USC hunt seat riders finished runner-up in the inaugural Big Eight English Tournament hosted by the University of Georgia on Saturday evening at the Animal Science Arena in Athens, Ga. The Gamecocks had impressive performances all the way through before being defeated by only four points by the Bulldogs with a score of 411 to 407.
USC and Georgia competed in a very competitive final round of competition. First in equitation over fences, sophomore Kristen Terebesi was defeated by opponent Alex Linscheid with a score of 77 to 76. Junior hunt seat rider Kelley Campbell took a loss to her opponent Logan Fiorentino with a score of 83 to 78, while senior Tara Brothers topped her opponent Rachel Berkowitz by three points. Her score of 87 was the highest score of the day in equitation over fences.
Equitation on the flat was just as intense as over fences. Terebesi took a loss to opponent Melinda Drury again by only one point with a score of 81 to 80. Campbell defeated her opponent Cordy Allsopp 77 to 0, while Georgia’s Michelle Blair topped Brothers by a tough one point-margin, scoring 86 to 85. Points are totaled by dropping the lowest score, which resulted in a Bulldog defeat over the Gamecocks, 411 to 407.
“First of all, I would like to congratulate Georgia because they rode very well,” said USC Head Coach Boo Duncan. “Our girls rode very solid all weekend and I was very pleased with their performance. It could have been anybody’s win between USC and Georgia in the end and it just fell in Georgia’s favor. We look forward to competing against them again in two weeks at home.”
In final standings, New Mexico State finished third, while Texas A&M came in fourth, Oklahoma State in fifth and Fresno State finished sixth. Other schools competing in the tournament were Baylor and South Dakota State.
In earlier semifinal action, after an impressive first round performance that ended on Friday with the Gamecocks totaling the most points, USC riders had strong performances in equitation on the flat and equitation over fences semifinals on Saturday afternoon.
Leading the Gamecocks in equitation on the flat, Brothers defeated opponent Ann Marie Reubin 82 to 66. Campbell, the high scorer in Friday’s competition, returned Saturday to defeat her opponent by six with a score of 69 to 63. Also in equitation on the flat, sophomore Terebesi earned a score of 80 points, while opponent Cordero was disqualified.
In equitation over fences, Terebesi was the Gamecocks semifinal high scorer with an 83 to 82 defeat over opponent Erin Ivy. Brothers had an impressive performance of 82 points, topping her opponent Erica Palomo by 27 points. Campbell, who struggled in both competitions on Saturday, took a loss to opponent Lauren Chihal by 20 points.
Overall in the semifinals, the Gamecocks claimed the victory over Texas A&M with a score of 396 to 336, advancing USC to the final. Other semifinal results included a Georgia win over New Mexico State, 400 to 381, and Oklahoma State over Fresno State, 378 to 351.
In other events, sophomore Allison Bradley was defeated by Georgia opponent Kari Ellingson 76 to 72.5 in Western horsemanship semifinal action. Later, she took a loss to Baylor’s Brenna Buris with a score of 74 to 72.5 to finish the competition in fourth place. In reining, Lindsay Williams was defeated by New Mexico State’s Brynn Wells with a score of 71.5 to 70, finishing sixth in the final.
The Gamecocks will host Georgia in their second home competition of the fall season on Friday, October 21 at OneWood Farm in Blythewood, S.C. Results will be available immediately following the competition at www.uscsports.com.
