South Carolina Upsets No. 1 Auburn to Head to SEC Championship

TRYON, NC – The fourth-seeded Gamecocks (7-5, 1-4) came out victorious on Friday, upsetting the seven-time defending SEC Champions of No. 1 Auburn, 10-8. The win marked the second victory over the Tigers in the last two seasons. The Gamecocks’ appearance in the championship meet will be the first since the 2013-14 season, where South Carolina won it all against Georgia (10-10, meet won in raw scores).

HOW IT HAPPENED

The day got started on the Flat, with the event finishing in a 2-2 tie. Sarah Rabb picked up a win 77-75 over Ariana Marnell on Georgio, followed by Natalie Jayne defeating Mary-Grace Segars 79-77.67 on Snookie. Amira Kettaneh earned an 80.67 o CJ, but ended up tying with Auburn’s Avery Glynn.

In Reining, the Gamecocks took the event 3-1 to give South Carolina a 6-3 lead at the half. Olivia Cardi picked up the first point, taking down Caroline Buchanan 71.5-71 on Joe. For her ride, Cardi picked up her second MOP of the season. Mattie McNeill kept it going, picking up her point 64.67-61 on Royce. Chloe VanStone closed things out with a 70.5-69.67 win over Olivia Bradley on Odie.

The second half opened up in Fences, where the Tigers took things 4-1 to tie things a seven a-piece. Bella Primavera earned the lone point for the Gamecocks, taking down Segars 81-79.67 on Peter.

Horsemanship won the day for the Gamecocks, securing a 3-1 win over the Tigers. Tierney Horton (74.33-73), Jordyn Humbert (72-83-70.17) and Carly Jenkins (73.67-68.5) all took their point over Auburn. Julia Lee tied things up with Callie Hogg, 73.33-73.33.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks will take on the No. 3 seed Texas A&M Aggies in the SEC Championship meet at 10:00 a.m.