Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Fresno State
Cowgirl Equestrian Returns Home for Senior Day
March 11, 2020 | Cowgirl Equestrian
The Basics
The Oklahoma State Equestrian team returns to Stillwater maintaining its No. 2 ranking in the NCEA Farnam poll for the sixth consecutive week after defeating No. 9 Baylor, 10-8, last Saturday. OSU, which has won its last three competitions, looks to carry the momentum from the TCU, Texas A&M and Baylor victories into a Senior Day matchup against Fresno State on Saturday at 10 a.m.
About the Cowgirls                                                                                                                        Â
The Cowgirls (9-3, 4-1 Big 12) are led by 21st-year head coach Larry Sanchez, first-year assistants Laura Brainard and Olivia Dorey and director of operations Kate Pollard. Caroline Becker is on the staff as a graduate assistant.Â
An Oklahoma State Win Would...                                                                                       Â
• Make the Cowgirls' all-time record against the Bulldogs 8-1
• Keep the Cowgirls' all-time record against the Bulldogs at home perfect at 6-0
• Secure the fourth consecutive win of the spring season, improving OSU's overall record to 10-3Â
• Keep OSU at the top of the Big 12 standings and improve the Cowgirls' conference record to 5-1
Who to Watch For                                                                                                                 Â
Katie Schell: The returning junior is 8-4 on the year in Flat and received MOP honors in Flat against UT Martin and Baylor in the fall. Schell was the recipient of the NCEA and Big 12 Rider of the Month awards in Flat for September in the fall season. Schell is coming off of a loss at Baylor but looks to turn things around against Fresno State before the postseason.Â
Emma Verplank: A returning All-American in Horsemanship and team captain, she earned MOP honors against No. 1 Auburn earlier this season and is 9-1-2 on the year. Verplank was the recipient of the NCEA and Big 12 Rider of the Month awards in Horsemanship for September. She ended the fall season with three consecutive wins in Horsemanship. She scored a 76 at SMU two weeks ago, resulting in her first tie of the year. She came back against TCU and won 72-71.5. She tied against Texas A&M but was back in the win column with a 74.5-0 win against Baylor.
Hannah Mitchell: Team captain Hannah Mitchell is 7-4-1 this year with MOP performances against South Dakota State and Baylor in the fall. Mitchell was the recipient of the NCEA and Big 12 Rider of the Month awards in Reining for September. Since being narrowly defeated by half a point at SMU, she has bounced back in a significant way. Mitchell earned MOP honors two consecutive weeks with victories against TCU and Texas A&M to close out the month of February. Mitchell started off March with a narrow loss against Baylor.
Team captain Abigail Brayman is 8-3-1 on the season in the Flat. She was selected as the Big 12's Flat Rider of the Month for October. She is 6-5-1 in Fences coming off her first tie of the season against Baylor. She picked up a 78-71 victory in Flat last weekend.Â
Harley Huff is 9-2-1 in Horsemanship on the season. She earned a season-high 77 against Baylor in the fall season and also secured MOP honors against Baylor and UC Davis. After winning five straight, including a victory against TCU, where she scored a 76.5 and received MOP honors for the third time this season, she tied against Texas A&M. Earlier this week, Harley was named the Big 12 Rider of the Month for Horsemanship. She returned to action at Baylor last weekend where she won 77-75.5, tying her season-high score.
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