By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
DANBURY, Conn. – Each of the four Eastern College Athletic Conference Riders of the Week belonged to the University of Tennessee at Martin as the Skyhawk equestrian team was rewarded for a highly successful home weekend.
Kelby Kane earned ECAC weekly accolades in fences while Julia Gilman racked up the league’s award in flat. Katelyn Schultz and Aubrey Malone capped off UT Martin’s sweep with top honors in horsemanship and reining, respectively. Today’s announcement comes on the heels of a 14-6 victory over South Dakota State on Friday and a 15-1 triumph against Minnesota-Crookston on Saturday.
The Skyhawks have now won a remarkable 14 ECAC Rider of the Week accolades this season as nine different UT Martin representatives have claimed awards. It marks the fourth weekly accolade this season for Kane, second for Gilman and first for both Schultz and Malone.
A senior out of Lexington, Ky., Kane went 2-for-2 in fences over the weekend – including her team-best fourth MOP of the season against Minnesota-Crookston. Her 85 points on Saturday were good enough for her team-high 12th victory (in 14 tries) in 2021-22. She also accrued 81 points on Friday to help the Skyhawks sweep the fences portion of the meet.
In addition to wins and MOP’s, Kane also tops UT Martin in fences scoring average (82.1) this season.
Gilman was also sported a perfect 2-0 record in flat this weekend, resulting in a team-best eighth and ninth victories of her junior campaign. She began the homestand with a team-best 86.5 points against South Dakota State before following that with 81 points against Minnesota-Crookston.
The Barrington, Ill. native paces the Skyhawks in flat MOP’s (three) and scoring average (78.8), as well as the aforementioned nine wins.
Perhaps the biggest star of the weekend was Schultz, who set career-highs in horsemanship scoring in back-to-back days en route to two MOP honors. She led UT Martin with 76.5 points on Friday and increased her score with another team-high score (77 points) on Saturday.
A senior from West Bend, Wis., Schultz is tied for the team lead in MOP’s (two) while also accumulative five head-to-head victories and a 71.3 scoring average in horsemanship this season.
Malone registered a pair of wins and one MOP in reining this weekend, starting off with a team-best 71-point MOP performance against South Dakota State. A little over 24 hours later, the freshman compiled 67.5 points against her head-to-head opponent from Minnesota-Crookston.
Hailing from Fayetteville, Tenn., Malone has accounted for three wins, one MOP and a 67.6 scoring average since joining the Skyhawk scoring lineup on a full-time basis on Jan. 29 against TCU.
UT Martin has wrapped up the regular season and next heads to the ECAC Championship hosted by Delaware State on March 24-26.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information