DAVIS, Calif. — The UC Davis equestrian team opens postseason play this week, heading to Martin, Tenn., to compete at the 2021 Eastern College Athletic Conference championships hosted by UT-Martin beginning Thursday (March 25) and running through Saturday (March 27). The Aggies open with a quarterfinal match-up against Delaware State beginning at 8 a.m. PT/10 a.m. CT at the Ned McWherter Agricultural Pavilion.
MEET INFO…
WHAT: No. 9 UC Davis (1-3) at ECAC Championships
WHEN: Thursday, March 25 - Saturday, March 27, 2021
WHERE: Martin, Tenn.
ARENA: Ned McWherter Agricultural Pavilion
LIVE STREAMING: TBA
LIVE SCORING: UTMSports.com
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL: https://utmsports.com/sports/2019/2/19/2021-ecac-championship.aspx
IN THE RANKINGS…
UC Davis enters the ECAC Championships ranked No. 9 in the most recent National Collegiate Equestrian Association released on March 16… They join ECAC rival SMU in the top 10 as the Mustangs enter at No. 4 in the nation… The Aggies' No. 9 ranking is the highest in the three-year history of the program after reaching No. 10 on a number of occasions.
CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES…
UC Davis enters the ECAC Championships as the No. 5 seed due to a Yolo County Health Order that did not allow the Aggies to travel to or host a conference meet during the 2020-21 regular season… SMU is the top seeded team at the championship, and would be UC Davis' semifinal foe on Friday (March 26) should it advance out of Thursday's quarterfinal round… South Dakota State is the No. 2 seed and will face No. 3-seeded and host UT-Martin in the other semifinal round on Friday at 7:45 a.m. PT/9:45 a.m. CT… The championship will be contested on Saturday (March 27) at 8 a.m. PT/10 a.m. CT.
AGGIE STORYLINES…
•
Carly Sweeney (fences) and
Macey Newkirk (reining) were named the ECAC Riders of the Week for the week ending March 14
• The award was Sweeney's second of the year — but her first in fences after earning weekly honors on the flat on Feb. 16.
• Newkirk picked up her second weekly honor in reining this season and the third overall of her career.
• Sweeney finished with a 4-0 hunt seat record and picked up three Most Outstanding Performance awards in the Aggies' final two regular season meets, including in both fences and on the flat on March 11 at Fresno State.
• The two awards in the same meet for Sweeney made her only the second Aggie to accomplish the feat, joining
Sabin Marquardt who did so in the same two events against Fresno State on Nov. 15, 2019.
• Sweeney's four MOPs this season tied Marquardt for the most in a single season (2019-20) and career (2018-20).
•
Sierra Gundersen became the first Aggie to eclipse the 90-point plateau with a school-record 93 on the flat in the season finale against No. 5 Fresno State in a nine-point win.
• That performance was followed closely by Sweeney's 90-point ride on the flat in an 11-point win against the Bulldogs after she earlier tied the school record with an 88 in fences set by
Stephanie Don in the program's debut against Delaware State on Jan. 31, 2019.
• The program's top four scores this season in fences and the top three on the flat were scored in the regular season finale against Fresno State.
• Four of the program's top 20 scores in fences in school history were set on March 13, while three of the top four, four of the top 10, and five of the top 20, were set on the flat.
• Along with Sweeney's 4-0 head-to-head record on the flat,
Ella Longo also posted a perfect regular season with a 4-0 mark in fences while Newkirk wrapped up a 4-0 regular season in reining.
• Newkirk's four reining wins this year are tied for the most in a single season, matching her 2019-20 total,
Kendal Scheiner's 2019 total, and
Laurel Jackson's 2018-19 total.
• The four wins moved Newkirk to 8-3-1 in reining in her career, extending her school career record.
• Longo's fences score of 84 in a win over the Bulldogs' Grace Mathias was a season high.
• Longo nearly added a 4-0 mark on the flat as well, but it took a 91-point ride from Fresno State's Ana Bertozzi to beat her.
•
Nicole Beales won her first two flat rides of the season with a 70-69 win over Mathias and an 88-85 triumph over Sara Tuck in the final week of the regular season.
• Sophomore
Sarah Finkel scored a 74.5 in horsemanship in her second ride of the year, tying
Maddie Gregory and
Kayla Hickey for the highest-scoring ride of the season and tied for the third-highest in school history.
• Scheiner scored a 70.5 in reining in a tie with Hannah Hieber on March 13 — the highest score by an Aggie in the event this year.
• UC Davis finished undefeated in fences this year (4-0) and finished 3-1 on the flat.
• The Aggies' 4-1 win over the Bulldogs in fences on March 13 were the most since a 4-1 win in the event over Delaware State in the program's debut on Jan. 31, 2019.
• UC Davis and Fresno State battled to four ties in the western events in the regular season finale on March 13 — two each in horsemanship and reining — for the most in a single meet in school history.
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Over 700 student-athletes across 25 intercollegiate athletics teams, following the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation.
Centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and the Napa Valley, UC Davis is known nationwide as a leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, ranks annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
UC Davis is uncommonly committed to preparing student-athletes for life after graduation with Aggie EVO — an innovative student-athlete outcomes program that helps young women and men develop passions, gain real-world experience, and enjoy a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school. Through Aggie EVO, Intercollegiate Athletics provides unmatched resources and a vast network of working professionals to ensure post-graduation success for its student-athletes.
