No. 8 Baylor EQ Pulls Massive Upset over No. 1 Auburn to Advance in NCEA National Championship

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 15, 2021


No. 8 EQ Pulls Massive Upset over No. 1 Auburn to Advance in NCEA National Championship
Bears moving on to national semifinals, will face No. 4 SMU
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – No. 8-seed Baylor equestrian pulled a massive upset over No. 1 Auburn on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the NCEA National Championship at Extraco Events Center in Waco.

The Bears (3-7) defeated the top-ranked Tigers (8-1) 8-7, snapping Auburn’s 42-meet win streak that dated back to 2018.

Following an impressive 13-7 win against No. 5 Fresno State in the consolation match of the Big 12 Championship, Baylor carried its momentum into the postseason contest and got out of the gates hot with a 2-1 event win in Horsemanship, while simultaneously tying in Flat 2-2.

Katie Davis scored a 229 in BU’s Horsemanship event, earning the highest total overall in the event and tying her point, which would prove immensely critical. Clara Johnson and Gabrielle Marty were the two point-winners for BU.

In Flat, Rachael Davis continued her undefeated streak by scoring a 240 en route to winning her point for the Bears. Gia Gulino also collected a point for Baylor, sending BU into halftime leading 4-3.

After the break, BU showed no signs of slowing down by collecting two points apiece in Fences and Reining. In Fences, Davis was once again the top rider for the Bears with a score of 260, though she was edged by Auburn’s Taylor St. Jacques by just one point. However, Caroline Fuller and Savannah Hemby won their points to even the event and keep BU ahead.

Meanwhile in Reining, Jenna Meimerstorf led Baylor with a 220.5 score and won her point, as did Madaline Callaway with a 218.5. Another event tie was good enough to clinch the meet for the Bears, sending BU on to the national semifinals to face off against No. 4 SMU on Friday.

NOTABLES
• Baylor snapped Auburn’s 42-meet win streak, which dated back to 2018.
• Baylor earned its third win against a ranked opponent this season.
• The Bears won Horsemanship outright for the third time this season.
• Rachael Davis improved to 10-0 this year in Flat with a 240-236 win.
• Savannah Hemby improved to 8-1-1 in Fences with a match-clinching 254-246 victory.
• Katie Davis scored an equivalent season-best 229 in Horsemanship.

STAT OF THE MEET
1 – Baylor defeated the No. 1-ranked Auburn Tigers to advance to the NCEA national semifinals.

TOP QUOTES
Head coach Casie Maxwell…
On today’s win…
“It’s been an amazing day. We told the girls, it’s going to take every ride and it’s going to take every step, it’s going to take everything that they’ve got. And they did that, they fought to the very end. I’m still trying to get my heart rate down a little bit, but definitely so excited for this team. Postseason is its own game.”

Sophomore Jenna Meimerstorf…
On what this win meant and her performance today…
“Absolutely incredible. We came in today with high spirits and just went out there and gave our best. We left everything in the arena. It was great. The coaches told me to go out there and have fun. Really, I’ve just been working a lot on specific parts of the pattern and just perfecting my ride. So going out there and being able to just completely fulfill that and just put it all together felt great.”

WHAT'S NEXT
No. 8 Baylor (3-7) will compete in a semifinal matchup with the No. 4 SMU Mustangs (9-1) on Friday, April 16, with the first events scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. CT.

To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor equestrian, follow the team on Facebook (Baylor Equestrian), Twitter (@BaylorEQ) and Instagram (@BaylorEquestrian).

-BaylorBears.com-


__________________________________

Max Calderone | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (VB, MTEN, EQ)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
O: 254-710-3073 | C: 254-265-1639

[signature_789773013]<http://baylorbears.com/>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/bumedia/attachments/20210415/2e73dbb2/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 11691 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/bumedia/attachments/20210415/2e73dbb2/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: AU & BU Quarterfinals .pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 172740 bytes
Desc: AU & BU Quarterfinals .pdf
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/bumedia/attachments/20210415/2e73dbb2/attachment-0001.pdf>