Martin, Tenn. (Mar. 25, 2021) ---Delaware State won six of eight Hunt Seat rides en route to a 9-7 victory over UC Davis in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Tournament today. The Hornets will take on No. 1 seed SMU in the semifinals on Friday.
DSU's Zoe Kirsch was the top rider in Fences, earning MOP honors with a score of 164.0 aboard "Wizard." Erin Gordon (156.0) and Sydney Wicklund (142.0) also collected Fences points form the Hornets.
Wicklund (153.0), Gordon (146.0) and Kirsch (144.0) also turned in winning performances on the Flat. Wicklund's score  aboard "Luigi" was second among all competitors on the Flat.
Delaware State's   Kelsey earned a key point in Horsemanship with a score of 145.5, while Abbey Craver (139) and Aiden Stetzer (139) contributed to the win with close victories Reining.
 
Hornets down Aggies in ECAC quarterfinal (courtesy of NCEA Communications) 
MARTIN, Tenn. — Lauren Langbaum and Charlize Zuraek each won their head-to-head rides in reining to bring the UC Davis equestrian team to within a point of Delaware State heading into the final rides of the meet, but the Hornets' Aidan Stetzer scored a 139 to claim a three-point win and lift them to an 9-7 victory over the Aggies in the quarterfinals of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships on Thursday at the Ned McWherter Agricultural Pavilion in Martin, Tenn.
 
Competing in its first-ever conference championship meet after the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the pandemic, UC Davis finished the meet at 1-4 overall, while Delaware State advances to face top-seeded SMU in a semifinal on Friday.
 
Zuraek's reining ride was enough to earn her the first Most Outstanding Performance honor of her career, standing as one of three Aggie MOPs for the meet. Keely Laughlin earned her third career MOP thanks to her — and her second on the flat — after scoring a combined 162 on a re-ride, while Jordan Schween scored a 147.5 in horsemanship for her first career MOP and the first by an Aggie in the event since Katie Flinn on Feb. 7, 2020.
 
Ella Longo started the day off by earning UC Davis' lone point in fences, defeating Jordan Wicklund, 147-146, but Delaware State answered with three straight to take the early lead in the meet. Laughlin scored a team-high 153, including a 78 from one of the two judges, while Carly Sweeney added a combined 149.
 
The Aggies answered back in a big way to tie things up at the halfway point of the meet, as Schween (147.5), Amber Nusser (146.5), and Maddie Gregory (141.5), all scored points, while Sarah Finkel scored a 144.5, as UC Davis won horsemanship, 3-1. Schween earned a score of 74 from one of the judges, which would rank tied for sixth on the school's all-time list, to go with a 73.5, while Nusser added a second 73.5 and Gregory earned a 73.
 
It was the first time that UC Davis has won horsemanship since a 4-0 victory over UT-Martin on Feb. 7, 2020, and only the third time the Aggies have won the event in school history.
 
The Hornets regained the lead by taking three of the four head-to-head rides on the flat for a 7-5 advantage overall, with Laughlin earning scores of 84 — which would rank tied for seventh on the school's all-time list — and 78 en route to winning her point.
 
That set the stage for reining as Langbaum scored a 141 followed by Zuraek's 140 to bring the Aggies to within a point at 8-7. Needing a win to force the decision to a tiebreaker, Macey Newkirk scored a 136 in her ride to close out the first half of the event, but Stetzer's pair of 69.5's topped the sophomore's score, clinching the Delaware State win.