No. 8 Baylor Equestrian Soars Past No. 9 UT Martin, 15-2

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Jan. 27, 2023

No. 8 Baylor Equestrian Soars Past No. 9 UT Martin, 15-2
13-point margin of victory is second-largest in Maxwell era
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – No. 8 Baylor equestrian (3-4, 2-1) flexed its muscles Friday with a 15-2 victory over No. 9 UT Martin (2-4, 2-0) at the Willis Family Equestrian Center in Waco.

The Bears remained undefeated at home this season with the 13-point win, which is good for the second-largest margin of victory in Casie Maxwell’s six seasons as the head coach. The only wider winning margin came in her Baylor debut with an 18-2 win over West Texas A&M on Sept. 22, 2017.

Against the Skyhawks, BU got out to a fast start with a 5-0 sweep in Fences and never looked back, taking Flat by a final of 3-1 and Horsemanship with a 4-0 victory before putting the cherry on top in Reining at 3-1.

Freshman Lauren Jorgensen made her collegiate debut and earned Most Outstanding Performer honors in Fences with an event-high 86 on Donny. Senior Dominika Silvestri also picked up MOP accolades in Flat, her second in a row, with an 84 on Albert. The Bears rounded it out on the Western side with Elsie Naruszewicz’s 76.5 in Horsemanship and Jenna Meimerstorf’s 74.5 in Reining to sweep the MOP honors.

THE RUNDOWN
The competition began in Fences, as the Bears swept the Skyhawks to the tune of a 5-0 tally. Jorgensen led the way with an 86 in her first-career action, while Maddie Vorhies (84), Molly Canfield (83), Dominika Silvestri (82) and Annie Vorhies (81) each collected points with scores above 80.

Next up, Flat and Horsemanship ran simultaneously and the results were much the same for the Bears, as the Jumping Seat side capped off a 3-1 event win and the Western event claimed a 4-0 victory. In Flat, Silvestri led the way with a point-winning 84, while Madison Mitchell (78) and Maddie Vorhies (75) also added tallies to the board. Molly Canfield tied her opponent at 81 to cancel out the point.

In Horsemanship, Naruszewicz’s 76.5 was the high score for the event, as Alexis Rutledge (76), Marley Mainwaring (75) and Nadalee Vasquez (75) also contributed with points. Gianna Pozzi made her collegiate debut with a 75 to tie her matchup and cancel out the point.

To round things out, Reining tallied a 3-1 win behind Meimerstorf’s top performance with a 74.5. Andie Pratt (73) and Jessica Batton (70.5) also added points to see out the win.

HIGHLIGHTS
• This marks Baylor’s first four-event sweep since Oct. 15, 2021 against Texas A&M.
• Baylor’s Fences squad picked up its first event sweep since Feb. 28, 2020, a 4-0 win against South Dakota State.
• This is the first time since Nov. 10, 2018 at Fresno State that the Bears have claimed all five points in Fences.
• BU has now claimed the Fences event in three of its last four meets.
• Four points is a season-high for Horsemanship, as the HSMP team swept the event for the first time since Feb. 18, 2022 vs. South Carolina.
• Freshman Lauren Jorgensen made her collegiate debut and scored an 86 in Fences, earning Most Outstanding Performer honors along the way.
• Jorgensen’s 86 also tied a team-high for the 2022-23 season.
• Sophomore Molly Canfield collected her first-career Fences win with an 83-79 victory.
• Senior Maddie Vorhies extended her Fences win streak to four meets.
• Senior Dominika Silvestri won her sixth-straight Flat matchup and gathered her second MOP honor in a row.
• It’s the third Flat MOP of Silvestri’s career and seventh overall.
• Sophomore Gianna Pozzi made her collegiate debut with a tie at 75-75 in Horsemanship.
• Senior Elsie Naruszewicz garnered her third-career MOP and second of the season.
• Senior Andie Pratt scored a season-high 73 in Reining.
• Senior Jenna Meimerstorf put down a team-high 74.5 in Reining for her third MOP award of the season.
• Junior Jessica Batton tied her career-high with a 70.5 in Reining.

STAT OF THE MEET
13 – Baylor’s 13-point margin of victory is its second-largest under Casie Maxwell.

QUOTABLE
Head coach Casie Maxwell
On today’s win and consistency across the board…
“Absolutely incredible. We’ve known all along that all four of these events are capable of sweeping, capable of staying undefeated, and you see us undefeated at home, but on the road it’s been a matter of being able to all do it on the same day. We’ll be challenged again with that this spring, but we’re very, very capable. I’m very proud of our team today.”

Jumping Seat freshman Lauren Jorgensen
On being named Most Outstanding Performer in her collegiate debut…
“It was awesome. I just wanted to get out there. I was pretty nervous and I had to go first for our group, so that was a little scary. But, I drew a really good horse so I was really happy about that. He’s been awesome, so it was nice to go out there and just have a good ride.”

Horsemanship senior Elsie Naruszewicz
On her MOP and the sweep in Horsemanship…
“It was honestly super fun. I was so excited to get back out here with my teammates and to be able to come out strong like that was really positive for us to start out the spring semester.”

Reining senior Jenna Meimerstorf
On the benefits of competing at home…
“It’s just amazing. The team feels like a family to me. It’s like we’re all very close sisters. To have that support behind me at all times, knowing that each person has the ability to go in and show like that makes me all the more grateful for the opportunity.”

WHAT’S NEXT
No. 8 Baylor (3-4, 2-1) is right back at it against South Dakota State (1-5, 1-2) Saturday at the Willis Family Equestrian Center, with first ride set for 11 a.m.

To stay up to date on all things Baylor equestrian, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorEQ.

-BaylorBears.com-



__________________________________

Max Calderone | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (BSB, FB, EQ)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-265-1639

[signature_752278989]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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