DALLAS (SMU) - An upbeat Carol Gwin saw a lot of positives Saturday after the SMU Equestrian team fell 10-8 to in-state rival Baylor in an exhibition at the Sleepy P Ranch. Despite the defeat, the Mustangs held the edge in raw score by earning 1497.5 points to the Bears' 1394.75.

"There are plenty of things the team learned today," Gwin explained. "Perhaps the most important was the concept that this is a team sport. If someone had a bad ride, they saw that their teammate can pick them right up. This is a new thing for many of them, so I was pleased to see how well we worked together."

SMU started the meet strong by taking the flat 4-1 with points coming from Caroline Delehanty (79), Leina King (82), Haley Banas (80) and Carilynn Peyton (83). For Banas, her 80-58 victory over Rachel Van Allen was by the largest margin of the day.

"It was really exciting to see how well we performed on the flat," Gwin said. "To win 4-1 is very encouraging especially since that has not always been a strength of ours. There are some things we need to work on in equitation over fences but to draw with Baylor is a good thing."

Isabel Eastment (77) and Alli Toffolon (80) each brought home a point in fences. Overall, the Mustangs took the hunt seat 6-3.

Baylor would rally and take the western 7-2 for the eventual win. Morgan Redwine (75.5) got the lone horsemanship point while Hannah McCain (55) scored the only reining point. Nonetheless, Gwin was pleased with the western team who is just in its second season as a discipline at SMU.

"I felt like we had excellent rides in horsemanship," Gwin stated. "If you look at the scores, you notice that our defeats were very close. I was pleased with what we saw and we are very close to earning some of those points."

SMU's next competition is in two weeks as the team travels to Waco for the Willis Invitational hosted by Baylor starting Sept. 26. In addition to the Bears, the Mustangs will compete against UT Martin and Fresno State. Until then, Gwin vows to keep helping her team improve in all aspects.

"Our kids have been working hard and pushing themselves," Gwin said. "Overall, today was a good first day. This is a great place to start the year and I am excited to see what we can do in the coming weeks as we prepare the regular season."