DANBURY, Conn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin equestrian program touted three more Eastern College Athletic Conference Rider of the Week award winners today as Kate Mills (fences), Lillian Laney (horsemanship) and Elise Mason (reining) each captured those honors.
This marks the third time this season that Mason has received ECAC Rider of the Week accolades (also winning on Oct. 22 and Oct. 29) while Mills and Laney are first-time recipients of these honors in 2024-25. This season alone, Skyhawk equestrian has accounted for 11 separate riders combining for 19 weekly ECAC awards.
The group of Mills, Laney and Mason helped UT Martin to a home split last weekend as the No. 9 ranked Skyhawks turned away ECAC rival Delaware State (13-6 on Friday) before falling in a close call to No. 4 SMU (11-6 on Saturday).
A sophomore from Charlotte, NC, Mills posted back-to-back fences scores of 80 points – winning her fifth and sixth decisions of the season to tie for the team lead in that category. Her performance against Delaware State was four points better than her opponent while her effort against SMU defeated her head-to-head competitor by a seven-point margin.
Laney began her weekend with a career-best 77-point horsemanship ride against Delaware State, winning by a commanding 20.5 points en route to her first collegiate MOP. The following day, the sophomore out of Rosebush, Mich. earned a strong score of 76 points but fell by a slim one-point margin to her SMU opponent.
Hailing from Olympia, Wash., Mason secured the reining MOP against SMU with a career-best 73-point effort. That marked her second win in as many days as the sophomore also dialed up 69.5 points against Delaware State on Friday – moving her into a tie for the team lead in 2024-25 reining victories with Logan Putvinski.
UT Martin puts the finishing touches on the regular season on Saturday, March 8 at No. 8 South Carolina.