After a rough start to the semester, the UTM Equestrian team maintains No. 10 in NCEA rankings.
This past week, the UTM Equestrian team competed at home against No. 7 ranked Texas Christian University but suffered a 13-6 loss. The Skyhawks posted great scores with several team members posting seasonal or team records, however the TCU Horned Frogs edged out a win.
The Skyhawks gained retribution on Sunday when they competed against Ole Miss in a scrimmage which they won 13-6. Unfortunately for the Skyhawks, Ole Miss isn’t an official team within the NCEA yet, so the win doesn’t count toward rankings. It does, however, help the team’s momentum going into their next meet which will be this weekend at No. 5 ranked Southern Mississippi University.
The team is looking for a solid finish to boost their rankings, however everyone on the team is proud of their No. 10 rank.
Maddy Williams, a senior management major from Muskegon, Michigan and the Western captain for the team is hopeful for their next meet.
“While the meet against TCU may not have ended how we hoped, the scrimmage against Ole Miss proved how determination and hard work pays off and we obtained a win! The team is very excited to have maintained our Top 10 National ranking, and we hope to advance into a higher ranking as we look forward to this weekend’s competitions against SMU and SDSU!”
Williams is also proud of the ladies on the team, “This is a very young team and to see them aiding in maintaining a top ten ranking is great.”
The equestrian team has 20 new ladies with only five upper classmen on the team.
A top-10 national ranking is a huge accomplishment for such a young team and a strong sign for the future of the equestrian program at UTM.
After their back-to-back competitions this weekend, the equestrian team will have a small break before competing as an exhibition at Sweet Briar College in Virginia on Mar. 15.
Madeline Williams keeps tight control of her horse Pratt. She is the Western Captain for her team. (Photo Credit: Sports Information)
