South Carolina to Compete in NCEA National Championship
OCALA, FL – South Carolina will compete for its fourth National Championship after taking down No. 1 Auburn on Friday in the NCEA semifinals, 11-8. The win marked the third victory over the top-ranked team in the nation this season.
“Today was an amazing day and our team rode tremendously,” head coach Carol Gwin said. “I think this is one of the best teams I’ve coached, and I’ve coached a lot of good ones. I’m really looking forward to some great riding tomorrow, and a huge congratulations to my assistant coaches TR, Stephanie, and Sierra for having the team so prepared.”
The Fences squad got things going early with a 3-2 win to start the morning off. Amira Kettaneh got her point 85-82.3 on Lou, followed by Grace Rabb’s point on Caddy 82-80.7. The Tigers then grabbed the next two points, but Natalie Jayne kept Auburn from the event win with her 88.3-86.3 win on Camboro to put the Gamecocks ahead.
Over in Reining, the Gamecocks rallied to another 3-2 win to make things 6-4 at the half. Auburn picked up the first two points, but Alexis Potts got things rolling with a 71-70.8 win on Coco. Mattie McNeill followed suit, edging out Michelle Fumagalli 70.8-70.5 on Odie, with Olivia Cardi taking the final point 72.3-71.2 on Shiney.
Flat picked things back up in the second half, grabbing another three points along the way. Vanessa McCaughley took her point in a tight battle 77.3-77 on Toby over Sadie Berkhout, and Natalie Jayne earned her point with a massive 89.7 to defeat Caroline Olsen’s 88 on Corvich. Amira Kettaneh picked up the third point for the Gamecocks in the event, defeating Kate Hagerty 89.7-88.3 on James to make things 9-6.
The meet came down to Horsemanship, with the first matchup coming down to a nail-biting 75.2-75.2 tie between Gamecock Carly Jenkins and Auburn’s 75.2. With just one more point left to seal the deal, Lillian Laney clinched the meet with her near 10-point victory on Charli, 70.7-60.8. Alexis Potts then put things away with her 76.7-74.5 win on Blaze.
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks will face second-seeded SEC foe Texas A&M on Saturday, April 18, beginning at 10:00 a.m. The meet will be streamed live on ESPN+.
