No. 7 Gamecocks to Face No. 2 SMU at NCEA National Championship
OCALA, FL – The 7-seeded South Carolina Equestrian team (7-8) is set to take on the defending national champions of 2-seeded SMU (9-4) in the first round of the NCEA Championships on Thursday, April 18 at 2:30 p.m. The meet will be live-streamed here.
2023-24 Season Highlights:
- Finished the regular season 7-6 for the first winning season since the 2019-20 year
- Took down No. 4 Auburn (Feb. 3) for the first time since 2015. The win over the Tigers was the highest-ranked win since defeating No. 3 Georgia at home in the fall of 2022. The loss for Auburn marked a three-meet losing streak – the Tigers’ longest since the 2011-2012 season.
- The Gamecocks were ranked in the top-10 NCEA poll the entire season, reaching as high as No. 4 in the nation
- Bella Primavera was named SEC Rider of the Month for Fences (Feb.), Tierney Horton named SEC Rider of the Month for Horsemanship (March)
- At the SEC Championships, Chloe Stephenson (Reining), Natalie Jayne (Fences) and Tierney Horton (Horsemanship) were all named MOPs
- Three Gamecocks were named NCEA Ariat All-Americans: Mary Hunter Millet (First Team – Flat), Sophie Mitchell (Second Team – Flat) and Emilia Reutimann (Honorable Mention – Reining)
- 24 Gamecocks were named to NCEA All-Academic teams, with seven being on the First Team list
- 12 Gamecocks have secured 34 MOPs throughout the season
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
SMU headed into the meet having defeated No. 1 TCU (11-7) in its final regular season meet at the Dallas Equestrian Center. 15 Mustangs have earned a total of 37 MOPs through SMU’s 13 meets. The Mustangs spent the entire regular season ranked in the NCEA poll’s top-three and finished ranked No. 2 in the final regular season poll.
The Gamecocks hold an 8-6 advantage over SMU, having faced the Mustangs once before in the NCEA Championships. South Carolina last saw SMU in the 2022-23 season, falling to the Mustangs 7-13 at home. The meeting on Monday will be the first time this season.
Fans are encouraged to follow along with in-meet updates on Twitter (X) and Instagram, @GamecockEQ.
