Feb. 24, 2006

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. – South Carolina equestrian capped off its home schedule for the 2006 season with a total sweep over the Baylor Bears Friday at OneWood Farm in Blythewood. USC defeated the Bears 1274-1244.5 and won all four categories of the competition.

“I am really excited in how we rode today. It was great effort by our team and it is a good momentum builder to take into Georgia on Saturday,” said head coach Boo Duncan. “We had a close one in the reining but we were able to hold Baylor off.”

The Gamecocks started the day off by defeating Baylor 326-310 in equitation on the flat. Ashley Williams was the high scorer as she beat Cara Wilson by one, 88-87. Ciara Stuart was the second high scorer as she beat Nicole Brown, 84-75. Claire Sharpe picked up a win over Shelby White 79-73, while Jess Boll beat her opponent Claire Darnell, 75-60.

In over fences, Ashley Rohde was the high scorer with a 82-76 win over Amanda Esco. Johns also had a successful outing in over fences as she won 80-74 and defeated White. USC rounded out fences as Chelsea Koornick beat her opponent, Suzie Foster, by 2.5 points, 75-73.5. Ellen Hogate fell short as she lost to Brown, 81-73. Overall, USC won the event 310-304.5.

On the Western side, the Gamecocks had a closer battle. In horsemanship, the Garnet and Black won by six points, 340-334, with all riders scoring above 80. Allison Bradley and Katie Grossnickle both scored 88 and defeated their opponents, while Courtney Borton and Katy Biffle both scored 82 in their rides. Borton earned a victory by one point but Biffle lost by three in her ride.

In the final competition of the day, USC stayed focused and pulled away with a two-point, 298-296 win. There were two disqualifications in the reining, one by each team. Baylor’s Ashleigh Brown was DQ’d, handing the win to Rachel Sternoff, and USC’s Jamie Diamond rode off course to hand Brenna Burris the win. Sternoff was the high scorer with 78, followed by Rebecca Roof with 75. Lindsay Williams and Laura Pipkin each suffered losses, but it wasn’t enough to knock the Gamecocks out of the winner’s circle.

USC returns to action Saturday afternoon when the face the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, Ga. Start time is scheduled for 2 p.m.