WACO, Texas (SMU) - The SMU equestrian team split its two Saturday meets with a victory over UT Martin and a defeat to No. 6 Baylor to conclude the Willis Invitational hosted by Baylor at the Willis Family Equestrian Center. The Mustangs tied the Skyhawks 7-7 but took the contest in raw points 1168-1011, while the loss to the Bears was 14-1.

The victory over UT Martin is the first road contest the Mustangs (1-2) have won since having both a hunt seat and a western team. This year marks the second season SMU has competed in both disciplines.

The win also marks the first for first-year head coach Carol Gwin.

"One of our goals was to win some meets on the road," Gwin said. "I am proud of how we responded to a tough defeat to Fresno State on Friday. It is always exciting to win your first as a coach and we will keep improving to win many more."

SMU and UT Martin tied 4-4 in both the hunt seat and western. The two sides evenly split equitation on the flat and fences 2-2, however the Mustangs would win reining 3-1 while falling 3-1 in horsemanship.

Earning hunt seat points for the Mustangs was Alex Butterworth (82 - on the flat, 80 - fences), Sylvia de Toledo (72, on the flat) and Schaefer Raposa (76, fences). In western, Jaclyn White (70.5 - horsemanship, 69 - reining), Courtney Line (67, reining) and Casey Bibbs (68, reining) notched points."We did a great job of limiting our mistakes against UT Martin," Gwin said. "We battled against Baylor and should have won more points than we did. Give credit to Baylor and the established program they run. We are really working to compete with them at a high level."

The Mustangs capped the day with a frustrating defeat to sixth-ranked Baylor. de Toledo earned the lone SMU point in the contest with a 84-76 victory in equitation over fences against Savannah Jenkins.

Despite the score, SMU was within two points of Baylor in nine of 14 defeats. In raw points, the Bears held a 1235-1192 advantage.

Baylor claimed the Willis Invitational title with Fresno State as the runner-up. SMU took third and UT Martin rounded out the field.

"Baylor hosted a great event," Gwin said. "Overall I saw a lot of positives that we can build on for our meet in a few days. We will continue to work hard and develop our talent. We have our work cut out for us this year but we are up for the challenge."

SMU will compete again next weekend. The Mustangs welcome Texas A&M to the Sleepy P Ranch on Oct. 4 at 10 a.m.

NOTE: SMU was recognized with three Most Outstanding Player honors throughout the Willis Invitational. On Friday against Fresno State, Emma Roberts was awarded MOP in equitation over the flats in her 81-70 victory over Randi Promehn. Saturday against UT Martin, Alex Butterworth was tabbed MOP in equitation on the flat in her 82-62 winner over MyKaela VanSelus. Also against the Skyhawks, Jaclyn White was honored after a 69-57.5 win against Katie Kallevig in reining.