Gamecocks Crush UT Martin 15-4
Blythewood, S.C. – The No. 4 South Carolina equestrian team wrapped up its fall home slate in dominant fashion as it swept all four Most Outstanding Player honors en route to a 15-4 win over No. 9 UT Martin on Friday at OneWood Farm.
For the first time this year all four M.O.P. awards went to Gamecocks, with sophomore Grady Lyman winning her second flat M.O.P. in as many weeks, junior Gabby Brassard earning the first M.O.P. win of her career in horsemanship, junior McKenzie Duncan earning her second reining M.O.P. of the season, and freshman Jordan Allen taking home the fences M.O.P. in her Carolina debut.
“They wanted to have a very dominant performance this weekend and that’s what they gave us,” head coach Boo Major said of her team’s effort after the meet. “It was a pretty nasty day today, as far as the weather was concerned. Kudos to UT Martin for coming down here, it’s not a whole lot of fun to travel all the way down here and then have to compete in these conditions. We had some concerns about how our girls would compete in the weather, but they came out ready and prepared to compete and I’m proud of them.”
The Gamecocks took control early in reining with junior Addie Cromer’s 67.5-point ride on Nike securing the first point of the day, followed by Duncan’s 68 on Chex giving Carolina a 2-0 lead. Senior Caroline Gute kept things rolling with her 70 on Stoner to make it 3-0 before fellow senior Jordan Scott rode to a tie with her 69-point ride on Wrangler. Sophomore Sloane Vogt finished off reining with a 67 on Magnum to give Carolina a 4-0 win in the category.
Over on the flat Carolina dropped the first point to UT Martin’s Abbie Hopkins before Lyman came through with a season-high 88-point ride on Tattoo to make it 5-1. Senior Madison Sellman followed that with an 83 on Cita to extend the lead, 6-1, before Mahalia Alascio gave the Skyhawks another point. Junior Billi Brander put an exclamation point on the flat with her 83-point ride on Toby to give Carolina a 7-2 lead at halftime.
The Garnet and Black kept the pressure up when the made it to over fences, with junior Tyler Petrie taking the first point with her 85 on Cita. Allen took the second point with her 87-point ride on Tattoo, the highest scoring ride for a Carolina rider in over fences this season. Freshman Madeline Shaefer, also making her Gamecock debut, clinched the third point with an 83 on Mack, before sophomore Caroline Bald claimed a point with a 75-point ride on Joe. Junior Louisa Brackett finished the category off with an 80 on Cal to get the sweep, 5-0, and give the Gamecocks an insurmountable 12-2 lead.
UT Martin continued to put up a fight, taking the first two horsemanship points before Gute snatched a point with a 72.5-point ride on Amos. Brassard’s M.O.P. winning 75.5-point ride on Jazz added another point before junior Taylor Kellam put the finishing touches on the day with her 74.5-point ride on Frosty, giving the Garnet and Black the 15-4 win.
The Gamecocks wrap up their fall slate with a pair of road meets next weekend with trips to SMU on Nov. 22 and Oklahoma State on Nov. 23.
