'Dogs come up short in NCEA quarterfinals

WACO, Texas - The No. 7-seeded Fresno State equestrian team saw its 2021 season come to an end with a 10-6 loss to the No. 2 seed Oklahoma State in the quarterfinal round of the NCEA National Championship. Fresno State finishes its season with a 5-6 overall record.

"Every coach wants a win, so that is disappointing but I can't say enough how proud I am of this team," said head coach Eric Hubbard. "When I looked at things, there have only been three of our 16 [riders] who competed here today that have ever competed at Nationals before. So, when you look at that, it is huge. We are a young team and we lost our season last year. When you look at it that way, we are proud of it and proud of the way we bounced back after the Big 12 Championship."

The Bulldogs and Cowgirls split three of the four events on Thursday, tying 2-2 in the fences, horsemanship and reining. Oklahoma State swept the flat en route to its victory.

How it Happened
Junior Kameron Thorn kicked things off with a big 232.5-230.5 win in the horsemanship. Her score in the event was the highest by any horsemanship rider at Nationals on Thursday. Oklahoma State won the following two points, but junior Hannah Buijs earned the final point with a 214.5-208.5 win. Oklahoma State won the flat, 4-0. At the break, the Cowgirls had a 6-2 lead.

Fresno State picked up two more points in the reining. OSU won the first, but the 'Dogs answered back with two strong rides from Bailey Alexander and Lexee Padrick to secure the points. Alexander won her point with a 215.5-208 ride against her OSU opponent. Padrick rode to a 206-198 win in the event.

The Bulldogs' jumping seat crew picked up momentum in the fences, but not quite enough to make up for the earlier loss in the flat. The Bulldogs earned a fences point from junior Cecily Hayes who edged her opponent, 240-239. Sophomore Ana Bertozzi earned the last point of the day with a 233-179 ride.

Quotable
Eric Hubbard, Head Coach
On splitting three of the four events…
"It is huge. When you get behind, you're having to catch up. When you're ahead, you're having to keep winning or tying. So continuing to tie is fantastic. We came out here and we had some outstanding rides. Kameron [Thorn] set the whole pace. She was the highest score on the day in the horsemanship. Cecily [Hayes] put up a high score in the fences and Ana [Bertozzi] won her point as well. Across the board, we had some high scores and if they didn't win then they were there supporting their team. We always talk about being responsible for all 16 points, not just your own."

On his message to the team this morning…
"I said that we had a dog in the fight. Dogs don't give up. We are Bulldog Born, Bulldog Bred, until the day we are dead. We came out fighting, and we were scrappy and we stayed that way. We could have rolled over and gave up after the flat, but we didn't. I am really proud of that because we could have just thrown our hands up and quit but that is not how this team operates."

Kameron Thorn, junior horsemanship
On making it to Nationals…
"It feels great to be here. We worked really hard to get here. We didn't have a fall semester, so we had to work a little harder and a little quicker. We tried to pick up where we left off last year. We had a lot of adjustments this semester, but I think that we are all super happy that we made it here, and we all had a great time."

Cecily Hayes, junior jumping seat
On what happened today…
"Overall, I would say I am really proud of this team. We were four months behind all of the other teams with only this semester to practice. Being here was quite incredible in itself."

"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please visit bulldogfoundation.org.

Follow us on:
Twitter: @FresnoStateEQ
Instagram: fresnostateeq
Facebook: FresnoStateEquestrian

Fresno State Athletics

'Dogs come up short in NCEA quarterfinals

Related News

Players Mentioned

Bailey Alexander

Ana Bertozzi

Hannah Buijs

Cecily Hayes

Lexee Padrick

Kameron Thorn

Related Videos