DANBURY, Conn. – University of Tennessee at Martin representatives Bridget Vieau and Lexi Bailey have earned Eastern College Athletic Conference Rider of the Month accolades for February, the league announced today. Vieau brought home the honors in flat while Bailey received the award in horsemanship.
The duo of Vieau and Bailey become the fifth and sixth Skyhawks to win an ECAC Rider of the Month award in 2023-24 as Sydney Hott (fences), Sophia Sundem (flat), Kate Davis (horsemanship) and Emma Schaefer (reining) also won in October. The UT Martin equestrian program has now combined for 24 ECAC weekly or monthly honors this season.
The Skyhawks dueled against three nationally ranked opponents in February, defeating then-No. 8 Delaware State (9-7 on Feb. 9) and No. 9 UC Davis (10-8 on Feb. 10) at home before falling by a 14-6 margin at No. 6 Auburn on Feb. 17.
Vieau went 2-0-1 in flat during that span, winning her head-to-head matchup against UC Davis (82 points) and Auburn (79) while her 77-point effort was good enough for a tie against Delaware State. The senior out of Syracuse, NY averaged a score of 79.3 while winning by an average of 2.5 points for the month, picking up her second and third wins of the season in the process.
A Union Mills, Ind. native, Bailey was a perfect 3-0 in head-to-head competition with one MOP medal in February – winning by an average margin of 5.5 points. The junior received MOP accolades courtesy of a 71.5-point performance against UC Davis while additionally coming away with victories over Auburn (75.5 points) and Delaware State (74). For the month, she pieced together an average score of 73.7 points.
UT Martin is back in action tomorrow as it hosts Minnesota-Crookston for a 9 a.m. matchup at the Ned McWherter Agricultural Complex.
