March 4, 2016
HARRINGTON, Del. – No. 9 South Carolina closed out its regular season schedule on Friday with an 8-7 win over No. 6 SMU at the Delaware State Fairgrounds. The Gamecocks improved to 4-9 overall, while the Mustangs fall to 5-6.
The Gamecocks and Mustangs opened the meet with each team winning a pair of horsemanship points. Junior Bailey Mierzejewski earned M.O.P. honors when she defeated SMU’s Hannah McCain, 73.5-69. Sophomore Megan Overberg followed a 70.5-69 victory over Jaclyn White.
In equitation over fences, Carolina and SMU both won a pair of points, ending the first half of the competition with a 4-4 tie. Freshman Lizzie van der Walde won the first of her two points in the meet with an 84-75 victory over SMU’s Alex Butterworth. Senior Samantha Kraus closed out her regular season jumping career with an M.O.P. win as she beat Mustang opponent Nora Gray, 84-79.
The Gamecocks defeated SMU, 2-1, in reining to give Carolina a 6-5 lead. Senior Sarah Bouchard edged SMU opponent Olivia Pakula, 60.5-59.5. Sophomore Bailey Walters won her second M.O.P. of the semester and third of the season on Friday when she beat Keagan Snively, 67-65.5.
In the flat arena, the Gamecocks extended their lead to 7-5 when Smith earned M.O.P. honors with an 86-75 victory over Schaefer Raposa. SMU won back-to-back points to tie the meet at 7-7, but van der Walde finished off her 2-for-2 day with a 75-59 win over Alexis Graves to clinch the Gamecock victory.
South Carolina returns to action March 25-26 at the 2016 SEC Championship, hosted by the University of Georgia at the UGA Equestrian Complex.
