Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
SMU
Cowgirl English Team Advances At VENC
April 15, 2010 | Cowgirl Equestrian
April 15, 2010
WACO, Texas - The Oklahoma State equestrian team hit the ground running at the Varsity Equestrian National Championships when the hunt seat team defeated Southern Methodist University in raw scores, 1076-1036, in the opening round of the tournament. The sixth-seeded Cowgirls were in a deadlock with the Mustangs after a 2-2 tie in equitation over fences, and continued the trend by winning two of the four head-to-head rides in equitation on the flat, resulting in a 4-4 tie in team points.
In the event of a tie at the completion of both disciplines, the lowest individual score is dropped and the remaining scores are added together, resulting in the final raw score. The team with the highest raw score is the winner of the tournament.
"We are definitely taking a moment to enjoy winning the first-round," associate head coach Suzanne Flaig said. "We are going to get some rest tonight and hopefully come back stronger tomorrow."
Senior Ally Blais picked up a win in each discipline, the sixth time this season she has reached that feat. She received judges' scores of 83 and 84 in fences for a total of 167 and scores of 84 and 79 on the flat for a combined total of 163. With the wins, she picked up her 18th and 19th overall head-to-head victories on the season. Joining Blais with wins on the day were junior Alice White in equitation over fences and sophomore Jordan White in equitation on the flat.
Alice White received judges' scores of 81 and 82 for a combined head-to-head score of 163, improving to 7-3-1 on the year in the discipline. She is 2-0 against the Mustangs this season in equitation over fences. White first defeated an SMU opponent in the season opener for the Cowgirls, when she scored an 81 and received MVP honors.
Jordan White scored an 80 and a 79 from the judges for a combined head-to-head score of 159, good enough to pick up her eleventh win overall on the year.
With the win the hunt seat team improved to 8-6 on the season. They will advance to the quarterfinals of the hunter seat bracket and will take on the third-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks at 8:30 a.m. Friday, April 16, 2010.
"We faced a very good opponent today," Flaig said. "We made a few mistakes out there that we are going to fix and look forward to facing South Carolina tomorrow."
The third-seeded Cowgirl western team had a bye today, and they will match up with sixth-seeded Kansas State tomorrow in the quarterfinals of the western bracket. The Wildcats defeated the No. 11 seed Delaware State in the opening round of the tournament, 6-2. The Cowgirls are looking for their fourth straight win over the Wildcats this season.
The Cowgirls are represented by three riders in the individual bracket. Senior Ally Blais is the top seed in equitation on the flat and will take on eighth-seeded Katie Breedlove from Auburn University. Senior Rachell Shobe is the No. 4 seed in reining and is set to ride against the fifth-seeded Sarah Locker from the University of Georgia. Freshman Marissa Dalton is the No. 5 seed in horsemanship and will take on fourth-seeded Courtney Chown of Texas Christian University.
Check out complete coverage of the Varsity Equestrian National Championships including brackets and a schedule of events at the Championship Central website http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/w-equest/10-natl-champ.html.
