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<a name="_Hlk490052374"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS –
</span></b></a><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">March 30, 2023<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;color:black">Baylor Equestrian’s Silvestri and Mitchell Named NCEA All-Americans<br>
</span></b><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black">Bears have had at least two honorees in every season since 2011<br>
</span></i><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">For more information contact:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"> Max Calderone, 254-265-1639,
</span><a href="mailto:Max_Calderone@Baylor.edu"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Max_Calderone@Baylor.edu</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">
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</span><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">WACO, Texas –</span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"> Baylor equestrian’s Dominika Silvestri and Madison Mitchell have been named to the 2022-23 Ariat
All-America Teams, as announced Thursday by the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">Silvestri landed on the Flat First Team, while Mitchell picked up honorable mention honors in Flat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">BU has had at least two All-America selections in every season since 2011, including a first-team member in 11 of the last 12 seasons.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">The duo becomes the 23<sup>rd</sup> and 24<sup>th</sup> Flat honorees in program history, Baylor’s most in any single event. Silvestri is the 11<sup>th</sup> first-team selection,
while Mitchell picks up the seventh honorable mention distinction for the Bears in Flat all-time. Both earned their first-career All-America recognition.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">The top five riders per event were selected to the Ariat All-America First Teams by the NCEA Selection Committee. The next five riders per event earned second-team honors,
and honorable mention honorees were selected via the following established criteria: There shall be no limit on how many riders receive this award, provided they have a 67 percent or higher winning percentage, excluding ties; compete in a minimum of 67 percent
of their team’s regular-season meets; and have at least an adjusted NRS score of 85 (Flat), 90 (Fences), 80 (Horsemanship) and/or 75 (Reining).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">Silvestri went 11-2 on the regular season to earn first-team praise, dominating her home rides with a 6-0 mark in Waco and an impressive 5-2 road record. She outscored her
opponents by an average of nearly 10 points on the year and collected two Most Outstanding Performer honors in back-to-back meets, rounding out the fall slate against Fresno State on Nov. 18, then opening the spring on Jan. 27 against UT Martin. For her prowess,
Silvestri was named the Big 12 Flat Rider of the Year and was also twice named the Big 12 Flat Rider of the Month (Nov., Jan.). Additionally, Silvestri earned national recognition as the NCEA Flat Rider of the Month in January.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">To punctuate her outstanding season, Silvestri put down a career-high 92 against Oklahoma State on Feb. 18. She also went a perfect 4-0 between her two events (Flat and Fences)
at the 2023 Big 12 Championship and was named the Most Outstanding Fences Performer for the tournament. Her 13 total wins in Flat are the most by a Bear in the program’s recorded history.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">Highlighted by the program’s second-best Flat score of all-time, Mitchell closed out the regular season on a terrific run on the way to honorable mention All-America status.
The junior from Clarkson, Mich., went 8-4 on the year, but rode a seven-meet winning streak into the postseason, then added one more win in BU’s consolation round victory over Fresno State. Her 94 against Oklahoma State on Feb. 18 was not only the Bears’ highest
score of the season in the event, but was just two points shy of breaking a program record. Mitchell also collected a pair of MOP awards this season against then-No. 1 TCU on Oct. 21, and against the Cowgirls with her career-best score.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">After finishing the year at 6-9 overall, Baylor earned the No. 8 seed for the NCEA National Championship. The Bears will face No. 1 SMU in the quarterfinals on Thursday, April
13, at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor equestrian, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorEQ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">2022-23 NCEA ALL-AMERICA AWARDS (Baylor)</span></u></b><u><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">Flat:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"> Dominika Silvestri (First Team), Madison Mitchell (Honorable Mention)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">-BaylorBears.com-</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black">__________________________________</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:#154734">Max Calderone</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"> | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (BSB, FB, EQ)</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">Department of Athletics | Baylor University</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">C: 254-265-1639</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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