No. 8 Baylor EQ’s Comeback Bid Falls Short in NCEA Semifinals, 8-6 to No. 4 SMU

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 16, 2021


No. 8 EQ’s Comeback Bid Falls Short in NCEA Semifinals, 8-6 to No. 4 SMU
Bears’ season ends in deepest postseason run during the Casie Maxwell era
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Coming off a historic upset over No. 1 Auburn, No. 8 Baylor equestrian fell just short in an 8-6 meet to No. 4 SMU in the semifinals of the 2021 NCEA National Championship.

The Bears made up ground after trailing by three points at the half to have a shot at tying the meet in the final ride of the day. However, BU was unable to complete the comeback, as its season came to an end in what amounted to be its deepest postseason run under fourth-year head coach Casie Maxwell.

The day began with rides in both Horsemanship and Fences. Clara Johnson was the sole point-winner for the Bears on the Western side, collecting a score of 228.5 to notch the point in her matchup. Katie Davis matched her season best with a 229, though she was defeated by the Mustangs’ top score of 231.5.

Meanwhile in Fences, Rachael Davis was the only Bear to put a point on the board, tallying a 257. Gia Gulino recorded a 251 but tied her matchup, sending BU to the half trailing 5-2.

Following the break, Baylor bounced back in Reining with a 2-1 event win. Jenna Meimerstorf and Daisy Kaufman collected the points with scores of 221.5 and 206, respectively. With just one event left, the Bears had brought the meet score within two at 6-4.

Flat was the final event, and the Bears went wire-to-wire with the Mustangs. Davis and Caroline Fuller put up points with 231 and 207 totals, pushing the ledger to 7-6. Gulino was the final rider for BU, but her 219 score came up shy of tying the meet, eliminating the Bears from the postseason.

NOTABLES
• Baylor finished the season with the program’s first appearance in the NCEA semifinals.
• BU ended the year with three wins over ranked opponents.
• The Bears won three of their final four Reining events of the season.
• Rachael Davis finished the 2020-21 campaign undefeated in Flat at 11-0.
• Jenna Meimerstorf scored a personal season-best 221.5 (73.8 average) in Reining.
• Daisy Kaufman improved to 5-2 on the season in Reining.
• Clara Johnson recorded a season-high 228.5 (76.1 average) in Horsemanship.
• Katie Davis matched her season-high score of 229 (76.3 average) in Horsemanship.

STAT OF THE MEET
Top-4 – For the first time in the Casie Maxwell era, BU made an appearance in the NCEA semifinals and ended the season in the top four.

TOP QUOTES
Head coach Casie Maxwell…
On ending the season in the NCEA semifinals…
“I’m super proud of the team today. This was amazing. We were thinking about the fact that we should be bummed that we lost in the semifinals and it is hard, but you step back and realize that two weeks ago we didn’t even know if we were going to be here. What an amazing way to end the season. I’m thankful all the girls got to experience this the way they did because they all did outstanding.”

Senior Rachael Davis…
On her final ride as a senior…
“I took the confidence from my ride yesterday with me and I was able to walk into the arena and say, ‘I know I should be here. I’m going to go in and enjoy my moment.’ And that mindset paid off. There was confidence that we didn’t have yesterday. After we pulled off the win and came out with such high scores, we were able to say ‘Well, we weren’t even supposed to be here, so we might as well go out and do the best we can.’ Even though we didn’t come out with the win today, I think we had some really solid rides.”

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_452663226]<http://baylorbears.com/>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20210416/a4232cb8/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/localmedia/attachments/20210416/a4232cb8/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: BU EQ vs SMU Semifinals Box Score.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 207050 bytes
Desc: BU EQ vs SMU Semifinals Box Score.pdf
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20210416/a4232cb8/attachment-0001.pdf>