FINAL SCORESHEET

DALLAS (SMU) – No. 3 SMU was topped by No. 1 Auburn by a final score of 11-7 in the team's home opener on Saturday afternoon at the Dallas Equestrian Center.

The Mustangs (2-2, 1-1 ECAC) remain winless against the Tigers (2-1, 1-0 SEC) through program history as the top-ranked team moved to 10 total wins over the Mustangs.

Freshman Elli Yeager led the way for SMU in Fences with an event-high of 87 that earned her the Most Outstanding Performer honor. The second Mustang point came from Emma Jolly, who totaled an 82 to defeat her Tiger opponent by one.

Over in the Western ring, SMU tied 2-2 with Auburn in Horsemanship after Nya Kearns tied her opponent with a 75.5. Junior Mallory Vroegh won her third consecutive point to open the event, topping her opponent 75.5-67.5. The second Mustang point came from senior Payton Neiberger, who scored a 71.5 to win her first point of the season.

Auburn held a slim 5-4 lead heading into the halfway point with Flat and Reining still to go.

The Tigers won the Flat event 3-2 thanks to three straight head-to-head wins. Sophomore Katy Merchant claimed the first point with a 70.5 before her classmate Taylor Madden closed out the event with a 77.5 as she defeated her opponent by 6.5 points.

SMU won one Reining point to round out the day's action. Junior Dani Latimer outscored her opponent 72-71 to claim the Mustang point. Fellow junior Taylor Zimmerman rode to a score of 71.5, which resulted in a tie as Auburn claimed a 3-1 event win.

The Mustangs are back in two weeks as they host No. 2 Georgia at the Dallas Equestrian Center on Saturday, Oct. 30. Action is set for a 10 a.m. start.