SKYHAWK EQUESTRIAN PRODUCES A PAIR OF NCEA ARIAT ALL-AMERICANS IN McDONALD AND MEADOWS
4/1/2021 2:00:00 PM | Equestrian
WACO, Texas – History was made today as the University of Tennessee at Martin duo of Hannah McDonald and Noel Meadows were crowned as National Collegiate Equestrian Association Ariat All-Americans, both earning the accolades in reining.
McDonald garnered first team All-American status, becoming only the second rider in Skyhawk history to accomplish that feat – fittingly joining Meadows (2019 reining first team All-American) in that elite group. Meanwhile, Meadows becomes the only rider in UT Martin history to claim an All-American nod in three different seasons, as she owns honorable mention awards in 2018 and 2021, sandwiched around her aforementioned 2019 first team accolade.
In order to qualify as an All-American, a rider must have a 67 percent or higher winning percentage (excluding ties), compete in a minimum of 67 percent of the team's NCEA qualifying regular season meets and have an adjusted NRS score of 85 for flat, 90 for fences, 80 for horsemanship and 76 for reining.
This is the second major accolade for McDonald just in the past week as the Ridgefield, Wash. native was also named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Reining Rider of the Year last Friday. She is now the 11th different rider in school history to nab an All-American honor.
The senior won her first seven head-to-head decisions before wrapping up the season with a 7-1 record in the event. McDonald accounted for a 72.0 reining scoring average in 2020-21, including an MOP effort of 76 points against Minnesota-Crookston for a new career-high score. She brought home ECAC Reining Rider of the Month honors in February and ended her collegiate career with 23 victories and three MOP's in that same event.
Meadows was as reliable as they come in 2020-21, as she never dipped below 70 points throughout the regular season on her way to a team-best 72.6 scoring average. She recorded four wins during the abbreviated six-meet regular season and tacked on two more during the ECAC Championships behind team-best performances (142.5 in the semifinals against South Dakota State, 145.5 in the finals against No. 4 SMU). The latter performance resulted in a MOP accolade, which was the first of her senior year and fifth of her accomplished career.
Hailing from Staunton, Va., Meadows generated 22 head-to-head victories in four years as a Skyhawk. Her career-high scoring tally of 75.5 points came this season against Delaware State on March 6.
McDonald garnered first team All-American status, becoming only the second rider in Skyhawk history to accomplish that feat – fittingly joining Meadows (2019 reining first team All-American) in that elite group. Meanwhile, Meadows becomes the only rider in UT Martin history to claim an All-American nod in three different seasons, as she owns honorable mention awards in 2018 and 2021, sandwiched around her aforementioned 2019 first team accolade.
In order to qualify as an All-American, a rider must have a 67 percent or higher winning percentage (excluding ties), compete in a minimum of 67 percent of the team's NCEA qualifying regular season meets and have an adjusted NRS score of 85 for flat, 90 for fences, 80 for horsemanship and 76 for reining.
This is the second major accolade for McDonald just in the past week as the Ridgefield, Wash. native was also named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Reining Rider of the Year last Friday. She is now the 11th different rider in school history to nab an All-American honor.
The senior won her first seven head-to-head decisions before wrapping up the season with a 7-1 record in the event. McDonald accounted for a 72.0 reining scoring average in 2020-21, including an MOP effort of 76 points against Minnesota-Crookston for a new career-high score. She brought home ECAC Reining Rider of the Month honors in February and ended her collegiate career with 23 victories and three MOP's in that same event.
Meadows was as reliable as they come in 2020-21, as she never dipped below 70 points throughout the regular season on her way to a team-best 72.6 scoring average. She recorded four wins during the abbreviated six-meet regular season and tacked on two more during the ECAC Championships behind team-best performances (142.5 in the semifinals against South Dakota State, 145.5 in the finals against No. 4 SMU). The latter performance resulted in a MOP accolade, which was the first of her senior year and fifth of her accomplished career.
Hailing from Staunton, Va., Meadows generated 22 head-to-head victories in four years as a Skyhawk. Her career-high scoring tally of 75.5 points came this season against Delaware State on March 6.
Players Mentioned
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