DANBURY, Conn. – Two more University of Tennessee at Martin equestrian student-athletes picked up Eastern College Athletic Conference Rider of the Week honors today as Mia McAfoos (horsemanship) and Lexi Bailey (reining) were spotlighted by the league.
This marks Bailey’s third ECAC Rider of the Week award in 2024-25 but first in reining as she had previously won twice in horsemanship. This is McAfoos’ first weekly league recognition of the fall as overall, seven separate Skyhawks have combined for a dozen ECAC weekly accolades this season.
The duo of McAfoos and Bailey helped will UT Martin to a pair of ECAC victories this past weekend, defeating South Dakota State by a 12-4 margin before edging out Delaware State by a score of 11-9. The wins kept the Skyhawks atop the ECAC standings with an unblemished 4-0 record.
McAfoos had a fantastic weekend, earning a pair of MOP medals on the way to a 2-0 record. She soared to a 6.5-point victory against Avery Bergan of South Dakota State on Friday, producing 74.5 points aboard Simon. The following day, the senior tied a career-score with 76.5 points – defeating Delaware State’s Paitlyn Holm by two points.
The Alton, Ill. native holds the team horsemanship lead with two MOP’s and five head-to-head victories while producing a 72.8 scoring average this season.
A senior from Union Mills, Ind., Bailey secured a MOP in reining against Delaware State on Saturday, dialing up a season-best 73 points on Wally on the way to a four-point victory against Claire Andrews from Delaware State. She also was a part of UT Martin’s lineup on Friday against South Dakota State, producing 61 points aboard Baby against Ada Hirschfeld.
Bailey is tied for the team lead with a pair of reining MOP’s while accounting for four victories and a 68.2 scoring average.
The Skyhawks are off until Feb. 7-8 when they travel to Auburn, Ala. for matchups against Minnesota-Crookston and Auburn.
