By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
HARRINGTON, Del. –
Friday
Trailing 10-6 with four points yet to be awarded, the University of Tennessee at Martin equestrian squad rallied for a thrilling victory Friday in the Eastern College Athletic Conference semifinals against No. 3 seed Delaware State.
The No. 2 seed Skyhawks faced a 9-6 deficit heading into flat – the final portion of today’s meet. UT Martin quickly gained momentum and ended the day with four unanswered points – equaling the final score at 10-all. After the raw points were tallied, the Skyhawks earned the right to advance after generating 3,986.25 points to the Hornets’ 3,931.
UT Martin piled up three MOP’s on the day, including Tyler Anderson (170 points in fences), Paige Benson (150 points in horsemanship) and Kelby Kane (167 points in flat).
Overall, the Skyhawks nabbed four wins in fences, two victories in horsemanship and four triumphs in flat – defeating tournament host Delaware State for the second time in three matchups this season.
The fences lineup got UT Martin off to a remarkable start. Anderson’s first MOP of the season was also good enough for her third head-to-head win. Haley Kane notched 163 points for her 10th victory of the 2021-22 campaign while Elizabeth Becker posted her sixth win of the year following a 148-point effort. Julia Gilman racked up her eighth victory of the season with 140 points as the Skyhawks took an early 4-1 advantage.
The reining portion was next as the Hornets came out blazing – sweeping all five points to take a 6-4 lead midway through the meet. Kate Davis led the way for UT Martin with 140 points and was followed by Brooke Bradley (137.5), Logan Putvinski (137), Aubrey Malone (136.5) and Lexi Bailey (133.5).
Benson’s second horsemanship MOP of the season followed as the junior from Spokane, Wash. produced 150 points for her third triumph of the year. Katelyn Schultz’s 149 points resulted in her sixth victory of the year. Davis (147), Emma Schaefer (143.5) and Keely Seiter (134.5) completed the Skyhawk lineup but Delaware State was responsible for a 9-6 lead heading into flat.
UT Martin came up short with the first point in flat, forcing a perfect 4-for-4 finish for am opportunity to advance. It turns out that the Skyhawks were up to the challenge as Kelby Kane’s MOP performance (seventh win of the season) began the run. Sophia Sundem (160.5 points) and Haley Kane (141.5 points) each came away with their fourth victories of the year to set the stage for the final point. With Mahalia Alascio’s 160 points already in the books, her head-to-head competitor recorded a score of 121, extending UT Martin’s season.
Saturday
The University of Tennessee at Martin equestrian squad put forth a courageous effort Saturday in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship finals but came up just short, falling to SMU by a slim 11-9 margin.
Making a bid for their second equestrian conference championship in school history, the Skyhawks won three decisions in fences, flat and reining. However, ECAC top seed and national No. 7 ranked SMU swept all five points in horsemanship to claim the win.
For the second straight day, UT Martin junior Tyler Anderson accounted for MOP accolades in fences. The Novi, Mich. native was awarded a score of 171 by the judges, which was five points better than the next highest score.
Anderson’s flat MOP was her fourth victory of the season. Julia Gilman (166 points) and Kelby Kane (142) also dialed up wins in fences for their ninth and 13th wins, respectively, during the 2021-22 campaign. Haley Kane (126 points) and Elizabeth Becker (97) completed the Skyhawk lineup.
The UT Martin trio of Mahalia Alascio, Kelby Kane and Sophia Sundem completed perfect 2-0 weekends in flat. Alascio collected 158 points for her fourth win of the year while Kane (151) and Sundem (147.5) earned their eighth and fifth wins of the season, respectively. Haley Kane was responsible for a team-best 160.5 points but was unfortunately edged out by 0.5 points by her MOP opponent while Gilman also posted a solid score of 155 points but ran into some tough luck.
In reining, Logan Putvinski dialed up her team-high seventh win of the year after producing a score of 143 points. Lexi Bailey grabbed her third victory of the season following a 142.5-point effort while Aubrey Malone’s 136 points were good enough to secure her fourth triumph of the 2021-22 campaign. Brooke Bradley registered a team-best 143.5 points while Kate Davis earned 139.5 points but both Skyhawks were up against the two highest scores of the event.
Davis notched a team-high 153 points in horsemanship but was narrowly defeated by three points. Paige Benson’s 151 points was the next highest score for UT Martin as she was followed by Katelyn Schultz (144.5), Keely Seiter (144.5) and Emma Schaefer (130).
Currently ranked No. 9 in the nation, the Skyhawks will now have to wait and see if they qualify for the 2022 National Collegiate Equestrian Association Championship tournament, which will be held in Ocala, Fla. on April 14-16.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information