UT MARTIN EQUESTRIAN HOSTS SMU, SUNY NEW PALTZ THIS WEEK; SENIOR DAY SET FOR THURSDAY

Thursday, February 20

Martin, Tenn.

10 a.m.

UT Martin

SMU

Photo by: UT Martin University Relations

UT MARTIN EQUESTRIAN HOSTS SMU, SUNY NEW PALTZ THIS WEEK; SENIOR DAY SET FOR THURSDAY

2/18/2020 12:08:00 PM | Equestrian

MARTIN, Tenn. – The final two home competitions of the season for the University of Tennessee at Martin equestrian team will take place this week, as the Skyhawks play host to SMU on Thursday, Feb. 20 before taking on SUNY New Paltz on Friday, Feb. 21. The competitions will begin at 10 a.m. on each day at the Ned McWherter Agricultural Complex.

On Thursday, a Senior Day ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. as Jade Bleskey, Sarah Kent, Randi LaChance, Savannah Metheny, Johnie Parker and Grace Salmon will each be recognized for their career contributions.

A Lakewood, Ill. native, Bleskey has posted eight victories in horsemanship over her four-year Skyhawk career, including an MOP accolade in an exhibition against Miami (Ohio) during her sophomore campaign. Her career-high performance of 75 points came against No. 3 Auburn and No. 7 TCU during the 2017-18 season. She also has brought home an OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll accolade in each of her first three seasons, as well as NCEA All-Academic honors in each of the last two years.

Kent is in her third season as a member of the UT Martin program, joining the Skyhawks after transferring from New Mexico State. The Indianapolis, Ind. native competed in fences in three competitions, notching a pair of victories during the 2017-18 season. Her 74 points against Ole Miss on Feb. 16, 2018 rank as a career-high while she also captured an OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll mention last year.

LaChance was a 2017 NCEA All-American honorable mention in flat, also earning conference Freshman of the Year and all-league honors that season. Hailing from Exeter, RI, she has accumulated 17 wins and seven MOP's in four years across both events in the Hunt Seat discipline. Her career-high scores are 91 in fences (set during the 2016-17 season) and 87 in flat (set during her sophomore year). She boasts a pair of OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll accolades and was also named to the NCEA All-Academic squad during the 2017-18 season.

A Weston, W.Va. native, Metheny has dialed up five victories through her four seasons at UT Martin, competing solely in fences. Her career-high 82-point performance came earlier this season in the win over South Dakota State on Oct. 10. She notched NCEA Signature Academics Standout Athlete of the Month honors in December 2018 and has also piled up three nods on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll and a pair of NCEA All-Academic accolades.

Parker is in her fourth season representing the Skyhawks in flat. The Powell, Tenn. native took part in the best competition last season against Mississippi State, tallying a career-best 80 points on her way to MOP accolades in that competition. She has excelled in the academic forum, as she has been named to the NCEA All-Academic squad and the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll list twice during her career.

Hailing from Wilsonville, Ore., Salmon is a three-year member of the UT Martin program after transferring from Portland State University. Her career-best tally of 71.5 points in fences came on Feb. 16, 2018 against Ole Miss. She earned the 2019 United Equestrian Conference Sportsmanship Award and was also a member of the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll during the 2018-19 campaign.

Overall, these six Skyhawks have helped the program appear in the national top-10 of the NCEA team rankings in 35 combined weeks over the past three seasons, including 12 out of a possible 13 weeks during the current 2019-20 campaign.