It came down to the wire for the K-State equestrian team Friday. The Wildcats finished the day tied with No. 3 Baylor at 9-all, falling just shy in raw score 1452.3-1347.3 to take the loss. K-State moved to 1-2 on the season and are now 0-2 in the Big 12.
“Baylor is a really great team,” head coach Casie Maxwell said to K-State Sports. “They came to us with a 4-0 record and they were definitely someone to be intimidated by and we were not.”
This was the second consecutive tiebreaker victory for Baylor, after they last went on the road against No. 7 TCU. Baylor is now 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12.
K-State fell short in Hunt Seat, 3-6. The Wildcats started out strong in Equitation over Fences, defeating the Bears 3-2. Sophomore Halle Kutsche earned a point for the Wildcats with an 82-81 victory over Baylor’s Shannon Hogue. Junior Christina Martinelli added another point with a 80-76 victory over Baylor’s Rachel Van Allen, securing her second win of the season. Baylor’s Gabby Conte was disqualified during warmups, giving sophomore Daniella McCormick another point for the Wildcats.
The Bears regrouped in Equitation on the Flat, sweeping the Wildcats 4-0.
The Wildcats rebounded in Western, riding past Baylor 6-3 to tie up the meet. The comeback started in Horsemanship as K-State overpowered Baylor 4-1. Starting things off for the Wildcats, sophomore Paige Kemper scored 74.5-69 over Baylor’s Charlotte Green. Senior Danielle Kemper claimed her second win of the season against Baylor’s Bray Bergstrom, 67.5-64. Junior Alyssa Lombardi remains undefeated this season as she rode past Kaylee Mellott, 73-70.5. Sophomore Ashley Anderson managed to squeeze past Baylor’s Mary Brown with a score of 70-69.5.
Going into Reining, the score was tied 7-7. K-State and Baylor went back and forth, trading scores to finish out the discipline 2-2. Senior Nicholle Hatton managed to slip past Baylor’s Elizabeth Shank with a score of 69-68. Freshman Taylor Todd earned her second win of the season with a 68-66.5 win over Baylor’s Michelina Carbone.
The final score resulted in a tie, and the Wildcats came up just short in the raw score.
“We just came out swinging for the fences and kept going and fought till the very last ride,” Maxwell said to K-State Sports. “I saw confidence in our girls that I have not seen all year. I hope they do not see this as a loss and take this as a tie against a really good team and continue to build off of this.”
Up next, the Wildcats will be back Nov. 13 at Timbercreek Stables to take on No. 7 TCU.
