AUBURN, Ala. — The Sweet Briar NCEA team picked up a big 8-1 victory over Lynchburg, before earning a pair of team points against No. 1 Auburn at the Auburn Equestrian Center on Saturday.
In Saturday's neutral site opener, the Vixens (2-2) wrapped up fences with a 4-1 lead over Lynchburg.
Sweet Briar picked up its first point when first-year Rachel Perry (Rockville, Va.) earned a 74-70 victory over Lilly Fraley before junior Britt Larson-Jackson (Washington, D.C.) saw her 78 on Izzo hold up for a second Sweet Briar point. Senior Lily Peterson (Ashland, Va.) rode Herbie to a 76-73 victory before fellow senior Katie Balding (Williamsburg, Va.) posted the highest fences score in Sweet Briar history with a 95-83 victory on Player.
Balding's 95 over fences was the first fences score above 90 in the Vixens' NCEA history and earned Balding the ninth most outstanding performer nod of her collegiate career and third of the season.
Flat proved to be more of the same as the Vixens opened with a point from Balding when her 75 held for a 75-74 win over Taylor Herzog. Sophomore Kacie Freeburg (Orlando, Fla.) earned an 80-64 win on Lego, while Peterson earned her first MOP of the season with an 88-73 flat victory. Larson-Jackson earned Sweet Briar's final team point with a 59-48 win over Fraley.
Saturday marked the first-ever NCEA meeting between Sweet Briar and Lynchburg, the top two programs in the first NCEA single discipline ranking that saw Sweet Briar ranked first and Lynchburg second.
Sweet Briar's meeting with host Auburn, the No. 1 dual discipline team in the nation, opened on the flat with Balding earning a point with an 86-75 victory over Meghan Knapic. Perry posted the eighth-highest flat score in Sweet Briar history, against Auburn, and saw her score hold up for an 88-84 win Ava Stearns to earn the Vixens a second team point.
Larson-Jackson and Peterson both scored over 80 on flat against Auburn, with Larson-Jackson posting an 83 on Cantori and Peterson scoring an 86 on Nonstop. Over fences, Freeburg was the lone Vixen to score over 80 points with an 84 on Rico.
Auburn finished the day with an 8-2 victory over the Vixens.
Sweet Briar returns home on March 19 for a home meet against Wilson at the Harriet Howell Rogers Riding Center.
