quarterfinals
4/19/2018 12:00:00 AM | Equestrian
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Hoping to pull off the upset of second-seeded Auburn, the seventh-seeded Baylor equestrian team instead ran into a buzz saw in Thursday's quarterfinals of the NCEA National Championships.
The Tigers (12-4), trying to win their second national team title in three years, swept the eight hunt seat rides in flat and fences and cruised to a 12-3 win over the Bears (5-9) at the Extraco Events Center. Auburn followed that up with a 12-4 win over sixth-seeded TCU and will face top-seeded Georgia in Saturday's all-SEC final.
"They've got great depth in their hunt seat team. We've known that," first-year Baylor coach Casie Maxwell said. "Our athletes rode really well today. We were really minimum on mistakes, and they still had high scores, but Auburn was just the better team."
Highlight the day for Baylor was a 2-2 tie in horsemanship, with juniors Kaylee Mellott (150) and Abbi Demel (148.5) posting the winning rides. Senior Charlotte Green (149.5) was edged by the Tigers' Taylor Searles (150.5) on Snip in a head-to-head matchup that could have given the Bears the edge at least in that one discipline.
Demel beat Auburn's Lauren Diaz (148) by just a half point in the final horsemanship ride.
"I knew it was going to be close and would just depend on the little things between the two patterns," Demel said. "We both had good patterns. I feel like that's what you expect coming to natinals. Everyone is doing their best, so it's always tough."
Leading 6-2 at the halfway point, Auburn clinched it by getting a draw and two wins in the first three reining rides. Freshman Carly Salter (140.5) had a draw against Auburn's Terri June Granger on Butters, with Demel (135.5) picking up the Bears' only win of the second half with a re-ride on J-Lo.
Three of Baylor's four fences riders topped the 150-point mark, including a team-best 166 by senior Abby Jorgensen, but the Tigers' lowest score was 163.
"There were a lot of close competitions, and it should be that way," Maxwell said. "It speaks highly to both sides of the competition and how well both sides rode. They just kept pushing on each other. That's how you want it to be. You know you're up against a tough opponent, so it means a lot when you can get those points."
While the hunt seat side is done, Baylor's western riders will be back in the arena on Friday for quarterfinal action in the event brackets. Seeded sixth in both disciplines, the Bears will face Auburn in reining at 8:30 a.m. and Texas A&M in horsemanship at 3 p.m., with the semifinals to follow.
"I think it was good to see what it was like to have the even playing field," Demel said of the Bears getting a win and a draw in the four reining rides against the Tigers. "We just have a few things we can clean up and be ready for tomorrow."
Maxwell said the Baylor western riders "have great momentum" coming off Wednesday's first-round wins over South Carolina and UT Martin.
"We'll get out there for our third rides and everyone should feel really confident," she said. "So, I'm excited that we've got that opportunity."
Friday's action will include the quarterfinals and semifinals in all four event disciplines, with the finals in team and events scheduled for Saturday.
THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas -- Baylor equestrian fell 12-3 to the No. 2 seeded Auburn Tigers to kick off play in the Team Championship rounds of the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) Championship on Thursday at the Extraco Events Center.
The western squad kept the Bears in the competition, trailing just 4-3 to the Tigers, but an 8-0 shutout in hunt seat was too much for BU to overcome.
In horsemanship, Kaylee Mellott and Abbi Demel both collected their points, drawing 2-2 with the Tigers.
Demel took the lone point of reining, while Carly Salter forced a draw with her opponent on a team-high 140.5 ride.
BU ends its season with a 5-9 team record in the first year under the direction of head coach Casie Maxwell.
WHAT'S NEXT
The horsemanship and reining squads will both turn their attentions to the quarterfinals of the events brackets, with competition kicking off on Saturday morning at the Extraco Events Center. Reining will face Auburn at 8:30 a.m. and horsemanship will square off with Texas A&M at 2:45 p.m.
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