By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
BISHOP, Ga. – The University of Tennessee at Martin equestrian team traveled to No. 6 Georgia today for its final road meet of the regular season, falling by a 17-2 margin at the UGA Equestrian Farm.
The No. 9 ranked Skyhawks tallied one win in fences, one victory in horsemanship and a head-to-head tie in flat. UT Martin accounted for a pair of individual career-high scores and two season-best tallies, only falling by a slim 712.5-707.5 margin in the Western discipline.
Julia Gilman earned her sixth victory of the season in fences as the junior from Barrington, Ill. posted 83 points. Kelby Kane managed a team-best 85 points but unfortunately fell by two points to her head-to-head MOP competitor. Haley Kane (79 points), Emmy Reed (76 points in her official collegiate debut) and Elizabeth Becker (70 points) completed the Skyhawk lineup.
In flat, Kelby Kane’s 86.5 points were good enough for a tie for UT Martin. Mahalia Alascio generated a career-best 90 points but was defeated by a 97.5 MOP score from her opponent. Gilman accumulated a score of 86.5 while Sophia Sundem and Haley Kane achieved 81 and 80 points, respectively.
Despite the fact that the Skyhawks won the raw score in horsemanship (364 to 359.5), the host Bulldogs were able to win four out of the five matchups. Kate Davis nabbed her team-high fourth victory in horsemanship following a 74.5-point effort today. Katelyn Schultz followed right behind with a score of 74, equaling her career-high but falling by 1.5 points. Emma Schaefer accrued a score of 72.5 points but unfortunately was edged by 0.5 points. Keely Seiter (72 points) and Paige Benson (71 points) also posted solid scores for UT Martin.
The reining event was decided by the narrowest of margins as Georgia won all five head-to-head matchups by 2.5 points or less. Logan Putvinski led the way for the Skyhawks with 70 points and was followed by season-high scores out of Aubrey Malone (69 points) and Lexi Bailey (68.5 points). Davis dialed up a score of 68.5 but fell by 0.5 points while Brooke Bradley managed a score of 67.5.
UT Martin closes out the regular season next weekend with a pair of home meets. The Skyhawks will take on South Dakota State on Friday, March 11 as Senior Day activities will take place afterwards. UT Martin then turns around and hosts Minnesota-Crookston on Saturday, March 12.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information