DOVER, Del. - Freshman Brooke Moore (Dover, Del.) earned the first MVP honors of her career Friday afternoon as the Delaware State University equestrian team narrowly fell to the University of Tennessee-Martin at Gambler's Choice Equestrian Center.  The two teams tied, 9-9, in a head-to-head score, but the Skyhawks were victorious with a raw equivalency score of 1475.75 to 1420.25.

Moore recorded a high-score of 75 with her Horsemanship ride on Buddy to help lead the Hornets to a 4-1 victory.  Also scoring points for DSU were senior Breann Huyett (Narvon, Pa.) with a score of 70.5 on Orkie, junior Tayler Scuse (Smyrna, Del.) with a 72 on Walter and freshman Alexis Gratkowski (Harrisburg, Pa.) with a 72.5 on Cinder.

Junior Heather Hotz (Atco, N.J.) led Del State en route to a 3-2 Equitation win with a season-high 77-point ride over Mykaela VanSelus' 76 on Wyatt.  Hotz also tied Katie Miranda in Equitation over Fences with a 79-point ride with Clayton.

Seniors Alyssa Berfield (Fredericksburg, Va.) and Shelby Bonneville (New Windsor, Md.) also recorded points for the Hornets in Equitation.  Berfield marked a ride of 71 on Dakota while Bonneville won her point with a 66 on Raven.

DSU and UTM tied, 2-2, in Reining and the Hornets were led by Huyett and freshman Lindsey Blum (Henderson, Md.).  Huyett won her team-point with a 70.5 ride on Goldfish while Blum posted a 66.5 on Elvis.

The Skyhawks won their lone event of the day in Equitation over Fences, 4-0.

UTM's Kara Bergenty won MVP honors in Equitation with a ride of 84 on Mick while Nora Wilson won MVP honors in Equitation over Fences with an 82-point ride, also on Mick.  Michelle Chulock earned MVP honors in Reining with a 72.5 score on Lyle.

The Hornets continue their home weekend as they host South Dakota State at 8 a.m. Saturday.  SDSU and UTM will matchup at approximately noon Saturday.  All events are held at Gambler's Choice Equestrian Center (www.gcequestrian.com) and are free to the public.  Live updates will be posted at www.twitter.com/dsuequestrian. 

---DSU EQUESTRIAN---