Fresno State will take on New Mexico State Saturday morning and with a win would advance to the championship match against either Texas A&M or Georgia.
Jan. 27, 2006
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -
The Fresno State Bulldogs equestrian team's western riders captured their opening round match against Kansas State, 697-687.5, on the first day of action at the Big 8 Western Tournament held at N.W. Dick Freeman Arena on Friday. The Bulldogs entered the show as the No. 3 seed and defeated the fourth-seeded Wildcats.
Fresno State will advance to take on No. 7 seed New Mexico State, which landed the only upset in the first round, beating No. 2 seed Oklahoma State 703.5-696 in the closest match of the day.
"Overall, we were very pleased with the day," said head coach Becky Malmo. "The ladies performed well and we are looking forward to tomorrow (Friday) when we start with New Mexico State. Hopefully we can win that and advance to the finals."
Leading the Bulldogs to victory were riders Heidi Smith, Elise Kolp and Sara Barnes.
Texas A&M, seeded No. 1 in the tournament, captured wins in five of six head-to-head match-ups against the No. 8-seeded Bears. No. 4 Georgia defeated No. 5 seed South Carolina, 720 to 705, in its first round match-up.
The winner of the Texas A&M-Georgia match will face the winner of the Fresno State-New Mexico State match while the two losers will square off in the bronze medal match at the end of the day.
The semifinals in the consolation bracket were also decided on Friday. Oklahoma State rebounded from its loss to oust Kansas State from the tournament, 717 to 684, while South Carolina did likewise against Baylor, 711 to 693.5. Oklahoma State and South Carolina will face off in the consolation final on Saturday morning along with the two winner's bracket semifinal matches.
The final day of the Big 8 Western Tournament will begin at 8 a.m. CT Saturday and continue throughout the day.
Big 8 Western Tournament First Round
No. 3 Fresno State 697, No. 4 Kansas State 687.5
Horsemanship
Heidi Smith, Fresno State lost to Jana Lechtenberg, Kansas State 136.5-138
Sara Barnes, Fresno State def. Sara Weller, Kansas State 141.5-138
Elise Kolp, Fresno State lost to Lindsay Salisbury, Kansas State 137-139
Reining
Elise Kolp, Fresno State def. Lindsay Salisbury, Kansas State 142.5-134
Sara Barnes, Fresno State def. Lindsey Hicks, Kansas State 139.5-136.5
Heidi Smith, Fresno State lost to Sara Weller, Kansas State 129.5-136
