Oct. 2, 2015
BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. – No. 2 South Carolina won its sixth straight home opener on Friday, as the Gamecocks defeated eighth-ranked TCU, 11-8, at One Wood Farm.
The Gamecocks (2-0) trailed the Horned Frogs (1-1), 6-4, entering the second half of Friday’s competition, but Carolina outscored TCU, 7-2, in the second half to pull ahead for the win.
“This was a very good win over a tough opponent in TCU,” South Carolina head coach Boo Major said. “We knew they’d come in fired up, and they certainly rode well against us. I was thrilled to see our girls respond the way that they did, and I think it says a lot about the determination they have. We outscored TCU, 7-2, in the final two events and that was obviously the difference maker for us. Our horsemanship team rode lights out today like we knew they would, and our hunt seat folks did a good job for us too.”
The Gamecocks won the first point in Friday’s meet when sophomore Bailey Walters beat TCU’s Brooke Boyle, 68.5-68, to give South Carolina an early 1-0 lead. But the Horned Frogs responded by winning the final four reining points to take a 4-1 lead heading in to the jumping.
In equitation over fences, Carolina won 3-of-5 points to cut its deficit to two. Redshirt junior Sydney Smith cruised by TCU’s Emery Hanson, 85-80, to win her first point of the season. After the Horned Frogs won the next point to take a 5-2 lead, seniors Samantha Smith and Samantha Kraus won back-to-back points to make it a one-point score. Smith kicked off her second 2-for-2 performance of the season when she beat TCU’s Carley Barnett, 81-74. Kraus won her first jumping point of the season and kicked off her own 2-for-2 performance with team high-score of 88, beating Nikki Diamantis by 13 points. The Horned Frogs won the final jumping to point and led South Carolina, 6-4, at the halfway point.
“Even with two losses in the jumping, I was really pleased overall with how they performed,” Major said. “Sydney, Sam, and Sammi K. rode very well today for us and that’s what we needed against the tough lineup they faced today. I thought Madison’s ride was great as well, so going forward I know coach Dobbs is very confident in the group she has.”
But the Gamecocks dominated the second half of Friday’s meet, outscoring TCU, 7-2, while picking up both Most Outstanding Player honors in the final two events.
The horsemanship team dominated the Horned Frogs, winning the event, 4-0. Senior Abigail Pait won the first of four straight horsemanship points for the Gamecocks when she edged TCU’s Rylee Morgan, 71.5-70. Junior Ashley Reichert won her first career point as a Gamecock, knocking off Colby Plott, 72-69, giving Reichert the largest margin of victory in horsemanship. Freshman Madison Thiel rode next and made the most of her Gamecock debut, earning Most Outstanding Player honors with an event-high score of 73 to beat TCU’s Jenna Jacobs. Junior Bailey Mierzejewski followed Thiel with a 72-71 victory over the Horned Frogs’ Megan McMullen. Sophomore Paige Stopperich clinched the horsemanship shutout when she held TCU’s Erin Gillette to a 70.5-70.5 tie.
“Our horsemanship team had the best week of practice and it showed today,” Major said. “They weren’t happy with the results from South Dakota State, so they went out this past week and made the most of the short practice week. And it was very exciting to see Maddie go out there and have a beautiful ride to win her first M.O.P.”
The Gamecocks entered the final event of Friday’s meet, equitation on the flat, leading the Horned Frogs, 8-6.
TCU cut the Gamecocks’ lead to just one by winning the first flat point. But South Carolina won the next three flat points to shut the door on the Horned Frogs’ hopes of a comeback. Smith earned her second M.O.P. in as many meets when she posted a flat-high score of 86 to beat TCU’s Diamantis by seven points, giving Smith a perfect 4-0 record on the season. Kraus clinched the victory for the Gamecocks when she edged the Horned Frogs’ Jayme Omand, 81-80, giving the Gamecock hunt seat captain her first 2-for-2 performance since Feb. 7 against Delaware State. Sophomore Raleigh Bacharach followed tallied the Gamecocks’ second highest flat score (83) to beat TCU’s Mady Fithian by 15-points, the largest margin of victory in Friday’s competition.
“Our flat riders are a combined 8-2 this season and I think they have exceeded our expectations a bit early on,” Major said. “But we’ll need to kick it up a notch with Auburn coming to town next week. They know our horses very well and I expect that event to be a real battle next week.”
South Carolina opens up SEC play next Friday when the Gamecocks host Auburn at 2 p.m. in Blythewood.
