Five 'Dogs set personal bests in 10-8 loss to No. 1 Auburn

Saturday, February 1

Fresno, CA

11:00 AM PT

Fresno State

No. 1 Auburn

Photo by: Kiel Maddox

Five 'Dogs set personal bests in 10-8 loss to No. 1 Auburn

2/1/2020 5:30:00 PM | Equestrian

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By: Savannah Stoeckle / Communications Assistant

FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 4 Fresno State equestrian team scored high across the board, but ultimately fell to the top-ranked Auburn Tigers 10-8 at the Student Horse Center on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs even their record at 4-4 this season while Auburn improves to 9-0.

Fresno State secured two Most Outstanding Performer honors against Auburn as freshman Annastasia Anstead was named the MOP in the Flat with a career-high 90 to her opponent's 83, and senior Paige Barton picked up her third Reining honor with a 66.5-66 edging against Deanna Green.

"Today was filled with a lot of ups and downs," said head coach Eric Hubbard. "We scored really big in a lot of events, and only missed some points by a narrow margin. The mistakes we made severely cost us. Of course we wanted this win, probably more than any other in the year. We are going to keep our chins up and regroup for next weekend."

How it happened
Fresno State and Auburn kept the meet tight from the start. The Tigers opened with a 3-2 win in the Fences as Bulldogs Cecily Hayes and Erica Rosinski earned their points for Fresno State in the event. Hayes rode for a 79 and earned her point after Meghan Knapic had a second-round score of 74. The Bulldog ended a five-meet win streak for Knapic in the event. Rosinski defeated Taylor St. Jacques 85-76 for the largest margin of victory in the Fences.

In the Horsemanship, the squads were evenly matched with no ride earning lower than a 71. Hannah Buijs tied in her opening ride with a career-high 77. Freshman Hannah Way earned the first Bulldog point of the event with a personal-best 76.5 to Taylor Searles' 75. Auburn earned the next point, but the 'Dogs answered back as Kameron Thorn rode for a career-best 77 to Kara Kaufmann's 74.5. Auburn's Deanna Green earned the Horsemanship MOP with a 78 to Nicole Campbell's 77.5.

At the break, Auburn held on to a narrow 5-4 lead.

The second half kicked off with the Flat. Fresno State competed tough against the reigning Flat national championship squad and tied in the event 2-2 with a tying ride from Hayes. Senior Brooke Nelson scored a season-high 87 and earned her point as her Tiger opponent rode for a 71. The Tigers had a 2-1 lead in the Flat as Anstead entered the arena. The Bulldog freshman rode for a career-best 90 to defeat Ava Stearn's 83 first-round score.

Auburn sealed its win in the Reining, earning a 3-2 win in the final event. Fresno State's points were earned by seniors Barton and Shea Gilson. The Sanger, Calif. native earned her point on a 66.5-64 ride against Boo Kammerer.

Up Next
The Bulldogs return to the Student Horse Center next Friday and Saturday to host UC Davis and No. 9 UT-Martin.

Notables

Alivia Hart (Fences), Annastasia Anstead (Flat), Hannah Buijs (Horsemanship), Hannah Way (Horsemanship) and Kameron Thorn (Horsemanship) all set personal bests on Saturday.
Erica Rosinski (Fences) and Ana Bertozzi (Flat) tied their career-high scores in their rides vs. the Tigers.
Nine Bulldogs set new season high scores against Auburn.
Hannah Way picked up her fifth consecutive Horsemanship point.
Nicole Campbell has her six-meet win streak snapped with a 78-77.5 loss. Her 77.5 is the highest score of the season.
Bailey Alexander suffers her first Reining loss of her collegiate career.

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