Friday, March 1
Martin, Tenn.
9 a.m.
UT Martin
vs
Minnesota-Crookston
Photo by: UT Martin University Relations
NO. 8 UT MARTIN EQUESTRIAN HOSTS MINNESOTA-CROOKSTON TOMORROW FOR SENIOR DAY AND REGULAR SEASON FINALE
2/29/2024 10:05:00 AM | Equestrian
MARTIN, Tenn. – The 2023-24 University of Tennessee at Martin equestrian regular season closes tomorrow as the Skyhawks host Minnesota-Crookston at 9 a.m. inside the Ned McWherter Agricultural Complex.
Following the meet, a Senior Day ceremony will take place at approximately 5 p.m. Eight seniors – Sydney Hott, Ava Laplante, Natalie Marques, Mannetta McAvaddy, Emmy Reed, Emma Schaefer, Sophia Sundem and Bridget Vieau – will be recognized for their career accomplishments, which includes three straight Eastern College Athletic Conference reserve championships and the program's highest national ranking since March 2018.
Hott became the first UT Martin rider to ever capture all-conference honors in two different events during the same season – achieving that feat in both fences and flat in 2022-23. Over the last two years alone, the Defiance, Mo. native has racked up 24 wins and eight MOP's in the Jumping Seat discipline. She has landed on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll in each of her first three years of college.
Hailing from Plainville, Mass., Laplante has made two starts in flat this season after going a perfect 2-0 in the same event in 2022-23. That included a career-best 77-point effort against Lynchburg before a clutch 72-point performance that awarded her the victory over her counterpart from No. 1 SMU. She is a two-time Athletic Director Honor Roll recipient.
Marques joined the Skyhawks in 2022 after spending two seasons competing at Sacred Heart University. The Katonah, NY native competed as an exhibition rider in flat during last season's home outing against Miami (Ohio) and has been on the Athletic Director Honor Roll in all three semesters at UT Martin.
McAvaddy has seen time as an exhibition and demo rider in horsemanship during her tenure as a Skyhawk. She garnered MOP accolades with a 75.5-point ride as a sophomore in the exhibition against Miami (Ohio) while the Vineland, NJ native has found her name on the Athletic Director Honor Roll in five separate semesters.
A Grosse Pointe, Mich. native, Reed has made seven starts over the last three seasons in fences. She earned a career-high 84 points in a convincing head-to-head victory over No. 7 South Carolina last season after tacking on a pair of wins as a sophomore. She has received NCEA All-Academic accolades in each of the last two seasons.
Schaefer has been a mainstay in the Western discipline lineups over the last three seasons, dialing up 21 victories and seven MOP's over that span (including three reining MOP's in 2023-24 alone). The New Virginia, Iowa native was named to the All-ECAC squad in horsemanship as a sophomore and has received a plethora of awards in the classroom, including back-to-back NCEA All-Academic honors and three mentions on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Sundem is a three-year starter in flat, compiling 16 wins to go along with a pair of MOP's since the start of her sophomore season. That includes a career-best 88-point effort on her way to MOP accolades against then-No. 2 Auburn this season. Hailing from Carlsbad, Calif., she is a back-to-back OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient and has also received a NCEA All-Academic award.
A Syracuse, NY native, Vieau has made 11 of her 14 career starts this season – appearing in both Jumping Seat events. All three of her flat victories this season have occurred against nationally ranked competition, including wins over South Carolina and Auburn. She has registered NCEA All-Academic accolades twice and is a three-time OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient.
Live scoring for the Minnesota-Crookston meet can be found at the link above.
Following the meet, a Senior Day ceremony will take place at approximately 5 p.m. Eight seniors – Sydney Hott, Ava Laplante, Natalie Marques, Mannetta McAvaddy, Emmy Reed, Emma Schaefer, Sophia Sundem and Bridget Vieau – will be recognized for their career accomplishments, which includes three straight Eastern College Athletic Conference reserve championships and the program's highest national ranking since March 2018.
Hott became the first UT Martin rider to ever capture all-conference honors in two different events during the same season – achieving that feat in both fences and flat in 2022-23. Over the last two years alone, the Defiance, Mo. native has racked up 24 wins and eight MOP's in the Jumping Seat discipline. She has landed on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll in each of her first three years of college.
Hailing from Plainville, Mass., Laplante has made two starts in flat this season after going a perfect 2-0 in the same event in 2022-23. That included a career-best 77-point effort against Lynchburg before a clutch 72-point performance that awarded her the victory over her counterpart from No. 1 SMU. She is a two-time Athletic Director Honor Roll recipient.
Marques joined the Skyhawks in 2022 after spending two seasons competing at Sacred Heart University. The Katonah, NY native competed as an exhibition rider in flat during last season's home outing against Miami (Ohio) and has been on the Athletic Director Honor Roll in all three semesters at UT Martin.
McAvaddy has seen time as an exhibition and demo rider in horsemanship during her tenure as a Skyhawk. She garnered MOP accolades with a 75.5-point ride as a sophomore in the exhibition against Miami (Ohio) while the Vineland, NJ native has found her name on the Athletic Director Honor Roll in five separate semesters.
A Grosse Pointe, Mich. native, Reed has made seven starts over the last three seasons in fences. She earned a career-high 84 points in a convincing head-to-head victory over No. 7 South Carolina last season after tacking on a pair of wins as a sophomore. She has received NCEA All-Academic accolades in each of the last two seasons.
Schaefer has been a mainstay in the Western discipline lineups over the last three seasons, dialing up 21 victories and seven MOP's over that span (including three reining MOP's in 2023-24 alone). The New Virginia, Iowa native was named to the All-ECAC squad in horsemanship as a sophomore and has received a plethora of awards in the classroom, including back-to-back NCEA All-Academic honors and three mentions on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Sundem is a three-year starter in flat, compiling 16 wins to go along with a pair of MOP's since the start of her sophomore season. That includes a career-best 88-point effort on her way to MOP accolades against then-No. 2 Auburn this season. Hailing from Carlsbad, Calif., she is a back-to-back OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient and has also received a NCEA All-Academic award.
A Syracuse, NY native, Vieau has made 11 of her 14 career starts this season – appearing in both Jumping Seat events. All three of her flat victories this season have occurred against nationally ranked competition, including wins over South Carolina and Auburn. She has registered NCEA All-Academic accolades twice and is a three-time OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient.
Live scoring for the Minnesota-Crookston meet can be found at the link above.
Players Mentioned
Jumping Seat
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Jumping Seat
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Western
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Western
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Jumping Seat
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