Top Collegiate Equestrian Teams Battle For #1 Spot This Weekend at 2015 NCEA Championship

WACO, Texas – The four equestrian programs of the Southeastern Conference embark on Waco, Texas, this weekend to participate in the 2015 National Collegiate Equestrian Association Championship, presented by the City of Waco and McLennan County, this Thursday through Saturday at the Extraco Events Center.

The four current members of the SEC are the only teams in the history of the sport to win NCEA Overall Team National Championships. Georgia has tallied a league-leading six overall NCEA national championships, including three consecutive from 2008-10. Auburn has won three national titles, while South Carolina and Texas A&M each have two overall national titles to their credit. Georgia is the defending NCEA National Champion.

SEC teams earned four of the top-five seeds at this year’s NCEA Championship, with No. 1 Georgia, No. 3 South Carolina and No. 4 Texas A&M all earning opening-round byes. Fifth-seeded Auburn will open up on Thursday against 12th-seeded UT-Martin.

The NCEA Championship begins at 8:30 a.m. CT on Thursday with the opening-round matchups. The quarterfinals take place on Friday, while the semifinals and championship rounds are contested on Saturday.

The top-12 overall teams (Western and Hunt Seat combined) are invited to compete in the NCEA Championship. The NCEA Selection Committee determines and invites these teams based on a number of factors throughout the season.

2015 NCEA Championship Seeds

1. Georgia

2. Baylor

3. South Carolina

4. Texas A&M

5. Auburn

6. Fresno State

7. TCU

8. SMU

9. Kansas State

10. Oklahoma State

11. New Mexico State

12. UT-Martin

 

Opening-Round Matchups (Thursday, April 16 – 8:30 a.m. CT)

(8) SMU vs. (9) Kansas State

(5) Auburn vs. (12) UT-Martin

(6) Fresno State vs. (11) New Mexico State

(7) TCU vs. (10) Oklahoma State

Quarterfinals (Friday, April 17 – 8:30 a.m. CT)

(1) Georgia vs. (8) SMU or (9) Kansas State

(2) Baylor vs. (7) TCU or (10) Oklahoma State

(3) South Carolina vs. (6) Fresno State or (11) New Mexico State

(4) Texas A&M vs. (5) Auburn or (12) UT-Martin

 

TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES

AUBURN

The Auburn equestrian team earned the fifth seed at the NCEA Championships and will square off with No. 12 UT-Martin. The Tigers are coming off a third place finish at the SEC Championships after defeating then-No. 1 South Carolina, 13-6. Junior Elizabeth Benson was named a first team All-American in Fences and a second team All-American in Flat. Sophomore Ashley Foster earned second team honors in Fences, senior Katsy Leeman was named a second team All-American in Reining while senior Lucy Igoe and junior Allie Dusha earned honorable mention honors in Horsemanship and Reining, respectively. The six All-America selections are tied for the most in the nation and the highest total by the Tigers since 2011-12. Benson was named the SEC’s Equitation over Fences Rider of the Year and Dusha was named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Auburn’s first round matchup is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. CT with the winner facing Texas A&M on Friday.

GEORGIA

The Georgia equestrian team will compete for its seventh national championship this weekend in Waco, Texas. As the No. 1 seed, the Bulldogs will receive an opening round bye. Georgia will begin its national title defense on Friday, April 17 against either No. 8 SMU or No. 9 Kansas State. The Bulldogs received the top seed after taking home its first-ever Southeastern Conference championship. The Bulldogs defeated Texas A&M 12-5 to capture the title. Since then, seven Georgia riders received All-American honors. The Bulldogs also had eleven All-SEC riders, including six riders earning seven All-SEC honors and four picking up All-Freshman honors. Georgia cleaned up in the individual All-SEC honors as well, as the team earned three of the four SEC Rider of the Year honors (Kylee Arbuckle, Paige Stawicki, Lauren Garmon) and three of the four Freshman of the Year honors (Addyson Cord, Bailey Anderson, Kyndall Harper). Head Coach Meghan Boenig was named the SEC Coach of the Year.

SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina enters the 2015 NCEA National Championship as the No. 3 seed. The Gamecocks (9-5, 4-2 SEC) have lost two meets in a row after going 0-2 at the SEC Championship in College Station. South Carolina has lost its last four meets in a row in the state of Texas. The Gamecocks had a program record four riders earn First Team All-America honors from the NCEA in seniors Katherine Schmidt (equitation over fences), Amber Henter (equitation over fences), Sam Chiodo (horsemanship), and Layla Choate (reining). South Carolina earned a first round bye at this year’s national championship. The Gamecocks will face the winner of the opening round competition between Fresno State and New Mexico State. Carolina defeated Fresno State, 13-6, in the fall, and the Gamecocks picked up a 12-8 over New Mexico State last season. Carolina finished as the national runner-up at last year’s national championship.

TEXAS A&M

The 4th-Seeded Texas A&M heads to Waco this week to participate in their fourth-straight NCEA National Championship. Seeking their first national championship since 2012, the Aggies are coming off an 8-6 season that saw them consistently ranked in the top ten and an undefeated regular season record at home. The Aggies earned a bye and will face the winner of Auburn-UT-Martin in the quarterfinals on Friday, both programs that A&M recorded wins over during the 2014-15 season. As recently announced by the NCEA and SEC offices, Texas A&M had six riders earn NCEA All-American honors, five riders placed on the All-SEC teams as well as sixteen representatives earn NCEA Academic awards. A&M is coming off an appearance in the SEC Championship meet, the first time the Aggies have advanced past the semifinal round in three years of competition, and a victory over three-seed South Carolina in the opening round.

Visit the NCEA website for complete information about the upcoming NCEA Championships including links to live feeds, brackets, a schedule of events, and an event center map.