13 Tiger Equestrians earn SEC post-season honors
AUBURN, Ala. (auburntigers.com) – The Southeastern Conference announced its postseason awards for equestrian Wednesday and 13 student-athletes of the No. 1 Auburn Equestrian team were honored.
Highlighting the team’s honors were the selections for seniors Elizabeth Benson and Griffin Knight and freshmen Caitlin Boyle and Lauren Diaz. Benson was named Co- SEC Flat Rider of the Year, while Knight was named Co-SEC Horsemanship Rider of the Year. Boyle was named SEC Freshman Rider of the Year in both Fences and Flat, while Diaz earned Freshman Horsemanship Rider of the Year.
Benson finished undefeated in SEC competition this season in Equitation on the Flat with an 8-0 record. She is entering the NCEA Championships with a 14-1 overall record and was named a first team All-American in the event.
Knight won six match ups in SEC play and holds a 12-2 overall mark in Horsemanship. She earned three MOP honors in the event this season and also was named a first team All-American for the first time in her career.
Boyle has been in the Auburn lineup in every meet this season in both Fences and Flat. Entering the final week of the season, she is 22-5-1 overall with a 13-1 record over Fences and a 9-4-1 record on the Flat. The Hampshire, Ill., product went undefeated on the team’s run to a SEC Championship, going 4-0 on the weekend. For her efforts, she was named to the All-SEC Championship team (Fences) and was also named an NCEA All-American over Fences.
Diaz has also been a mainstay in the Tiger Horsemanship lineup for Auburn and is 8-5-1 in the event. The Heath, Ohio, product has been awarded three MOP honors this year.
In total, eight Tigers earned nine All-SEC accolades with Benson being placed on both the Equitation over Fences and Equitation on the Flat teams. Boyle and freshmen Hayley Iannotti and Ashton Alexander joined her on Fences, while juniors Ashley Foster and Tory Hoft were also placed on the Flat team.
On the Western side, Knight earned All-SEC honors in Horsemanship, while sophomore Alexa Rivard was recognized for her efforts in Reining.
Seven freshmen were selected to the four SEC All-Freshman teams. Boyle and Alexander each earned a spot on both Fences and Flat, while Iannotti joined the pair on Fences. Diaz and classmate Megan Rauh were placed on the Horsemanship squad, while Blair McFarlin and Ali Fratessa were honored on the Reining team.
Auburn heads to the NCEA National Championship as the top seed and will begin competition April 15 in Waco, Texas. The 2016 SEC champions will take on the winner of No. 8 Kansas State/No. 9 Delaware State at 8:30 a.m. CT. The national semifinals and championship final will take place Saturday, April 16, beginning at 2 p.m. CT.
