The No. 10 ranked UTM Equestrian squad will ramp up the 2019-20 season with a pair of huge home competitions this week, as the Skyhawks host No. 1 Auburn and No. 4 Oklahoma State on back-to-back days.
UTM will square off against Auburn at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19 before finishing up its meet against Oklahoma State at 9 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 20.
The Skyhawks will look to make an early season statement against a pair of formidable opponents. While UTM has faced Auburn nine times over the last six seasons, Friday’s matchup will be the first time the Skyhawks and Cowgirls have met since March 15, 2014.
Head coach Meghan Cunningham Corvin enters her 15th season overseeing the UTM program. A total of 15 Skyhawk riders had either Jumping Seat or Western experience in 2018-19, as those returners combined for 60 victories and 16 MOP’s.
In flat, Kelby Kane led UTM with eight wins, a 78.6 regular season scoring average and two MOP’s on her way to conference Freshman of the Year accolades. Abbie Hopkins (six wins), Randi LaChance and Kenzie Mezrah also earned MOP honors last season while Quinn Reed collected a pair of wins.
Kane’s six victories and 76.3 regular season scoring average also paced the Skyhawks in fences. She and Hopkins each earned one MOP accolade in 2018-19 while Hopkins and Brooke Pfeiffer dialed up a pair of wins apiece.
Tess Baumann racked up team-highs of two MOP’s and a 73.6 regular season scoring average in horsemanship while Lucy Eier generated a team-best five head-to-head wins. Eier and Devon Woods (two victories) both reached MOP status while Bailey Newlin chipped in three wins.
In reining, NCEA first team All-American Noel Meadows tallied team-highs of eight wins and two MOP’s last season. Hannah McDonald (team-best 68.4 regular season scoring average, six victories, one MOP) and Baumann (four wins, two MOP’s) give the Skyhawks a dominant trio in that event.
Auburn is the two-time defending national champions and is coming off a perfect 18-0 season in 2018-19. Taylor St. Jacques (Flat), Taylor Searles (Horsemanship) and McKayla Langmeier (Fences) were each crowned as NCEA Rider of the Year in their respective categories last season. In addition, Deanna Green achieved All-American status in both Western events while Emma Kurtz was an All-American in both Jumping Seat events last season.
Oklahoma State enters the season as a top-five squad for the third consecutive year while this is the seventh year in a row that the Cowgirls have been spotlighted in the top-10. Harley Huff and Hannah Mitchell were both voted as second team All-Americans in 2018-19 while Emma Verplank and Stephanie Helsen chalked up All-American honorable mention nods.
Savannah Metheny, a senior Pre-Vet major from Weston, West Virgina, competes in a stadium jumping event. | Photo Credit / University Relations
