MARTIN, Tenn. -- The South Dakota State equestrian team took a 6-6 tie into the final event, but couldn't hang on as it dropped its quarterfinal meet of the United Equestrian Conference Championships 9-7.
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The Jacks got off to a hot start by sweeping Equitation over Fences and taking an early 4-0 lead.
Jacey Chorlton led the way with a combined score of 152 while
Claire Garduno scored a 149,
Alexa Maiello a 148 and
Jessica Martinez a 135.
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UTM took Horsemanship 3-1 to cut the Jackrabbit lead to 5-3 as
Jordan Gates earned the lone point for SDSU with a combined ride of 143.5.
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The score evened at 6-6 after Reining as
Rylee Streit's ride of 132 earned the Jacks their only point of the event. Gates scored a 135 in her ride, but was defeated by the event's top score of 136.5.
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Going into the final event, the two teams were tied in points but the Jackrabbits lead in scoring 1,655-1,562, meaning a tiebreaker likely would have ended in SDSU's favor. Garduno earned a point with her ride of 139 after a UTM point to even thing back up at 7-7.
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Chorlton's ride of 127 was narrowly bested by her UTM opponent's score of 128 to put the Skyhawks up 8-7 and Maiello's final ride of 137 wasn't enough to outscore her opponent's 151.
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The Jackrabbits will now prepare for the NCEA National Championships, taking place April 17-20 in Waco, Texas.
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