Davis, CA — The UC Davis Equestrian Team upset the no. 5 ranked Auburn Tigers Friday by a score of 10-8. Powered by a 4-1 showing in Reining, The UC Davis Aggies were able to record a huge victory to get head coach Jill Humphrey her first career win. The last win UC Davis recorded over a ranked opponent came a year ago against no. 9 ranked South Carolina. This also marked the first win for UC Davis against Auburn as the all-time record now stands at 1-1 between the two schools.
MOP, MOP
The UC Davis Aggies picked up to MOP's on the day as Kendal Scheiner recorded the best Reining score of the day with a 73. At the head of the Reining group that carried UC Davis in today's victory, Scheiner was able to perform a simple and impressive ride that saw her receive positive scores in almost every maneuverability category as she rode Bebe. The score of 73 matches her career high which ironically, came in last match between UC Davis and Auburn which took place Jan. 31, 2020. The score of 73 is still good for second all time among UC Davis Reining scores as she shares this title for second all time with, Macey Newkirk, Charlie Zuraek, and herself now.
Another week, and another MOP for Margaret Franke who has made an immediate impact in her short time here in Davis. Just in her second meet after transferring to Davis, Franke was able to break the school record for scores on the Flat. Her score of 98 today breaks teammate Keely Laughlin's score of 96 she set in a meet last year against Baylor on Mar. 25. It was a nearly perfect ride for Franke who checked off all the boxes on the judges scorecard and came away with the most effective ride of the day that displayed complete control and connection with her horse today who was Stakky.
HOW IT STACKED UP
When looking at the scores throughout the day UC Davis and Auburn were neck and neck the entire meet. Here is a better sense of how each event went during today's meet:
FENCES
UCD: 2 vs. Auburn: 3
FLAT
UCD: 2 vs. Auburn: 1
HORSEMANSHIP
UCD: 2 vs. Auburn: 3
REINING
UCD: 4 vs. Auburn: 1
TOTAL
UCD: 10 vs. Auburn: 8
*The full scoring sheet can be found here
POINT EARNERS
Davis found success throughout the entire team and every bit of help was needed to knock off no. 5 Auburn. The previously mentioned, Franke, and Scheiner were able to add two of the 10 points to the Aggie total but a eight other Aggies were also able to add on to the point total. In order of events, Jessie Rechs riding BamBam, and Carly Sweeney riding Gem both captured points on Fences as Rechs delivered a 80, with Sweeney putting up an 84. For the Flat, Sierra Gundersen with a score of 85 riding Dylano was the other point, opposite of Franke. In Horsemanship, Malena Palmer fresh off a MOP from last meet against Texas A&M, came through with another point as she was awarded a 73.5 by the judges while riding Wilson while her teammate Natasha Replogle put up an impressive score of 74 riding Bella. Her score of 74 matched the MOP winner Maddie Spak from Auburn as the award very well could have been awarded to her, but nonetheless, her outstanding effort did not go unnoticed. And for Reining, three Aggies along with the aforementioned Scheiner, took the Aggies over the edge and proved to be the deciding factor of the meet. In what nearly was a clean sweep for UC Davis, Macey Newkirk, Lauren Langbaum, and Emma Dillon all pulled through with points and showed tremendous growth from last meet, to today's event.
UC Davis can walk away after this event with many positives outside of just the point earner as well. Nicole Beales may have had one of the best rides of the day when she scored a 94 on the Flat, but her opposition was also able to do the same and as a result, ended up in a draw. Carly Sweeney also had a draw in her second event of the day when both her, and Emma Kurtz from Auburn rang in scores of 86 while riding Gracie.
NEXT EVENT
The Aggies will plan to carry this momentum into their next meet which is a two day event from Oct. 28-29 that features the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, and the Georgia Bulldogs. Times are still to be determined at the writing of this, but make sure to stay updated with our schedule clicking here, or using the tab on our website.
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