Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Varsity Equestrian National Championships
English Team Takes Out TCU
4/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Equestrian
April 16, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - The Bulldog English team advanced to second round of the 2009 Varsity Equestrian Championships after beating TCU in a close match in the opening round.
The Dogs, as the No. 7 seed, beat No. 10 TCU with a tie breaker after each team won four matches. Fresno State, which won three of four matches on the flat, outdistanced the Horned Frogs 853.5-797 in the cumulative tie-breaker. The Dogs will take on No. 2 seed Georgia in the second round of the VENC championships in Waco, Texas.
Senior Cambria Kissell, who performed well in last year's VENC event, got off to a good start defeating TCU's top rider Carrie Von Uhlet in fences, but that was Fresno State's only victory in that event and the Dogs trailed the Horned Frogs 3-1 heading into the Flat.
Kissell's score of 156.5 was easily the highest score of the competition. Katie Nenneker had a strong ride with a score of 147 but lost her match.
Led by two freshmen, Kimberly Hewson Budnik and Kimberly Steinbuch, the Dogs took three of four matches on the Flat to force a tie and eventually won the tie breaker with a combined raw score that was nearly 60 points higher than that of TCU. Steinbuch had the best score for the Dogs with a 148. Kelsey Bullock earned a win over Julie Skobel.
Fresno State and Georgia started their match on Thursday night, completing the flat portion of the dual match. Georgia, the defending national championship team, earned three wins and leads Fresno State 3-1 heading into Friday morning's equitation over fences event.
The Bulldog Western team did not fare as well, losing its opening round match to No. 6 Baylor 5-2. That loss eliminated the Western riders from the VENC championships.
Earning wins for the Dogs in reining were Keri Blackledge and Jill Tebbe. Elizabeth Thomasian had the best ride for the Dogs with a score of 143.5, but lost her match to Baylor's Madelyn Mooney.
"All of reiners rode well today," said head coach Dr. Becky Malmo. "Keri Blackledge and Jill Tebbe won their team points. Elizabeth Thomasian had one of the best rides of the day and we thought she had won as well until the last rider from Baylor beat her in a close match. We came together heading into the championships and it was sad that we weren't able to advance. Overall, I was happy with the riders. Everyone brought their `A' game."
Baylor won three matches in Horsemanship. Fresno State sophomore Adriane Smith earned a tie in her match against Lindsey Tomko each with scores of 141.5. Fresno State was without one of its best riders as senior standout Rebecca Flood became ill Thursday morning and wasn't able to compete.
In collegiate equestrian competition, all riders compete on unfamiliar horses. Each rider is afforded only four minutes in the warm-up pen on the unfamiliar horse before competing in front of the judge. Each rider competes in a head-to-head match-up against a rider with the school they are paired up against.
The Varsity Equestrian National Championships continues through Saturday afternoon.
Thursday
Western Team Bracket
(9) New Mexico State defeated (8) Auburn, 6-2
(5) Kansas State defeated (12) Tennessee-Martin, 8-0
(6) Baylor defeated (11) Fresno State, 5-2
(7) South Carolina defeated (10) South Dakota State, 6-1
Second round -
(1) Texas A&M vs. (9) New Mexico State
(4) Oklahoma State vs. (5) Kansas State
(3) Georgia vs. (6) Baylor
(2) TCU vs. (7) South Carolina
Hunter Seat Team Bracket
(8) Kansas State defeated (9) Tennessee-Martin, 4-4 (TB: 890-845)
(5) Texas A&M defeated (12) Delaware State, 7-1
(6) Oklahoma State defeated (11) SMU, 6-2
(7) Fresno State defeated (10) TCU, 4-4 (TB: 853.5-797 )
Second round -
(1) Auburn vs. (8) Kansas State
(4) Baylor vs. (5) Texas A&M
(3) South Carolina vs. (6) Oklahoma State
(2) Georgia vs. (7) Fresno State
"Join the State - Fresno State!" -Fresno State will compete at the 2009 Varsity Equestrian National Championships April 16-19 in Waco, Texas.
Players Mentioned
