DAVIS, Calif. — The regular season comes to a close for the UC Davis equestrian team, as the Aggies take on No. 5 Fresno State in a home-and-home this week. UC Davis opens with a return trip to Fresno on Thursday (March 11) at 1 p.m., in a meet carried live on the Mountain West Network, before returning home on Saturday (March 13) to salute its seniors at Noon.
MEET INFO…
WHAT: UC Davis (0-2) at No. 5 Fresno State (4-2)
WHEN: Thursday, March 11, 2021
TIME: 1 p.m.
WHERE: Fresno, Calif.
ARENA: Student Horse Center
LIVE STREAMING: Mountain West Network
LIVE SCORING: GoBulldogs.com
WHAT: No. 5 Fresno State (4-2) at UC Davis (0-2)
WHEN: Saturday, March 13, 2021
TIME: Noon
WHERE: Davis, Calif.
ARENA: UC Davis Equestrian Center
LIVE SCORING: UCDavisAggies.com
IN THE RANKINGS…
Following wins over then-No. 2 TCU and then-No. 7 Baylor last week in Texas, Fresno State moved up to No. 5 in the latest NCEA rankings released on March 9. UC Davis is unranked this week.
SERIES NOTES…
Fresno State has won the previous six meetings with UC Davis following a narrow 10-9 victory back on Feb. 13 at the UC Davis Equestrian Center and a 12-8 decision at the Student Horse Center in Fresno on Feb. 25… The Bulldogs have previously posted wins of 12-4 and 16-3 in 2018-19, and 12-7 and 14-5 in 2019-20.
AGGIES' MERK NAMED NCEA SIGNATURE ACADEMICS STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE MONTH...
An integral part of our team who helps with all the behind the scenes moving pieces from horse care to meet day logistics, redshirt freshman
Katarina Merk from Palo Alto, Calif., was honored by the NCEA on March 8. Merk serves as chair of the team's Horse Care committee for the jumping seat team, ensuring that all of the Aggies' jumping seat horses are being well taken care of from getting clipped and bathed regularly to coordinating and organizing individual team duties that include graining and blanketing of all team horses to so much more. She keeps the jumping seat side moving and organized on meet days as well with pre-meet logistics, schedules and meet day horse care.
In addition to team activities, the applied mathematics major interns at both the UC Davis Systems Microbiology & Natural Products Lab where she is working on an improved mechanistic rumen model to better predict the impact of seaweed on methanogenesis and also an intern at the Animal Behavior and Cognition Lab where she is working on a project about quantifying facial expressions in sows. And to add more to her plate, she works for the University as a math grader. She does all of this while maintaining a 3.9GPA as an Applied Mathematics Major.
AGGIE STORYLINES…
• Sophomore
Ella Longo was named the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Rider of the Week for equitation on the flat following her performance at Fresno State on Feb. 25.
• Longo became the fourth rider to be honored by the ECAC this season joining junior
Keely Laughlin (fences), freshman
Carly Sweeney (flat), and sophomore
Macey Newkirk (reining) on Feb. 16 following the first meeting with the Bulldogs.
• Longo's 80 on the flat back on Feb. 25 is tied for the 11th-highest score in school history, while her score of 80 in fences in that same meet is tied for 20th on the all-time list, moving her to 5-1 overall in her career in that event — including wins in her last four.
• Newkirk became the first UC Davis rider to be named an NCEA Rider of the Month, earning the award for the month of February in reining after finishing 2-0 in the event.
• Newkirk's two wins improved her to 6-3-1 in head-to-head reining rides — the most in the program's two-plus year history.
•
Keely Laughlin and Sweeney added to their award haul this season, earning ECAC Riders of the Month for February in fences and on the flat, respectively
• Longo and Sweeney earned two points apiece in the second meeting with Fresno State this year on Feb. 25, accounting for four of the team's eight points.
• Sophomore
Sierra Gundersen nearly set a school-record on the flat on Feb. 25 with an 87 — the best scoring ride by an Aggie in that event since
Laura Wise set the school record with an 89 against Delaware State in the program's debut on Jan. 31, 2019.
• Laughlin's win in fences on Feb. 25 was the 11th of her career (the most in school history), her fifth straight head-to-head win dating back to last year, and her seventh triumph in her last eight meets.
• Sophomore
Kayla Hickey logged the Aggies' lone win in horsemanship with a re-ride 74, tying for the fifth-highest score in the event in school history.
• Freshman
Lauren Langbaum tied her career high with a 69.5 in reining, while classmate
Amber Nusser scored a career-high 68.5
• The Feb. 25 meet saw a pair of Aggies make their collegiate debuts: Freshman
Jess Behar scored a 67 in fences, freshman
Gracie Howell scored a 70 in horsemanship.
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.
