NOTE: The above video is a livestream of WIS featuring current newscasts, Soda City Living and Gray Media\u2019s Local News Live.<\/p>\n
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Fourth-seeded South Carolina Equestrian won its fourth National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) National Championship in program history on Saturday, as the Gamecocks held on in thrilling fashion at the World Equestrian Center to defeat No. 2 seed Texas A&M, 10-10 in a raw-score tiebreaker, 1696.08-1473.00.<\/p>\n
The Gamecocks never trailed in Saturday\u2019s National Championship meet. It marks South Carolina\u2019s first National Championship in Equestrian since 2015. It also marks the third National Championship in four years for head coach Carol Gwin, who won the national title in 2023 and 2024 at SMU before being named head coach at South Carolina, where she previously served as an assistant from 2010-2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been coaching at this level for 16 years, and I really think this weekend has been the most thrilling weekend of them all,\u201d South Carolina head coach Carol Gwin said. \u201cThis group has been so much fun to coach, and they\u2019ve done everything we\u2019ve asked of them all season long, and it was such a thrill to see all of their hard work pay off this weekend with a National Championship.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis morning before the meet, I was reflecting back on my coaching journey and when I was at SMU, we didn\u2019t win a National Championship until my 9th and 10th seasons there. So, for this team to be able to make it here in just our second season together is a testament to how amazing they are and how historic this season has been. I couldn\u2019t be prouder of them and I\u2019m thrilled that they\u2019ll forever go down in history as National Champions at the University of South Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Gamecocks finish the season with a 13-5 record. After going 3-3 in the SEC during the regular season, the South Carolina knocked off No. 1 seed Auburn on Friday and No. 2 seed Texas A&M on Saturday to secure the national title.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t win a championship without a wonderful team supporting you,\u201d said Gwin. \u201cIt starts with our President Dr. Michael Amiridis and our Athletic Director Jeremiah Donati, and I\u2019m just so grateful to both of them for their continued support of our program and for investing in us and giving us the resources to provide our student-athletes with a first-class experience here at the University of South Carolina. I also want to thank our sport administrator Clark Cox and everyone in the athletics department for everything they\u2019ve done to support our student-athletes, coaching staff, and our horses. None of this would be possible without all of their incredible work and support throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Gamecocks jumped out to an early 4-1 lead after a dominating performance in Reining and never looked back. Freshman Emily Patton won the first of four straight Carolina points when she earned a career-high score of 73.7 to beat Texas A&M\u2019s Mattie Gustin. Sophomore Olivia Cardi followed with a career-high score herself, as she knocked off Isabelle Gonzales, 73.3-72.5. After sophomore Opal Fomish won her point to give the Gamecocks a 3-0 lead, junior Alexis Potts beat A&M\u2019s Gracie Casebolt, 72.3-71.8. Texas A&M won the final reining point to cut South Carolina\u2019s lead to 4-1. Patton was named Most Outstanding Performing in reining.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur reining team delivered their best performance of the season today on the biggest stage, and it was truly something special to see,\u201d Gwin said. \u201cOur Western coaches TR Potts and Stephanie Broughton had those girls ready to go this morning and to beat A&M like that in their strongest event, I thought it set the tone for us and got everyone fired up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Gamecocks extended their lead in Horsemanship, winning 3-of-5 points to give South Carolina a 7-3 lead at halftime.<\/p>\n
After Texas A&M won the first two Horsemanship points to cut South Carolina\u2019s lead to 4-3, the Gamecocks won three-straight points. Senior Carly Jenkins started the scoring streak when she beat Texas A&M\u2019s Kaitlyn Bloom, 77.7-76.7. After senior Alyssa Jipping cruised to a 76.3-73.8 victory over Kaylynn Heitman in her final ride as a Gamecock, Potts completed her perfect day with a 76.8-74 win over Ady Kallay to give South Carolina a 7-3 lead. Potts, a First Team All-American and SEC Horsemanship Rider of the year, added to her trophy collection by being named Most Outstanding Performer in Horsemanship.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur horsemanship team has been such a fun group to watch all year. That entire lineup has won critical points for us all season,\u201d Gwin said. \u201cWe have a lot of experience in that lineup, and it showed today. Just an amazing performance by our entire Horsemanship team today, this weekend, and all year.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the Flat, the Gamecocks extended their lead to 9-3, after sophomore Vanessa McCaughley and senior Natalie Jayne won back-to-back points. McCaughley knocked off Texas A&M\u2019s Logan Thomas, 80.7-76, and Jayne posted an event-high score of 88.3 to beat her opponent. Jayne was named Most Outstanding Performer on the Flat. The Aggies won the final three Flat points, cutting South Carolina\u2019s lead to 9-6.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Flat team has been so good all season for us, and even though a few of those points didn\u2019t go our way, they did what we needed them to do for us,\u201d Gwin said. \u201cI really thought they all rode well, and sometimes the points just don\u2019t go your way, but we won two very important points that obviously we had to have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Texas A&M cut the Gamecocks\u2019 lead to 9-7 after the Aggies won the first Fences point. After losing her Flat point earlier in the meet, sophomore Amira Kettaneh delivered the meet-clinching point for South Carolina, beating A&M\u2019s Logan Thomas, 84.7-40.<\/p>\n
Holding a 10-7 lead and maintaining a raw-score tiebreaker advantage at that point, the Gamecocks only needed to finish the meet without a zero in order to win the National Championship. Texas A&M went on to win the final three Fenecs points to even the score at 10-10, but the Gamecocks prevailed on the tiebreaker, 1696.08-1473.00.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was certainly a suspenseful and exciting way to end the meet, and I just have to credit our Jumping Seat team for hanging in there and not letting the momentum wipe us out. Texas A&M rode great in Jumping Seat today, which we knew they would. But our girls hung in there, they stayed focused, and they delivered exactly what we needed to get this thing across the finish line. I\u2019ve really had a blast this season working with Sierra Swaffar to coach this group, and I thought Sierra did a wonderful job of keeping the girls locked in and focused on having the clean rides they needed to have.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Gamecocks\u2019 previous National Championships in Equestrian came in 2015, 2007, and 2005.<\/p>\n
Most Outstanding Performers<\/p>\n
Fences \u2013 Kate Egan, Texas A&M<\/p>\n
Flat \u2013 Natalie Jayne, South Carolina<\/p>\n
Horsemanship \u2013 Alexis Potts, South Carolina<\/p>\n
Reining \u2013 Emily Patton, South Carolina<\/p>\n
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