No. 1 Auburn Closes Fall Portion of Schedule at No. 3 Georgia - AuburnTigers.com

No. 1 Auburn Closes Fall Portion of Schedule at No. 3 Georgia Georgia meet

Senior Grace Socha

Nov. 9, 2011

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Third National Coaches Poll

AUBURN - Two of the top three teams in the nation will face off as the No. 1 Auburn equestrian team travels to Bishop, Ga., for its biggest meet so far this season against archrival, No. 3 Georgia, on Friday.

The third Women's Intercollegiate Equestrian National Coaches Poll was released on Wednesday as No. 1 Auburn and No. 3 Georgia retained their top spots in the rankings. Georgia (3-1) is currently riding a three-meet winning streak after losing its season-opener to Texas A&M, 13-10. Auburn, who remains undefeated at 6-0, recently defeated both South Dakota State and Delaware State on Nov. 5.

Competing in Horsemanship will be Katie Buff, Kristin Hansen, Katsy Leeman, Indy Roper and Stephanie Rucci, while Chelsea Zillner will be the alternate.

Cheyenne Cracraft, Jillian Fuller, Kristin Hansen, Indy Roper and Stephanie Rucci will compete in Reining. The alternate will be Lydia Hinshaw.

Equitation Over Fences will feature Quincy Hayes, Christina Lin, Maggie McAlary, Grace Socha and Jennifer Waxman. Piper Donnelly will act as the alternate.

Equitation on the Flat will see Anna Becker, Christina Lin, Maggie McAlary, Lindsay Portela and Grace Socha, with Jennifer Delman as the alternate.

"We have some upperclassmen that are having incredible seasons, and our younger girls are right there with them," head coach Greg Williams said. "I love how many different riders we have with winning records and how spread out the MVP honors have been. These are all good signs of a complete team."

Auburn has never won at Georgia, where UGA has a 45-1 all-time dual-meet record. Since moving to the UGA Equestrian Complex in 2009, Georgia currently holds a 19-1 record. The overall regular season series between the two programs also favors UGA, 14-3.

"I feel really good about the way we are performing right now," Williams said. "We are looking forward to the Georgia meet. While it is always hard to beat a good team at their place, our girls are more than capable of making that happen. If we don't have any errors and we ride like we have been then it should be a fun ride back to Auburn after the meet."

Last season, Auburn beat Georgia at the Auburn University Horse Center, 13-6, on Nov. 11. Georgia would go on to defeat Auburn at home, 11-9, later in the season, on Feb. 12.

The meet begins at noon (CT) and will take place at the UGA Equestrian Complex.

Check auburntigers.com for a complete recap of the meet.