By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference selected a pair of University of Tennessee at Martin equestrian members as its Rider of the Week recipients as Sydney Hott (flat) and Kate Davis (horsemanship) collected those honors today.
This marks the third ECAC weekly honor for the Skyhawk program in 2022-23 as Hott also earned Fences Rider of the Week accolades on Oct. 3.
The Hott and Davis tandem helped UT Martin to a near-upset of No. 1 TCU before the Skyhawks fell by a 9-6 margin last Thursday. The Skyhawks bounced right back to knock off Delaware State by a score of 13-7 one day later.
A Defiance, Mo. native, Hott continued a blazing start to her junior campaign. She went a perfect 2-0 in flat, starting with a career-high 93-point MOP performance against the top-ranked Horned Frogs. She followed that with a 91-point showing against Delaware State, which was good enough for a head-to-head triumph.
On the season, Hott is undefeated (3-0) in flat and has nabbed both of UT Martin’s MOP’s in the event. She boasts an 88.0 flat scoring average through three meets.
Davis was responsible for two great performances as the Skyhawks’ Western discipline squad made their season debut. Her week started with a career-best 75.5-point effort in horsemanship against No. 1 TCU last Thursday. Less than 24 hours later, she was hailed as the horsemanship MOP against Delaware State, managing 75 points in the process.
A sophomore from Williamston, Mich., Davis holds the team lead in victories (one), MOP’s (one) and scoring average (75.3) in horsemanship so far during the 2022-23 season.
Newly christened as the No. 9 ranked team in today’s National Collegiate Equestrian Association top-10 poll, UT Martin will travel to No. 6 Auburn on Saturday, Oct. 22 for an 11 a.m. tilt.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information