USC sweeps all four MVP awards
The South Carolina equestrian team took its first step toward returning to championship form Friday, dominating Fresno State for a 16-3 win in its season opener.
Carolina had easy wins in both the Hunter Seat (9-1) and Western (7-2) matches and swept all four of the meet's MVP awards.
"Across the board, I'm thrilled with today's results," coach Boo Major told Gamecocksonline.com. "We put on the type of performance that shows this team is capable of doing some great things this season. We beat a strong Fresno State team, and that's something this team should be proud of."
In Equitation, Kimberly McCormack got things started with an 85-67 MVP-worthy pasting of Fresno State's Kimberly Hewson Budnik. That set the tone for the rest of the event as USC cruised to a 4-1 win. The Gamecocks then swept Equitation Over Fences 5-0 to complete the Hunter Seat portion of the match.
"Our Hunt Seat girls looked great today, no question about it," Major said. "We had some girls win by large margins, and that's encouraging to see because Fresno State is the kind of team that will capitalize on your errors. We didn't make many today, and that showed in the results."
The Western riders, who were thought to be a bit of a question mark for USC coming into the season, won the Horsemanship event 3-1. Sophomores Johnna Letchworth and Alison Ceresani posted event high scores of 76.5 in their wins. Letchworth won MVP honors after her 76.5-73 defeat of Fresno's Sammie Jo Stone.
"We were trying to get in more Horsemanship riders and get more experience there, and also in Reining," Major said. "Johnna did her thing today and performed extremely well, and we're pleased with Ceresani's ride. I think she did a great job."
Carolina also performed well in Reining, winning 4-1. Freshman Layla Choate won MVP with a 74-71 defeat of Fresno's Whitney Kittle, completing the impressive debuts of the Gamecock freshmen, as Katherine Schmidt took home MVP honors in Equitation Over Fences.
"Hand it to Layla for really coming out and doing well on her ride," Major said. "Katherine had two really impressive performances; we are really proud of her. It really shows us what we have got here, and I'm very happy."
Junior Melody Malbin, participating in her first home event as a Gamecock, posted a reining event high 74.5 in her defeat of Lauren Crivelli.
"We probably have the least amount of experience in Reining," Major said. "Now that doesn't mean they're any worse than the others; they just don't have the experience. It was really nice to see all of them come in and try to do the best they could, and I really think they did."