FELTON, Del. – Junior Lexi Bailey brought home a pair of MOP medals for the No. 10 ranked University of Tennessee at Martin equestrian squad as the Skyhawks defeated No. 8 Baylor and fell to weekend host Delaware State today.
The first half of the Baylor meet took place on Friday as the score was knotted at 4-all through the fences and horsemanship events. That meet was completed today as the two sides were even at 7-all but UT Martin outscored the Bears in raw points (1,202 to 1,059) to claim the victory.
In the second meet of the day, the Skyhawks once again held the edge in raw score (1,547.25 to 1,530.25) but Delaware State won the meet by a slim 10-7 margin.
Bailey was at the top of her game as the Union Mills, Ind. native nabbed reining MOP’s in both meets. UT Martin also boasted the MOP honorees in fences in both meets over the weekend as Elizabeth Becker (Baylor) and Gabby Adams (Delaware State) achieved those accolades.
Against Baylor, Becker’s first fences MOP ride of the year (82 points) led the way while Sydney Hott (79 points) and Kate Mills (75 points) also earned victories in that event. Haley Kane also collected 72 points as part of the Skyhawks’ fences lineup.
In horsemanship, Emma Schaefer tied for the team lead with her third victory of the season after a 70.5-point effort. Mia McAfoos (team-best 72.5 points), Kate Davis (71.5) and Bailey (70) completed UT Martin’s lineup during Friday’s action.
Bailey’s MOP effort (season-high 71 points) joined Schaefer (team-high fifth victory with 69.5 points) as winners in reining against Baylor. Logan Putvinski and Davis closed out the lineup with scores of 69 and 68 points, respectively.
The Skyhawks added a victory in flat as Sophia Sundem piled up 75 points for her team-best fifth win of the 2023-24 campaign. Kane (74 points) and Hott (73) tied their head-to-head competitors while Becker posted a 67 against Baylor. Once the results were tallied, UT Martin was awarded the win via the raw points tiebreaker.
In the matchup against Delaware State, the Skyhawks were led by three victories in fences. Adams’ 82 points led to the first MOP of her young collegiate career while Hott improved to 2-0 on the weekend, earning her team-best fifth win after an 81-point performance. Becker posted 79 points en route to the victory while Kane (76) and Mills (73) also represented UT Martin in the event.
The Skyhawks managed two wins and two ties in reining, led by Bailey’s MOP ride of 74.5 points (a new career-high). Putvinski claimed a victory with a 70.5-point effort while Schaefer’s career-best 73 and Elise Mason’s 71 in her collegiate debut were good enough for ties. Aubrey Malone’s 68.5 points rounded out the scoring for UT Martin.
Two more career-high tallies were set in horsemanship. Ava Newsom (75 points) and Mia McAfoos (74) each managed the highest scores of their collegiate careers while dialing up points with head-to-head wins. Bailey’s 71.5 points tied her competitor while Schaefer (co-team-high of 75 points) and Davis (67.5) were also members of the Skyhawk lineup.
UT Martin ran into some tough luck in flat as two head-to-head losses came by a single point apiece. Bridget Vieau’s 77 points led the way while the trio of Sundem, Hott and Ava Laplante each recorded scores of 70. Kane’s 68 points concluded the scoring five for the Skyhawks.
These two meets conclude a successful fall campaign for UT Martin as the Skyhawks won’t return to action in an official capacity until Feb. 9-10 when they host Eastern College Athletic Conference rivals Delaware State and UC Davis.
