Gamecocks Fall to Georgia on Friday

Feb. 3, 2017

Bishop, Ga. — The University of South Carolina opened the spring portion of the regular season on Friday and fell to No. 7 Georgia, 14-5, at the UGA Equestrian Complex. The loss drops Carolina to 3-4 (1-3 SEC).

Despite the setback, Carolina won MOP honors in both western disciplines, with Paige Stopperich and Paisley Roberts leading the way.

With the victory, the Bulldogs improve to 5-4 (2-2 SEC). Listed eighth in the latest national rankings, all seven of Carolina’s opponents have been ranked in the top-10 of the NCEA poll.

QUOTING HEAD COACH Boo Major

“It was a tough day for us. We had quite a few bad breaks that didn’t help matters. Luckily we get to do it all over again tomorrow. I’m hoping an evening of watching video of today will help us understand where our mistakes were and help us tomorrow in our meet against Delaware State. So we will close the book on our meet with Georgia after tonight and concentrate on DSU for tomorrow.”

EQUITATION OVER FENCES RECAP

The home side won four points in jumping, while Carolina forced one draw. Chloe Schmidt finished tied with Georgia’s Emma Mandarino, 84-all, on Roman.

HORSEMANSHIP RECAP

In horsemanship, the Bulldogs won by a 3-2 margin. Stopperich earned the first point for the Gamecocks, 74-69, over Sammie Johnson on Colby, and Bailey Mierzejewski added a 75-70.5 win over Payton Anderson riding Otto.

At the end of the meet, Stopperich was awarded the MOP honor. It’s her second top honor of the season.

EQUITATION ON THE FLAT RECAP

Georgia won four of the five meetings on the flat. The lone Gamecock to score was Schmidt, who edged Sydney Hutchins, 78-77, on Riant.

REINING RECAP

A pair of Gamecocks scored points in the second western event, with Roberts and Caroline Gute winning their matchups. Roberts rode Captain past Charley Thiel, 68.5-64, and Gute took down Claudia Speng, 67.5-66, on Garth.

Carolina riders have won reining MOP honors in all seven meets this season, including Friday. For Roberts, it was the first top honor of the year, and the second of her career.

NOTABLE

• With Roberts collecting the reining MOP award this season, 13 different Gamecocks have won the award at least once this season.
• Six different Gamecocks have left the arena with reining MOP accolades in 2016-17.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

The Gamecocks face Delaware State on Saturday to close out the weekend. The meet begins at 2 p.m. ET at the UGA Equestrian Complex. Prior to the meet, Delaware State will face Georgia at 10 a.m. ET.

The Gamecocks last faced Delaware State on March 4, 2016, a 10-6 road loss.