April 12, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. -- The No. 3 seed Auburn equestrian team looks to defend its national crown as the Tigers will compete at the 2017 National Collegiate Equestrian Association National Championship held April 13-15 at the Extraco Events Center in Waco, Texas.
"I think we'll be riding with a little bit of an edge this weekend," head coach Greg Williams said. "We feel like we are one of the strongest teams in the country with the way we finished the regular season and narrowly missing out at SECs. This group feels like they have something to prove. We have a close group that works very hard in every aspect and they are ready to get after it this weekend."
The 12-team competition begins Thursday with the bottom eight seeds competing in the first round. Quarterfinals begin Friday at 9 a.m. CT and the No. 3 seed Tigers (9-4) will take on the winner of No. 6 South Carolina/No. 11 South Dakota State.
The national semifinals and championship final will take place Saturday beginning at 8:30 a.m. CT.
AUBURN LINEUP
The lineup for the Tigers will be similar to those from the SEC Championship, but with the exception that only four student-athletes will compete in each discipline.
The Equitation Over Fences crew will be led by senior Ashley Foster, who has a team-best 12-2 overall record in the event. Sophomores Caitlin Boyle, Hayley Iannotti, and Ashton Alexander are also set to compete.
Senior Tory Hoft will look for her 10th win of the season in Equitation on the Flat. She will be joined by Foster along with Iannotti and Foster on the weekend.
The Horsemanship corps has experienced a lot of success this season and will be led by senior Hannah Stephens and sophomores Lauren Diaz and Megan Rauh. Freshman Horsemanship powerhouse Kara Kaufmann will also start as she holds a team-best overall record at 9-3-1 in her first season with the squad.
The Reining roster will not change over the two days and will feature experienced competitor Alexa Rivard followed by sophomores Betsy Brown and Blair McFarlin. Diaz, a major force in Horsemanship, will also compete in Reining for the Tigers.
THE TIGERS AT THE NCEA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Auburn has captured four overall national championships since the NCEA began in 2002. The Tigers won their first national title in 2006 and followed with championships in 2011, 2013, and most recently in 2016.
In addition to the overall team crowns, Auburn also won three hunt seat titles (2008, 2011, 2013) before the NCEA began recognizing only one overall national champion in 2014.
AUBURN-SOUTH DAKOTA ST. SERIES HISTORY
The Tigers and the Jackrabbits have met just three times in the 15 years of Auburn equestrian with AU holding a 3-0 mark over SDSU. The teams last met in the fall of 2011 as Auburn traveled to Brookings, S.D., and came away with an 11-5 victory.
AUBURN-SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES HISTORY
The series between the Tigers and the Gamecocks is tied at 18-18 after Auburn swept USC during this year's regular season. AU leads South Carolina at the Southeastern Conference meet with a 2-1 mark, including an 11-7 win last year in the semifinals.
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