Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Georgia
Cowgirl Equestrian Advances to National Semifinal
April 13, 2023 | Cowgirl Equestrian
OCALA, Fla. — Third-ranked Oklahoma State defeated six-seed Georgia 13-7 to advance to the semifinals of the NCEA National Championship Thursday in Ocala, Florida.
The win advances the Cowgirls to the national semifinal for the fourth-straight season, excluding when the event was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. It is also the second time this season Oklahoma State beat Georgia, having won 11-8 on February 11.
"There were great rides across the board all day," head coach Larry Sanchez said. "When we prepared for this, we prepared with all we had, because we knew it was going to take that to beat Georgia. It was a great win for us today and kudos to Georgia on a hard-fought meet."
The meet began with Fences and Reining running simultaneously. In Fences, the Cowgirls took an early lead, winning three of the five points. Second-team All-American Riley Hogan kicked things off for the Cowgirls, winning 259-253. Sydnie Ziegler then fell to the high-scorer of the meet, 262-260, before OSU claimed the next two points, with All-Americans Sydney North and Emma Pacyna each winning their points, 238-165 and 251-241. The Bulldogs took the final Fences point when Tessa Brown beat Grace McReynolds 254-246.
In Reining, Oklahoma State won four of five points. Georgia's only Reining point was the first one, with Raegan Shepherd beating Hannah Lovrien 202-199.5. Jojo Roberson then started a stretch of four-straight Cowgirl points, winning 216-211.5. Tristan Bagby followed that with a 199.5-195.5 win before Molly Mitchell earned her point with a meet-best 219-210 win. Quincee Clark closed the event with a 216-211 win to give OSU a 7-3 lead.
The meet continued with Flat, where Georgia bested Oklahoma State, 3-2. Ella Reinauer fell to open the event, 257-249, but the Cowgirls rebounded to win the next two. Grace McReynolds won 221-218 and Elizabeth Carter won 231-226. Georgia would claim the final two points, with Hope King falling 235-217 and Riley Hogan losing 259-255 despite and team-best score.
The meet concluded with Horsemanship, where the Cowgirls slammed the door shut, winning four of five points. OSU took the first two points of the event, with Natalie Vargo winning 220-209 before Jojo Roberson got a 225.5-216 win. Georgia then claimed its only Horsemanship point as Sara Lewis bested Maddie Fussell, 224-217. The Cowgirls would answer by taking the final two points of the meet, beginning with Claire McDowall winning what would be the clinching point, 227-216, before June Roberson posted a meet-best score in her 228-226 victory to seal the 13-7 Cowgirl win.
Oklahoma State will take on two-seed Auburn in the national semifinal Friday at 1 p.m. CT. Live Scoring and streaming are available through the NCEA website.
Players Mentioned
