Davis, Calif. — The UC Davis Equestrian Team opened up the Spring portion of their schedule with a dominant victory against the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles. Winning the point total 15-0 and recording a whopping 1161 points, UC Davis posted their most lopsided win in program history. This breaks the past record-setting win of a 15-5 win against South Dakota State last year in the ECAC Championships.
After a fall portion of the season that saw the Aggies shock Auburn; who clock in at No. 3 in the latest NCEA polls; there were some growing pains during the tail-end of the fall after competing on the road in Texas for multiple meets. The Aggies entered today riding a four-meet loss streak, albeit, suffering losses only to nationally ranked, powerhouse programs. In an effort to start the new calendar year with a statement win in front of their home-crowd, the UC Davis Equestrian Team responded behind the strong performances from Keely Laughlin (81 on Cappo), Nicole Beales (77 on Casey), Maddie Gregory (74.5 on Allen) and Lauren Langbaum (70.5 on Cruiser) who all picked up MOP honors.
Under the direction of first-year head coach Jill Humphrey, UC Davis bounced back in a big way to earn their first win in 2023.
A day that was characterized by the Aggies ability to execute their rides in a proficient and efficient manner, UC Davis was awarded with a complete sweep in points and MOP honors, while also receiving positive feedback on nearly every ride from the judges. With their clean sweep in the points department, UC Davis almost achieved the max amount of points possible and were just one shy after a draw in Horsemanship.
Firing on all cylinders and being in complete control of the meet from the beginning, UC Davis saw success from every rider during the day. Here is a list of every rider that picked up a point for UC Davis in today's meet: Sierra Gundersen, Jessie Rechs, Carly Sweeney, Keely Laughlin, Nicole Beales, Margaret Franke, Marin Gilliland, Maddie Gregory, Malena Palmer, Natasha Replogle, Macey Newkirk, Amber Nusser, Lauren Langbaum, and Kendal Scheiner.
Apart from the points the Aggies were able to capture in the meet against Minnesota Crookston, coach Humphrey and Co. saw great rides and improvements from those in the exhibition rides such as newcomer Naomi Wegner. Along with Wegner; competing in exhibition rides; Caspian Ellis, Kayla Wolfe, Amber Ide, Natalie Wasson, Kendall Lance, and Gracie Howell all had diplomatic rides and displayed quality knowledge about their horses which aided in such quality performances. Maybe the best exhibition ride of the day for UC Davis came by way of Aya Clear who posted the second best score in Fences with a 78 riding Otis.
Looking to carry this strong start to 2023 into their next meet, the Aggies will return back to the UC Davis Equestrian Center on Saturday, Feb. 11 for a 10 AM meet against TCU.
