SMU Rounds Off Fall Season Against Baylor
Nov 18 | Equestrian
| Baylor Bears (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) at SMU (2-4, 1-1 UEC) | |
| Date & Time | Fri, Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. |
| Location | Sleepy P Ranch -- Bartonville, TX |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Meet Info | SMU Complete Meet Notes (.pdf) |
THIS WEEK: The 10th-ranked SMU equestrian team closes out the fall portion of its schedule taking on the No. 3 Baylor Bears Friday at Sleepy P Ranch at 10 a.m.
 | SETTING THE SCENE |
SCOUTING BAYLOR: The Bears are 6-1(2-1 Big 12) entering the non-conference meet with the Mustangs. The Bears opened the season with five-straight victories, four in Waco, Texas, before falling on the road to Oklahoma State. Baylor bounced back and defeated then-ranked No. 6 South Carolina. The Bears are coming off a 14-5 record last season, winning the Big 12 Championship. Baylor lost to eventual NCEA National Championship by South Carolina in the NCEA semifinals. The Bears have an extensive returnee numbers as 46-of-63 riders are in their sophomore year or higher.
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE BEARS: This will be the 11th time these two squads square off. The Bears hold a 10-0 all-time advantage over the Mustangs, with the first head-to-head meeting dating back to 2009. The last time the two met was in an exhibition meet at the beginning of the season where SMU managed a tiebreaker win. Outside of the non-counting exhibition meet, SMU saw Baylor twice last season, once in a neutral-site duel, before facing the Bears in Waco. SMU has been close to taking down Baylor, falling by a margin of three or less five times, most notably in 2013 when SMU lost a tiebreaker in rawscore, 7-7 (738-727).
WESTERN SIDE FINDING ITS STRIDES: The western side of the equestrian team is finding its form, claiming three victories in a row, two of which were over ranked opponents. The streak began against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits where SMU claimed a 5-3 victory of margin, before knocking off the then-No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks, 6-4, and the then-No. 2 Auburn Tigers, 5-4, a day later. The team has five MOP honors over the span.
STAND OUT FRESHMEN: Nora Gray and Madison Steed are making names for themselves as the two stand above the rest of the underclassmen, posting for a combined record of 13-5. Gray, a true freshman, leads the Mustangs with a 10-2 standing. Alongside with junior Morgan Redwine, redshirt-freshman Madison Steed is helping lead the SMU western team and has inked a 3-3 record all in reining. Steed collected her first collegiate MOP honor, Fri., Oct 30, against South Dakota State with a 71-66.5 victory.
HEAD COACH CAROL GWIN'S THOUGHTS ON BAYLOR: "We are looking forward to hosting Baylor on Friday. I know that it will be a tough meet for us, but I feel like we can get a big victory if we ride well in all four events."
LAST TIME OUT: The SMU Mustangs continued its five-meet homestand taking on the No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks and second-ranked Auburn Tigers on back-to-back days, where the Mustangs split the two, upsetting the Gamecocks, 11-9, before coming up short of the Tigers, falling 12-7.
Against South Carolina: A tightly knit contest bounced back-and-forth all day that came down to the western teams in the reining discipline. With a narrow 8-7 lead entering the final discipline, SMU managed a 3-2 victory to claim the meet. Keagan Snively clinched the meet for SMU and earned the reining MOP honor, with a 68-67.5 victory. Earlier in the day, SMU broke a 5-5 tie and claimed a 8-7 lead after capturing the horsemanship discipline, 3-2. Hannah McCain led the way for the Mustangs and earned the horsemanship MOP for the second-consecutive meet.
Against Auburn: Jaclyn White earned two victories and the SMU western team claimed both western events, but the Tigers took the meet, 12-7. In the western events, the Mustangs outdueled the Tigers, 5-4, and White was named the reining MOP. Auburn took an early lead, capturing the hunt seat events, 8-2. In Equitation on the Flat, Schaefer Raposa, Sylvia de Toledo and Nora Gray, all posted a 90 or better, with Raposa inking a career high, 98. The 98 ties her with the highest recorded hunt seat score in SMU history.
UP NEXT: The SMU equestrian team will return to action in 2016, hosting the Fresno State Bulldogs, Sat., Feb. 6. It will be the final home meet of the season. It is slated for 10 a.m. with senior day ceremonies scheduled before the meet.
--SMUMustangs.com--
