By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
This isn’t uncharted territory for the No. 8 Baylor equestrian team.
After being ranked ninth in the final NCEA regular-season poll, the squad blasted Fresno State University, 16-4, on March 25 during the Big 12 Equestrian Championship meet to nab a spot for nationals.
But even being the final team in, head coach Casie Maxwell and the Bears were in that position just two years ago. As an underdog, they upset No. 1 Auburn University in the 2021 quarterfinals, 8-7, and advanced to the NCEA semis for the first time in the Maxwell era.
Now, Baylor (6-9) has a chance to replicate that with a contest against No. 1 Southern Methodist University Thursday at 7:30 a.m. at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida.
“We’ve been really good at being the eighth-ranked team and coming in with some really strong performances,” Maxwell said of her team. “They’re a team that performs really well under pressure and is willing to prove everybody wrong, and I think there’s room left to do that in this season.”
The Bears will face off against some familiar faces, as the Mustangs (10-1) won a pair of regular-season meetings this year. SMU defeated Baylor 13-6 in Dallas on Nov. 4, 2022, and spoiled the green and gold’s Senior Day, 10-8, on March 8 in Waco.
The Mustangs’ only loss on the year was to then-No. 3 Auburn, 15-5, on Feb. 25 in Auburn, Alabama.
SMU was named the top seed for the first time in its program’s history and is searching for its first-ever national championship.
Although another underdog, Maxwell said her and the coaching staff’s challenge to the team is to “just leave it all in the arena.”
“We have focused these last couple of weeks on the fact that our season could’ve ended on March 28 when the rankings came out and we could [have] not [been] here in this moment,” Maxwell said. “We’re going to focus on the fact that we get to be there, we get to play on day one and we have nothing to lose.”
A win for the Bears would earn them a spot in Friday’s semifinals, which start at 1 p.m. Another victory would send Baylor to Saturday’s championship meet, starting at 9 a.m.
The Bears have only won one of their last six matches, dating back to a 13-4 loss at Fresno State on Feb. 4. But they enter Thursday’s meeting off a dominating win over the Bulldogs, which helped them take third place at the Big 12 Equestrian Championship tournament.
Baylor still holds a 7-6 all-time series advantage over SMU, but the Mustangs have won six-straight contests between the two sides. Thursday marks just the second postseason matchup between the Bears and the Mustangs, as SMU ironically grabbed an 8-6 success in the 2021 semifinals, the year No. 8 Baylor knocked off the top-ranked Tigers.
Over the course of the 2023 slate, Maxwell said the squad hasn’t been able to compete on a complimentary level. She said the group usually does a good job at finding strong individual or event performances, but rarely both at the same time.
“Just trying to get enough of those to happen on the same day has been our biggest challenge and is continuing to sit in front of us,” Maxwell said. “I think we know that we need to start strong [for the] first ride of the day. You saw that happen when we played Fresno State [on the] second day of [the] Big 12 [Championship meet].”
The Bears will be led by All-Big 12 performers fifth-year senior Western rider, Madaline Callaway (Reining), senior Western rider Jenna Meimerstorf (Reining), junior Jumping Seat rider Madison Mitchell (Flat), sophomore Jumping Seat rider Annie Vorhies (Flat), senior Jumping Seat rider Maddie Vorhies (Flat), along with senior Jumping Seat rider and Big 12 Flat Rider of the Year Dominika Silvestri.
Maxwell said Thursday’s matchup is a chance for those seniors to extend their season. She said the group doesn’t need any more bulletin board material than the fact that they made the cut with a chance to make some noise, like they did in 2021.
“We just keep reminding ourselves as a coaching staff, and as an entire team, I mean, our season could be over,” Maxwell said. “We’re going to capitalize on the fact that we have three more weeks left and really enjoy these last couple of moments together.”
For those interested in keeping up with the field, the NCEA Championship Central website has a full schedule of events, live scoring links, updated brackets and live web stream links.
