No. 8 Baylor equestrian (3-3, 1-1 Big 12) grinded out a 9-8 win over No. 5 Auburn on Friday afternoon at the Willis Family Equestrian Center, the first meet of the spring schedule for the Bears.
The meet got off to a rocky start in fences, with the Bears held scoreless, but both Abby Jorgensen’s 78 and Brittney Mirkov’s solid 82 tying their opponents’ scores. Those points would prove crucial to limit AU’s lead after fences to 3-0.
The teams transitioned into reining, where Kaylynn DeBernard was the first to put BU on the scoreboard with a solid 71. Abbi Demel and Carly Salter both snagged a point, solidifying a 3-2 event win and cutting the lead for the Tigers down to 5-3 at the break.
In horsemanship, Elizabeth Forney, Abbi Demel, and Charlotte Green each put the Bears on the board, bringing BU’s score to 3-1 in the discipline and a 6-3 win in the western side of competition. Forney’s 76-71 win earned the Most Outstanding Performance (MOP) honors.
Tied up at 6-6 with flat closing out the meet, the teams traded points through the bracket, coming down to AU’s Hayley Iannotti facing BU’s Grace Thiel’s score of 85 with the meet tied at 8-8 and the result hinging on the final ride. Iannotti’s score of 77 clinched the point and the win for BU, with Thiel’s score holding to give the Bears a 9-8 win over the Tigers. Rachael Davis and Rachel Van Allen secured BU’s two other points, with Van Allen taking MOP honors with a 78-62 win.
