By Matthew Nevarez | Reporter
Baylor equestrian delivered its first win since Halloween on Saturday, upsetting No. 7 TCU 11-8 at the Willis Family Equestrian Center.
The Horned Frogs (6-5, 2-3 Big 12) rode into Waco looking to complete a season sweep over Baylor (2-7, 2-3 Big 12) this season. This was only TCU’s second unranked opponent this season, while the Baylor squad came into the matchup looking for a much-needed win.
The Bears got off to a hot start, winning in the indoor event as senior Lauren Reid and freshman Morgan McCarthy each topped TCU scores, as did Most Outstanding Performer Lauren Jorgensen, who bested TCU’s score of 72.5 with an 86. The Bears won the event 3-2.
“I really wanted to go out there and have a good day, with my last meet at home,” said Jorgensen, a senior. “Feeling a little bit sentimental, but I just wanted to make the most of it.”
Junior Sadie Peters and sophomore Britt McIlnay both earned career highs in Reigning with 72 and 72.5, respectively, while senior Kalena Reynolds tied a career high with 73.5. (She tied her opponent, though, meaning no point was awarded.)
This helped Baylor take a 5-4 lead heading into the break.
The Bears built steady momentum in the Flat event, with great showings from Jorgensen and McCarthy, who pulled out wins to help the Bears keep their lead.
Finally, the Bears got their first Horsemanship win of the season. The Bears dominated the event behind outstanding showings from senior Anna Thron and MOP Carley Rutledge, a junior, who helped boost the Bears to win the event 4-1 and top the Horned Frogs 11-8.
“I’m just incredibly proud of them,” head coach Casie Maxwell said. “This is what we’ve been asking them to do all year. All four events just come together at the same time and just fight it out. It took all four events today, and in some of the events, we didn’t have our strongest showing, but the other events made up for that.”
The Bears will close out the regular season with a pair of west-coast matches against UT Martin (4-6, 4-3 ECAC) and No. 8 Fresno State (4-3, 1-2 Big 12) at noon on March 6 and 7 at the Student Horse Center in Fresno, Calif.
