Equestrian Hosts 10th-Annual Willis Invitational

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

Casie Maxwell says it was a "huge hit" when the Baylor equestrian team wasn't able to open her debut season the traditional way with the Willis Invitational.

Instead, the Bears had four of their first five contests on the road en route to a 5-9 finish that ended with a loss to Auburn in the NCEA National Championships.

"It would have been great to start at home, to be able to play quite a few meets and kick things off that way and shake out some things before we went into conference play," Maxwell said. "For me, this is our opportunity to get to know the parents, get to know people who support our program. We missed that completely last year."

That's why there's just a completely different level of excitement for the 10th annual Willis Invitational, which begins Friday morning at the Willis Family Equestrian Center with seventh-ranked Baylor facing Delaware State (0-1) and eighth-ranked Fresno State meeting UT Martin (0-1), both starting at 10 a.m.

"It's a huge undertaking to kick this thing off, but it's really exciting to get to see this many athletes play and bring in this many teams," Maxwell said. "Our team is ready to get to work. We've been practicing it for six weeks now, so it's finally ready to test the waters."

For seniors Shannon Hogue and Abbi Demel, who had competed in the two previous Willis Invitationals in 2015 and '16, "it was weird" not opening with the home meet.

"It was tough," Demel said. "We were so used to having this big competition, and this is really the closest thing we have to nationals with three teams coming in. Throughout the year, it's usually only one. So, it was hard for us. I think it kind of set us back. We didn't get off to as strong a start as we possibly could have. So, I think it will be good for us this year."

There were also some growing pains in Maxwell's first year after she replaced Ellen White last summer. White had been Baylor's coach since the program debuted in 2005.

"We definitely are super comfortable with Coach Maxwell now," Hogue said. "We've figured her out, she figured us out. We're all basically on the same page now, so it's definitely been easier."

Personally, Maxwell believe she's well ahead of where she was last year, when it was "kind of week to week, just taking things as they were thrown at us."

"We feel a little bit more out in front of it, having had the coaching staff here for a couple weeks over the summer just to prepare for the season," Maxwell said. "I think for us to get this one out this weekend will make everyone feel a lot better as we're about to head into the more difficult conference portion of our season. But, we definitely feel like we've at least got out feet under us this year."

Maxwell has turned over her coaching staff in the last year, taking the interim tag off hunter seat assistant coach Marlena Beckham in May and bringing in Laura Brainard from Georgia in July as the western assistant coach.

Maxwell said she will use the matchups against Delaware State, UT Martin and Fresno State to "try to see a lot of athletes, but see the athletes who are prepared enough to get out into the arena and to take on that pressure.           "

The Bears will compete in flat and reining against UT Martin at 2 p.m. Friday, then finish with fences and horsemanship at 10 a.m. Saturday and close against Fresno State at 2 p.m. Saturday.

In addition to the head-to-head meets in the hunter seat and western arenas, Maxwell said "it will be a little crazy out here" this weekend with pony rides, bounce houses and food trucks both days.

"Out on the front lawn, between the stands of both arenas, there will be plenty of activities and things to do," she said. "So, when there's a break in competition, the kids can stay busy while the parents are watching. So, it will be a really big weekend for us."

Baylor has won the previous nine Willis Invitationals, including a 3-0 sweep of the 2016 tournament field that included No. 8 Fresno State, No. 10 New Mexico State and South Dakota State.

WACO, Texas – No. 7 Baylor equestrian will host the 10th-annual Willis Invitational tournament this weekend, running Friday and Saturday with a 10 a.m. CT start at the Willis Family Equestrian Center.

The tournament consists of three individual head-to-head meets, featuring matchups with No. 8 Fresno State (0-0), UT Martin (0-1) and Delaware State (0-0).

The Baylor squad has won all nine previous Willis titles, including a 3-0 sweep of the 2016 tournament field of No. 8 Fresno State, No. 10 New Mexico State and South Dakota State.

For the fourth season, Baylor will host live scoring updates of unofficial scores on BaylorBears.com.

There are several fan events taking place during the tournament, including pony rides, a bounce house and food truck options from Dubl-R (Friday) and Chick-Fil-A (Saturday.) All events are weather permitting.

Keep up with the team all season long by following Baylor Equestrian's official accounts on Twitter (@BaylorEQ), Facebook (Baylor Equestrian) and Instagram (@BaylorEquestrian).

MATCH INFO:
2018 Willis Invitational
Willis Family Equestrian Center
Waco, Texas
Sept. 28-29, 2018
Live Scoring: BaylorBears.com

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, Sep. 28
Round 1
Baylor vs. Delaware St.           10 a.m.
Fresno St. vs. UT Martin         10 a.m.
Round 2 (Flat and Reining)
Baylor vs. UT Martin                2 p.m.
Fresno St. vs. Delaware St.     2 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 29
Round 2 (Fences and Horsemanship)
Baylor vs. UT Martin                10 a.m.
Fresno St. vs. Delaware St.     10 a.m.
Round 3
Baylor vs. Fresno St.               2 p.m.
Delaware St. vs. UT Martin      2 p.m.

Equestrian Hosts 10th-Annual Willis Invitational

WACO, Texas – No. 7 Baylor equestrian will host the 10th-annual Willis Invitational tournament this weekend, running Friday and Saturday with a 10 a.m. CT start at the Willis Family Equestrian Center.

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Players Mentioned

Abbi Demel

Shannon Hogue

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