By Ben Everett | Sports Writer
Baylor equestrian fell to No. 4 Oklahoma State 14-4 Saturday in Stillwater, Okla. in its Big 12 opening meet.
Following a record-setting season opening win, the Bears (1-1, 0-1) only managed a point in each of the four events against the hosting Cowgirls (1-0, 1-0).
Baylor head coach Casie Maxwell said the team was confident going into the meet, but Oklahoma State was too sharp in their home arena.
“We had a lot of confidence in our first road competition, but simply made too many errors that left the door open to be beat,” Maxwell said. “Congratulations to OSU, who rode really strong and clean through all four events. We know what we need to work on to prepare for the next one and I’m confident our team will go home and grind to fix their mistakes.”
Junior Shannon Hogue earned the Bears’ only point in fences, the opening event, winning by a score of 82-76. Baylor dropped the event 4-1.
In the horsemanship event, junior Abbe Demel earned a 74.5-74.0 win to get Baylor its second point, but the Bears still trailed 8-2 following the event.
Freshman Rachel Davis made her debut for Baylor, picking up a point in the flat event with an 81-80 victory while junior Sam Matthews tied on her ride, 79-79 as the Bears dropped the event 3-1.
The Cowgirls clinched the meet during the reining event with a 3-1 score, but sophomore Georgia Smith earned a 72-70.5 win and garnered Most Outstanding Performance honors.
Despite the loss, Smith said she is excited to see the Bears fulfill their potential this season.
“I was really happy with my ride today, earning an MOP is always an honor, especially against as talented a team as OSU,” Smith said. “As a whole, our team rode confidently. I am really excited to see all that we can accomplish this season, with the next goal at hand being to sic SMU.”
Baylor dropped to 0-15 in road meets at Oklahoma State and 12-21 in the overall series against the Cowgirls.
The Bears look to rebound as they face SMU at 10 a.m. Saturday in Dallas.
