Friday, October 3
Brookings, SD
2:10 p.m.
UT Martin
vs
Minnesota-Crookston
Photo by: UT Martin University Relations
Defending ECAC Champion Skyhawks Open Season This Weekend In South Dakota
10/1/2025 1:08:00 PM | Equestrian
MARTIN, Tenn. – The title defense for the reigning Eastern College Athletic Conference champion University of Tennessee at Martin equestrian squad officially begins this weekend as the No. 10 ranked Skyhawks take on a pair of league opponents in Brookings, SD.
UT Martin will make the 850-plus mile trek to the campus of South Dakota State, where it will take on Minnesota-Crookston on Friday, Oct. 3 through Saturday, Oct. 4 and the host Jackrabbits on Saturday, Oct. 4. This weekend marks the first of eight meets on the 2025-26 ECAC schedule as the Skyhawks are also set to host South Dakota State on Oct. 31 plus take on UC Davis (Nov. 7) and Delaware State (Nov. 8) in Delaware to close out the fall. UT Martin will also host Delaware State and Minnesota-Crookston on back-to-back days (Feb. 20-21) before concluding the regular season at UC Davis on March 7.
Mixed amongst the grueling ECAC schedule is the Skyhawks' usual challenging slate of nonconference outings. UT Martin faces five nonconference teams that are all currently ranked in the national top-10, including No. 2 South Carolina (home on Nov. 1), No. 1 Georgia (home on Jan. 30), No. 4 Auburn (home on Jan. 31), No. 9 Fresno State (away on March 6) and No. 8 Baylor (neutral site on March 6).
The Skyhawks will go for their second straight ECAC Championship on March 26-28 as this year's event will be hosted by Delaware State in Felton, Del.
Four-time ECAC Coach of the Year Kim Leiter-Janes returns 23 riders from last season's squad who tied the school record for single-season victories (eight) on the way to a NCEA Championships berth. Key returning starters include the junior trio of Elise Mason (Ariat NCEA first team All-American in reining, ECAC Reining Rider of the Year with an 11-3 record with three MOP's), Kate Mills (2025 ECAC Championship Fences MOP, team-highs of eight victories and two MOP's) and Ava Newsom (2025 ECAC Championship Horsemanship MOP). ECAC Flat Freshman of the Year Payton Lussen also returns for UT Martin but will miss an extended period of time with an injury.
Lydia Jordan (six starts in flat), Audrey Morris (five starts in flat, two starts in fences), Kailyn Veale (five starts in horsemanship) and Amelia Turner (one start in flat) also bring starting experience from last season to the Skyhawks.
Up to 13 newcomers could make their UT Martin debuts in 2025-26, including four riders who boast collegiate experience. Junior Averey Pritchard went 7-3 with one MOP in fences last season at Fresno State while the junior duo of Ava Jo Glenn (three MOP's in horsemanship in 2024-25) and Madison Wachtel (reining starter in all 12 meets last season) transferred to the Skyhawks from Minnesota-Crookston. Jadyn Swaldi also joins UT Martin's Western squad after spending last season at TCU.
"We have a really fun, new team this year," Leiter-Janes said. "We graduated a strong group of seniors and these girls are ready to follow in those footsteps. We have a lot of depth on this roster and the energy, the excitement and the camaraderie that this group has is one of the best that I've ever had. They've learned and grown and are ready to step up – it's just been a really neat melding of this group this year with things like team bonding and mindset training. I'm excited to see what they do in the ring."
For live scoring this weekend, click on the links above.
UT Martin will make the 850-plus mile trek to the campus of South Dakota State, where it will take on Minnesota-Crookston on Friday, Oct. 3 through Saturday, Oct. 4 and the host Jackrabbits on Saturday, Oct. 4. This weekend marks the first of eight meets on the 2025-26 ECAC schedule as the Skyhawks are also set to host South Dakota State on Oct. 31 plus take on UC Davis (Nov. 7) and Delaware State (Nov. 8) in Delaware to close out the fall. UT Martin will also host Delaware State and Minnesota-Crookston on back-to-back days (Feb. 20-21) before concluding the regular season at UC Davis on March 7.
Mixed amongst the grueling ECAC schedule is the Skyhawks' usual challenging slate of nonconference outings. UT Martin faces five nonconference teams that are all currently ranked in the national top-10, including No. 2 South Carolina (home on Nov. 1), No. 1 Georgia (home on Jan. 30), No. 4 Auburn (home on Jan. 31), No. 9 Fresno State (away on March 6) and No. 8 Baylor (neutral site on March 6).
The Skyhawks will go for their second straight ECAC Championship on March 26-28 as this year's event will be hosted by Delaware State in Felton, Del.
Four-time ECAC Coach of the Year Kim Leiter-Janes returns 23 riders from last season's squad who tied the school record for single-season victories (eight) on the way to a NCEA Championships berth. Key returning starters include the junior trio of Elise Mason (Ariat NCEA first team All-American in reining, ECAC Reining Rider of the Year with an 11-3 record with three MOP's), Kate Mills (2025 ECAC Championship Fences MOP, team-highs of eight victories and two MOP's) and Ava Newsom (2025 ECAC Championship Horsemanship MOP). ECAC Flat Freshman of the Year Payton Lussen also returns for UT Martin but will miss an extended period of time with an injury.
Lydia Jordan (six starts in flat), Audrey Morris (five starts in flat, two starts in fences), Kailyn Veale (five starts in horsemanship) and Amelia Turner (one start in flat) also bring starting experience from last season to the Skyhawks.
Up to 13 newcomers could make their UT Martin debuts in 2025-26, including four riders who boast collegiate experience. Junior Averey Pritchard went 7-3 with one MOP in fences last season at Fresno State while the junior duo of Ava Jo Glenn (three MOP's in horsemanship in 2024-25) and Madison Wachtel (reining starter in all 12 meets last season) transferred to the Skyhawks from Minnesota-Crookston. Jadyn Swaldi also joins UT Martin's Western squad after spending last season at TCU.
"We have a really fun, new team this year," Leiter-Janes said. "We graduated a strong group of seniors and these girls are ready to follow in those footsteps. We have a lot of depth on this roster and the energy, the excitement and the camaraderie that this group has is one of the best that I've ever had. They've learned and grown and are ready to step up – it's just been a really neat melding of this group this year with things like team bonding and mindset training. I'm excited to see what they do in the ring."
For live scoring this weekend, click on the links above.
Players Mentioned
Western
/ Equestrian
Jumping Seat
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Jumping Seat
/ Equestrian
Western
/ Equestrian
Jumping Seat
/ Equestrian
Jumping Seat
/ Equestrian
Western
/ Equestrian
Jumping Seat
/ Equestrian
Western
/ Equestrian
Jumping Seat
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Western
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Western
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