The University of Georgia Equestrian Team defeated the University of South Carolina 12-7 in the repechage game to take third place at the SEC Championship on Saturday. The team fell short to Auburn in Friday's semifinals.
Senior Nora Andrews was named to the Flat's All-Championship team after winning both rides during the championship. She scored an 87 against Auburn on Friday and an 89.33 against South Carolina on Saturday.
In the repechage game against South Carolina, two Bulldogs won Most Valuable Player awards. Third-year student Catalina Peralta won in the fencing category with a score of 87.67, and sophomore Regan Shepard won in the reining category with a score of 72.
“We have a job to do when we get home. We're not leaving here the way we wanted to, so we're going to go back and work on it and make sure we repeat days like today,” head coach Megan Boenig said. said.
On the flat, competition points were split between the Bulldogs and Shamcocks as each team earned two points. Andrews got Georgia on the board first, earning a score of 89.33 to his opponent's 82. Peralta followed suit, scoring UGA's second point of the flat competition.
In the Western, Georgia defeated South Carolina 3-2, with junior Jax Bound scoring his first UGA point. South Carolina scored the next point and Georgia scored the next two points. Sophomore Shelby Lynch won with 68.5 points, and Shepherd defeated Chloe Stevenson 72-71.83. South Carolina got the final points on Reining.
Georgia State scored over 83 points on the fence. Peralta, Emma Reichow, Jennifer Staniloff, Tessa Brown and Tessa Downey all contributed to her five points.
The competition ended with horsemanship, with Leah Anderson scoring the Bulldogs' first points of the event. Jillian Stopperich also scored, adding to the final score of the day.
The No. 4 Bulldogs will be back in action for the American Collegiate Equestrian Association National Championships April 18-20 in Ocala, Florida.
