Story links
AUBURN, Ala. – The # 1 Auburn riding team travels from the Plains for the first time this season and faces two top 5 opponents at No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 3 SMU this weekend.
The Tigers and the Defending Champions of the Big 12 Cowgirls will battle it out in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Friday at 1 p.m. CT. Auburn will then travel to Dallas for another big gathering, competing against the NCEA runners-up Mustangs 2021 on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT.
“Oklahoma State and SMU are both really tough teams and this is going to be a great test for us,” said boss Greg Williams. “Both teams have big road wins and are driving really well. It will do our best to win against these really great opponents.”
“I love road trips and I give this team the opportunity to really get together away from Auburn,” added Williams. “I’m really anxious to take to the streets and fight together.”
AUBURN LINEUP
The Auburn line-up will remain largely constant over the two encounters this weekend.
Senior Emma Kurtz, junior Ava Stearns, second Ellie Ferrigno and newcomer Sophee Steckbeck will lead the jumping seat squad and compete against both teams in both fences and flat. The All-Americans Kurtz and Stearns and Ferrigno all took two wins in Auburn’s season opener win against number 2 Georgia last week. Stearns was awarded the MOP in Fences, with Ferrigno receiving the honor in Flat.
Senior All-American Meghan Knapic will join them in Fences. She also started the season with a win in the event against the Bulldogs last week. Graduate Helen Ulrich will face Oklahoma State in Flat, while freshman Anna Marie Mayes will face the SMU. Mayes, a native of Memphis, took her first career win against Georgia last weekend.
The Western Corps is again headed by graduates Taylor Searles and Terri-June Granger.
Searles is out of both Horsemanship and Reining after a great start to the season last week. The Scottsdale, Arizona product won against the Bulldogs in both events including MOP horsemanship honors. With her victory at the event, Searles moved to sole ownership of the Auburn career victory list at 43.
Auburn will be horsemanship in the same line-up at both meetings. Searles is joined by Junior All-Americans Maddie Spak and Olivia Tordoff and college students Jacqueline Frimodt and Madison Parduhn. Parduhn, who is from Edmond, Oklahoma, took a win for the Tigers last week.
Granger, who is 1-0-0 this year, and Searles will lead the young Auburn Reining squad this weekend. The junior All-American Boo Kammerer and second grader Isabella Tesmer will join the couple on both days of the competition. Tesmer had a big ride against Georgia last week when she took the win and MOP honor.
Sophomore Olivia Marino will compete in Oklahoma State on Friday, while sophomore Kate Buchanan deserves a spot in the line-up against SMU. This will be Buchanan’s first meeting with the Tigers.
AUBURN-OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES
Auburn leads the series against Oklahoma State, 13-3, and has won six straight competitions against the Cowgirls.
The two teams last met in September 2019 in a neutral site meeting. The Tigers outperformed Oklahoma State, 12-8, in Martin, Tennessee.
Auburn last traveled to Stillwater in February 2018, where the team got away with an 8-10 win.
AUBURN SMU SERIES
The Tigers hold a perfect 9-0 record against SMU in all-time series history.
Auburn and the Mustangs last faced each other in November 2019 when the Tigers defeated the SMU 12-6 in Dallas.
NEXT
Auburn returns to the Plains for two competitions next week. The Tigers will be at Lynchburg and No. 7 Fresno State received at the Auburn University Equestrian Center. Auburn and Lynchburg will compete in a jumping-seat-only competition on Friday at 3 p.m. CT. The team will follow up with a full meet-up against Fresno State on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.
[ad_1]
