NCEA Championship Update: No. 9 TCU Defeats Fresno State, Will Take On No.1 SC This Morning
Kaitlin Perry. Image courtesy of TCU.
WACO, Texas – No. 9 TCU opened the 2014 NCEA National Championships in style Thursday morning, upending No. 8 Fresno State at the Extraco Events Center, 12-3.
With the win, the Horned Frogs improved to 7-8 overall and moved to 2-1 all-time against FSU at nationals. The Frogs will now take on No. 1 seeded South Carolina Friday morning, with competition slated to begin at approximately 8:45 a.m. with the first half of Reining.
“We had a great day with solid rides all around,” said TCU Director of Equestrian Haley Schoolfield. “We are looking forward to taking on South Carolina tomorrow.”
Simply put, the Purple and White made quick work of Fresno State in Reining, dropping the Bulldogs, 4-0. Sophomore Chantz Stewart opened the domination, downing Ciara Kozlowski, 142.5-141. Shelby St. Hilaire, an NCEA All-American, was also victorious in the discipline, defeating Brigid O’Leary, 142-135. Recent NCEA All-America honoree Alexi Child and Brooke Boyle also scored victories in Reining, defeating Kirsten McKillop and Taylor Brown, respectively. With the win, St. Hilaire moved to 9-3-3 overall, while Child continued her winning ways, improving to 11-4-0 on the season.
In Horsemanship, Rylee Morgan got the Frogs going, upending Whitney Kittle, while Calli Rouse scored the only other point for the Frogs in the discipline, riding Big Momma to a 129.5-122.5 victory over Brown.
On the Hunt Seat side, TCU scored a 5-3 decision Thursday afternoon. The Frogs made headway in Equitation over Fences, winning easily, 3-1. Freshman Molly Peddicord, a California native, scored a 166-153 win over Amanda Postel, while Taylor Alexander dropped Dayle Fischer, 142-141. Peddicord has shined in Fences this season and improved to 9-5-1 overall. Sophomore Nicole Diamantis was also victorious, upending Belle Calkin, 160-153.
Peddicord continued her winning ways in Equitation on the Flat, with a dominating 159-123 victory over Postel for her seventh victory of the year. Kaitlin Perry rounded out the TCU notables, dropping Hannah Flammang. Finally, freshman Kari Hancock appeared to have scored a point for the Frogs, but battled Macy Wilson to a 152-152 draw.
The Horned Frogs will continue action tomorrow in Waco against No. 1South Carolina.
