Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Tennessee-Martin
No. 9 Dogs Down Skyhawks
3/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Equestrian
March 7, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - On the strength of a sweep in Western Horsemanship and winning two matches in Equitation over Fences, the No. 9 Fresno State Equestrian team earned a hard-fought tie-break victory over the University of Tennessee-Martin.
The two teams were tied 8-8 after all the matches were completed, but the Bulldogs outdistanced the Skyhawks 979.5-974.5 in combined raw score to earn the win. It was the second win of the season over Skyhawks.
The event was held at the Ned R. McWherter Agricultural Pavilion in Martin, Tennessee.
The Bulldogs earned MVP honors in three of the four events on the day, as Katie Nenneker, Sammi Jo Stone and Jill Tebbe all were awarded the recognition for their outstanding performances.
"I was very pleased to have three young ladies win MVP for us today and it's always good to get a win on the road," said head coach Becky Malmo. "It was closer than we would have liked, but we did what we needed. All in all, it was a good day for the Bulldogs."
The Western Horsemanship team stole the day, earning a sweep, its first of the season. That group has won four consecutive matches. Freshman Sammi Jo Stone won her first MVP award of the season. The Valley native from Porterville, Calif., rode to a 78, her highest score of the season.
Other Bulldogs earning wins in horsemanship included Adriane Smith , with a73, Allie Warkentin with a 74.5 and senior captain Rebecca Flood, a 70.
For Smith it was her 12th victory of the season, most by any rider on the Bulldog team. Flood won her eighth match of the year.
Two of Fresno State's top jumpers, Katie Nenneker and Jennifer Jory continued to perform well, earning wins in Equitation over Fences.
Nenneker's took the top score in the completion with a ride of 80 and won the MVP honor for the event, her fourth of the season. She leads the team in MVP honors, one more than Jory.
Jory, a junior from Fresno, scored a 76 to beat her opponent by 13 points and earning her eighth victory of the season.
Super freshman Kimberly Steinbuch picked up the Dogs' only win on the flat, as the Skyhawks took the remaining matches in that event. Steinbuch won her seventh match of the semester against just one loss.
For the second straight week, Jill Tebbe earned MVP honors in reining. She had a score of 60 on the day.
Junior Keri Blackledge earned a win for the Bulldogs in reining with a score of 67.5. Blackledge has won 10 matches this season, including six straight and seven of her last eight events.
The Bulldogs have one more regular season match remaining, an English-only event at SMU on March 21. After that, the Dogs head to the Varsity Equestrian National Championships in Waco, Texas April 16-19, 2009.
FINAL RESULTS
Fresno State 8, Tennessee-Martin 8
Raw Score Tie-Breaker: Fresno State 979.5, UTM 974.5
Fresno State vs. Tennessee-Martin
Equitation on the Flat
Fresno State 1, UTM 3
Kimberly Hewson Budnik (59) lost to Caroline Cramer (68)
Kimberly Steinbuch (44) defeated Madeline Brown (0)
Kelsey Bullock (67) lost to Kelsey Abell (78)
Caitlin Marshall (70) lost to Michele Thompson (76)
Equitation over Fences
Fresno State 2, UTM 2
Jennifer Jory (76) defeated Madeline Brown 63)
*Katie Nenneker (80) defeated Brittany Kasprack (71)
Cambria Kissell (70 lost to Caroline Cramer (75)
Lisa Wells (70) lost to Michele Thompson (75)
Western Horsemanship
Fresno State 4, UTM 0
Allison Warkentin (74.5) defeated Heidi Grimm (68)
Adriane Smith (73) defeated Hannah Derks (63.5)
*Sammi Jo Stone (78) defeated Lauren Eichstadt (71)
Rebecca Flood (70) defeated Kendra Leaks (69.5)
Reining
Fresno State 1, UTM 3
Keri Blackledge (67.5) defeated Hannah Derks (66.5)
Elizabeth Thomasian (64.5) lost to Amanda Weedon (68)
Kaitlyn Coyes (0) lost to Stephanie Sanders (61)
*Jill Tebbe (60) lost to Lauren Eichstadt (62)
*-Denotes MVP
"Join the State - Fresno State!" -Fresno State will return to the road March 21 with a English-only event at SMU in the final regular season match of the season.
Players Mentioned
