SWEET BRIAR, Va. — Multiple school records, big team points and rider of the week nods highlighted the Sweet Briar NCEA teams 2019-2020 season.
The Vixens were able to complete the entire regular season, before the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and National Collegiate Equestrian Association announced the cancellation of postseason competitions.
Even without postseason competition, the Sweet Briar NCEA team had plenty of positives throughout the 2019-2020 season.
HONORS AND AWARDS
Sweet Briar competed under the banner of the Eastern College Athletics Conference for the first time in NCEA competition and with that came honors and accolades for the 2019-20 Vixens.
Up first for the Vixens was a batch of ECAC Rider of the Week honors, which got started with first-year Sophie Kane (Carbondale, Colo.) being honored as the flat rider of the week on October 1. Junior Katie Balding (Williamsburg, Va.) earned flat rider of the week on October 9, while junior Lily Peterson (Ashland, Va.) earned fences honors and sophomore Maggie Fraley (White Haven, Pa.) picked up the flat nod on October 23.
Balding became the first Vixen to earn multiple ECAC Rider of the Week honors when she earned the fences honor on October 29, before earning her third nod on February 7 for fences.
ECAC honors were topped with a bow for Sweet Briar at the end of the season when Kane was named the ECAC Fences Freshman of the Year and Balding was named All-ECAC over fences and on flat. The ECAC recognition was the first postseason individual honors for the NCEA team, outside of ODAC competition.
Balding, Peterson, Fraley and sophomore Britt Larson-Jackson (Washington, D.C.) were also honored by the ECAC and NCEA with individual academic honors.
RECORD BREAKERS
Single-season school records fell all across the board for the Vixens, including single-season wins in fences and flat.
Peterson broke her own single-season fences wins record with a six-win season in 2020.
Balding broke a handful of records, including single-season MOPs over fences and on flat with two, single-season flat wins with six, single-season jumping seat MOP honors with four and combined jumping seat wins in a single-season with 11.
Kane broke the school record for the highest score over fences, previously an 87 by both Fraley and Peterson, when she an 88 in a victory against SUNY New Paltz.
On the flat, Balding set the new standard for the highest score when she rode to a 97 in a victory against a rider from No. 3 Georgia.
WHAT THEY SAID
"Personal highlights for me were winning my flat point with a 97 against Georgia, winning my fences point against Auburn and receiving MOP over fences at South Carolina," Balding said. "It feels amazing to have success at big schools with big name riders on their teams, that I never thought I'd get the chance to compete with and some who are even people I look up to. In addition, I think our riders being able to pull in so many ECAC rider of the week nods, as well as ending our season on the event rankings, were major highlights."
A GLANCE BACK
The Vixens finished the 2019-20 season 4-6 in dual meets, wrapping up the regular season on a two-meet winning streak.
Sweet Briar opened the year with a 6-4 loss to No. 9 Fresno State but finished with a 3-2 victory over the Bulldogs over fences.
The Vixens took off on a trip to No. 3 Georgia, dropping an 8-2 decision. Against Georgia, Balding and Kane walked away with huge head-to-head wins on flat as Balding set the school record for top score with a 97-93 win and Kane picked up a 96-90 victory.
Sweet Briar's opening victory came in the form of a 7-3 win against SUNY New Paltz, including a 5-0 sweep on flat.
Next for Sweet Briar was a three-meet trip to Auburn that began with a neutral site meet against No. 5 TCU. The Horned Frogs topped the Vixens 5-3 overall, but the Vixens and Horned Frogs tied 2-2 over fences with Peterson and Kane picking up victories in the event.
Balding and Fraley earned wins in fences and flat, respectively, as the Vixens were defeated 6-2 by No. 1 Auburn before Sweet Briar knocked off SUNY New Paltz 5-3 to close out the trip to Auburn.
Sweet Briar wrapped up the fall slate against a familiar foe, meeting Delaware State for the first time since knocking off the Hornets in fences at the 2019 NCEA Championships. The two sides were nearly even, finishing deadlocked on team points for the second time in the last four meetings, but the 4-4 tie was broken on raw score and saw the advantage give the Hornets a victory at the end of the day. Balding earned the most outstanding performer nod against Delaware State in flat and over fences.
The Vixens competed in three meets in the new year, traveling first to No. 5 South Carolina in a meet that saw Balding earn MOP honors over fences as the Gamecocks topped the Vixens 7-2. Sweet Briar earned a point over fences and on flat against South Carolina.
The trip to South Carolina continued with a 4-3 win over South Dakota State. The Vixens' win over the Jackrabbits was the first Sweet Briar win in two meetings between the two sides and featured a MOP showing on the flat by Fraley.
The regular season came to a close with the Vixens' third win of the season against SUNY New Paltz, winning on raw score 727-614 after a 5-5 tie on points. The Vixens took four team points from the Hawks over fences, while Balding earned MOP honors on flat for salvaging the team score tie with the lone Sweet Briar point on flat as Sweet Briar's final rider of the day.
WHAT ELSE THEY SAID
"I'm very proud and confident with the season the team was able to complete," Balding said. "This was definitely the most successful season we've had yet, and I think it bodes very well for the future. We came together through times of success and times of difficulty — such as riding in the freezing sideways rain at Auburn and South Carolina, to get it done! Our team culture is becoming more and more defined, and we support each other through everything."
"I felt like after the first meet everything really fell into place nicely," Kane said. "I think our team had a successful year and we are all sad that it was cut short, but we have some great riders coming in next season that will make us even stronger. I am very excited for our season next year!"
