OSU Equestrian Advances To NCEA National Championship Semifinal

Thursday, April 14

Ocala, FL

7:30 CDT

Oklahoma State University

Fresno State

OSU Equestrian Advances To NCEA National Championship Semifinal

April 14, 2022 | Cowgirl Equestrian

OCALA, Florida - No. 1 Oklahoma State equestrian defeated No. 8 Fresno State, 12-8, to earn a spot in the semifinals Friday at 1 p.m. CT at The World Equestrian Center. It marks the third-straight year the Cowgirls have advanced to the second round.

"I am very proud of our girls on the way that they rode today and how they kept their chin up when things got close," head coach Larry Sanchez said. "Got to hand it to Fresno, they rode very strong today and kept it close for the entire meet. We look forward to tomorrow. We know TCU is going to ride strong as always, but I believe the girls are ready and will continue this push to achieve our goal."

The first event of the day was Fences, where the Cowgirls took an early 4-1 lead. The lone Bulldog point came from Olivia Ferro as she defeated Hope King, 245-238. Emma Pacyna secured her fifth victory of the season, 211-209, after defeating Cecily Hayes.

First Team All-American, Sydnie Ziegler bested Ana Bertozzi, 239-223, and freshman Riley Hogan defeated Lizzie Stodden, 248-217. To conclude Fences, captain Abigail Brayman beat Grace Mathias, 211-209.

Horsemanship, which coincided with Fences, saw the Bulldogs even the score with a 4-1 win. Claire McDowall and Maddie Fussell dropped their points, 211.5-209 and 224.5-221, respectively.
Caroline Nielson countered with a 202.5-164 victory against Emily Maul. Natalie Vargo lost to Kameron Thom, 219.5-211, and Fresno State's Brooklyn Moch bested JoJo Roberson, 218.5-203.
The meet was tied, 5-5, leading into the second half where Flat and Reining occurred simultaneously. Senior, Katie Pelzel, dominated against Sara Tuck, 221-197.5, to begin Flat. Ziegler dropped her ride, 208-170, but Brayman brought back the momentum with a 230.5-218.5 win.

Grace McReynolds continued her perfect season by picking up a point against Taylor Holstead, 237-210.5, and Big 12 Rider of the year King followed suit and bested Bertozzi, 235-234.5.

OSU finished the competition by dominating in Reining, winning the event 4-1. Quincee Clark started the event with a win over Julianne Kelley, 205-203.5. In her first appearance on the season, Stephanie Helsen dropped her point, 214.5-211.5.

Molly Mitchell picked up her tenth win of the season with a 204.5-203.5 win and Roberson secured the meet by besting Addison Welman, 208.5-201. To conclude the meet, senior Hannah Lovrien won her ride, 206.5-205.5.

OSU will be back in action tomorrow afternoon against No. 4 TCU for the fourth time this season. The Cowgirls lead the matchup, 2-1, including defeating the Horned Frogs for the Big 12 Championship.

For season-long coverage of Oklahoma State equestrian, visit okstate.com and follow @OSUEquestrian on Twitter and Instagram.