MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin equestrian squad collected a big victory in its first meet of the spring semester, upending No. 8 Delaware State by a 9-7 margin at the Ned McWherter Agricultural Complex.
The No. 10 ranked Skyhawks earned their second victory over a nationally ranked opponent in 2023-24 as they also defeated then-No. 8 Baylor on a raw points tiebreaker on Nov. 18.
Today, UT Martin avenged an early-season loss to the Hornets thanks in large part to a dominant effort in the Western discipline. The Skyhawks piled up six wins and a pair of ties in the 10 decisions, emerging victorious in three reining matchups (plus two ties) to go along with three head-to-head victories in horsemanship. UT Martin also tacked on a pair of wins in fences while posting one victory with two ties in flat.
Individually, Sydney Hott (fences), Haley Kane (flat) and Emma Schaefer (reining) led the way for the Skyhawks with MOP accolades in their respective events.
In reining, Schaefer’s 71.5 points were good enough for her fourth MOP of the season (third in reining). Logan Putvinski and Lexi Bailey each scored 69 points apiece on the way to victories while Kate Davis (season-high 69.5) and Aubrey Malone (69) tied their opponents.
Bailey registered 74 points to pace UT Martin in horsemanship, joining Davis (73.5) and Mia McAfoos (72.5) as winners in the event. Ava Newsom tied for the best score on the squad with 74 points while Schaefer managed a score of 69 to complete the Skyhawk lineup.
Hott helped UT Martin get off to a good start in fences as her career-best 88-point performance led to her third MOP (second in fences) of the 2023-24 campaign. Kane’s season-high 86 points additionally tallied a point in the Skyhawk column while Kate Mills (82), Gabby Adams (74) and Elizabeth Becker (55) also represented UT Martin in the event.
The Skyhawk leader in flat was Kane, who dialed up a season-best 88 points on the way to her first MOP of the season. Becker (career-high 83) and Bridget Vieau (77) came away with tie scores while Sophia Sundem (85) and Hott (80) earned solid scores today.
UT Martin will look for a weekend sweep tomorrow when it hosts No. 9 UC Davis at noon.
