The beginning of the weekend road trip proved troublesome for the No. 8 K-State Equestrian team on Friday.
The Wildcats faced the No. 4 Baylor Bears at the Willis Family Equestrian Center in Waco, Texas. The Bears topped K-State 13-7, moving K-State to 4-6 on the season and 1-4 in the Big 12.
K-State kept it tight with the bears, tying things up in the Hunt Seat arena 5-5. A 3-2 win over the bears in Equitation over Fences started things off for the Wildcats.
Junior Christina Martinelli carded a score of 84-40 against Baylor’s Brittney Mirkov, moving to 11-9 this season. K-State tallied another point thanks to the efforts of junior Taylor Schmidt, who secured a 82-75 decision over Baylor’s Taylor Sutton. Rounding out Equitation over Fences was junior Henley Adkins with a score of 81-79 over Baylor’s Gabby Conte.
Another back-and-forth battle ensued in Equitation on the Flat. In her sixth win of the season for K-State, junior Gretchen Koenen rode past Baylor’s Jenny Mitchell 80-77. Martinelli also added another point for K-State on a 73-69 win over Baylor’s Paige Parker. In the end, K-State was unable to top Baylor, and the Wildcats fell 3-2 in Equitation on the Flat.
The score was tied at 5-5 going into the Western arena. K-State struggled to gain any momentum, dropping the Horsemanship discipline on a 5-0 shutout by the Bears.
The Wildcats managed to gain their footing again in Reining. Sophomore Kali Retzler blew past Baylor’s Shyanne Smith 65-0. Senior Danielle Kemper built on her momentum as she slipped past Baylor’s Elizabeth Shank 66-65.5. K-State, however, failed to prevail over the Bears as they lost Reining 3-2.
“I am really proud of our team against a very tough Baylor team today,” head coach Casie Maxwell said to K-State Sports. “Especially our Hunt Seat squad who really brought their A-game.”
There was little time to dwell on the loss to Baylor, as K-State was due at Turning Point Ranch in Springtown, Texas, to take on the No. 7 TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday.
The matchup against TCU proved an all-too familiar story for K-State as the Wildcats fell 13-7 to the Horned Frogs. The loss moved the Wildcats to 4-7 on the season and 1-5 in the Big 12.
This time, it was the Hunt Seat team that struggled, falling 8-2 to TCU.
K-State couldn’t find its footing in the beginning of the day, dropping Equitation over Fences 2-3. Schmidt had a strong performance for K-State, earning her first Most Outstanding Performer honor of the season in a 79-72 victory over TCU’s Marisa Malvetis. Adkins built on Schmidt’s momentum by adding a point of her own with a 78-76 victory over TCU’s Molly Pedicord.
Nothing went right for the Wildcats in Equitation on the Flat as they dropped the discipline 0-5.
The Western team put up a fight for the Wildcats, but TCU continued to dominate the Wildcats in Horsemanship, shutting down K-State 3-2. Junior Sydney Anson secured a point on a 72-70 win over TCU’s Colby Plott. Clinching her second win of the weekend, Kemper rode past TCU’s Alex Stark 73.5-72.5 to add another point for K-State.
The Wildcats finally managed to find their footing in Reining as they triumphed over TCU 3-2. Starting things off for K-State, senior Kara Guy had a dominating performance over TCU’s Hunter DeJane, taking the point on a 69.5-0 win. Sophomore Brynn Critcher fed on that momentum with a strong ride of her own, adding another point on a 71-69 win over Carley Montemuro. The final point came from the efforts of senior Nicholle Hatton, who tallied a point with a 70.5-67 win over TCU’s Chantz Stewart.
Despite their efforts, the Wildcats still came out of the Texas road trip weekend with two losses.
The Wildcats look to regroup on their home turf at Timber Creek Stables this weekend to finish out the 2015-16 regular season. K-State will face the No. 1 Auburn Tigers at 10 a.m. Saturday.
