Fresno State

March 3, 2007

FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State got strong performances from several individuals in Saturday's Western competition in the "Best in the West" six-team tournament held at the Student Horse Center. Led by a strong performance from Rebecca Flood, who scored an 84 on Remington and was named the MVP of the Horsemanship event, the two Fresno State teams in the field advanced to the finals. Fresno State entered a Red and Blue team in the field because SMU, a competing team in the English events, does not sponsor a Western team.

"It was a strong day for our young ladies," said head coach Becky Malmo. "We are very pleased. We had a beautiful day, the arena was in fantastic condition, and our young ladies really stepped up and competed well. We are looking forward to tomorrow and the English event and hoping we can finish strong. Sara Barnes had a good day. She was really been working hard. I'm very happy for Rebecca, too. She's really been coming along and we are proud of her."

Fresno State's Red Squad scored 10 points, outdistancing South Dakota State and Delaware State, to advance to the championship match. Heidi Smith picked up wins in both reining and horsemanship. Keri Blackledge scored a 70.5 in reining.

The Bulldog's Blue team did not lose a match in horsemanship, as Sara Barnes, Sierra Daniels and Daniell Nielsen each picked up a pair of wins. The Dogs scored 8 points, one ahead of TCU and five better than Tennessee-Martin to reach the finals.

With four dual wins today, the Dogs improved to 6-4 on the season. The Bulldog Red team beat the Blue team, 4-2 in Western competition with Flood and Blackledge each getting a win, and Smith providing two wins.

"It was a very exciting day," said Flood, a sophomore from Tollhouse. "This is our biggest show of the year and it is a big weekend for our seniors. They mean so much to me and the rest of the team. We want to make them proud. They are such an inspiration for us and have set high standards for our program. I'm thankful to the coaches who have really pushed us hard to make us better. It's nice to see that hard work pay off."

TCU defeated South Dakota State, 5-1 for third place and Tennessee-Martin edged Delaware State 3-3 in tie-breaker for fifth place.

The English portion of the show will begin at 8 a.m. on Sunday at the Student Horse Center on campus.

First Round Bracket One
Fresno State Red: 10
South Dakota St.: 5
Delaware State: 1

Horsemanship Individuals Results
Rebecca Flood, FS (61) defeated Anna Taylor, SDSU (60)
Heidi Smith, FS (74) defeated Jordanne Blair, SDSU (72)
Erin Bowen, FS (64) lost to Abby Knobbe, SDSU (69)

Rebecca Flood, FS (61) defeated Kera Russum, DS (40)
Heidi Smith, FS (74) defeated Morgan Scure, DS (65)
Erin Bowen, FS (64) defeated Christina Smith, DS (48)

Anna Taylor, SDSU (60) defeated Kera Russum, DS (40)
Jordanne Blair, SDSU (72) defeated Morgan Scure, DS (65)
Abby Knobbe, SDSU (69) defeated Christina Smith, DS (48)

Reining Individuals Results
Heidi Smith, FS (68) defeated Jordanne Blair, SDSU (0)
Marybeth Brown, FS (68) lost to Abby Knobbe, SDSU (71)
Keri Blackledge, FS (70.5) defeated Anna Taylor, SDSU (61.5)

Heidi Smith, FS (68) defeated Kera Russum, DS (55)
Marybeth Brown, FS (68) defeated Christina Smith, DS (55.5)
Keri Blackledge, FS (70.5) defeated Morgan Scure, DS (59)

Jordanne Blair, SDSU (0) lost to Kera Russum, DS (55)
Abby Knobbe, SDSU (71) defeated Christina Smith, DS (55.5)
Anna Taylor, SDSU (61.5) defeated Morgan Scure, DS (59)

Bracket Two
Fresno State Blue: 8
TCU: 7
UTM: 3

Horsemanship Individuals Results
Daniell Nielsen, FS (72) defeated Sally Armstrong, UTM (56)
Sara Barnes, FS (72) defeated Emily Parker, UTM (71)
Sierra Daniels, FS (59) defeated Amanda Weeden, UTM (49)

Daniell Nielsen, FS (72) defeated Jessica Bailey, TCU (69)
Sara Barnes, FS (72) defeated Jennifer Currie, TCU (45)
Sierra Daniels, FS (59) defeated Allie Royder, TCU (51)

Jessica Bailey, TCU (69) defeated Sally Armstrong, UTM (56)
Jennifer Currie, TCU (45) lost to Emily Parker, UTM (71)
Allie Royder, TCU (51) defeated Amanda Weeden, UTM (49)

Reining Individuals Results
Sara Barnes, FS (68.5) defeated Kendra Leake, UTM (67.5)
Ashlee Ernst, FS (64) lost to Elaine Hew, UTM (67)
Rose Hennig, FS (70.5) defeated Lacey Dodd, UTM (64.5)

Sara Barnes, FS (68.5) lost to Chloe Baker, TCU (69.5)
Ashlee Ernst, FS (64) lost to Kindel Huffman, TCU (66)
Rose Hennig, FS (70.5) lost to Carrie vonUhlit, TCU (73.5)

Chloe Baker, TCU (69.5) defeated Kendra Leake, UTM (67.5)
Kindel Huffman, TCU (66) lost to Elaine Hew, UTM (67)
Carrie vonUhlit, TCU (73.5) defeated Lacey Dodd, UTM (64.5)

5th/6th
UTM defeated Delaware State, 3-3 Tiebreaker

Horsemanship Individuals Results
Sally Armstrong, UTM (60) defeated Christina Smith, DS (51)
Elaine Hew, UTM (65) lost to Morgan Scure, DS (71)
Amanda Weeden, UTM (55) defeated Kera Russum, DS (46)

Reining Individuals Results
Kera Russum, DS (53.5) defeated Kendra Leake, UTM (0)
Christina Smith, DS (66.5) lost to Lacey Dodd, UTM (67)
Morgan Scure, DS (0) lost to Elaine Hew, UTM (68)

3rd/4th
TCU defeated SDSU, 5-1

Horsemanship Individuals Results
Jessica Bailey, TCU (74) defeated Anna Taylor, SDSU (61)
Carrie vonUhlit, TCU (81) defeated Jordanne Blair, SDSU (68)
Kindel Huffman, TCU (78) defeated Abby Knobbe, SDSU (74)

Reining Individuals Results
Anna Taylor, SDSU (67.5)defeated Chloe Baker, TCU (63)
Abby Knobbe, SDSU (66) lost to Carrie vonUhlit, TCU (70)
Jordanne Blair, SDSU (0) lost to Kindel Huffman, TCU (66.5)

1st/2nd
Fresno State Red defeated Fresno State Blue, 4-2

Horsemanship Individuals Results
Daniell Nielsen, FS-B (62) lost to Heidi Smith, FS-R (74)
Sara Barnes, FS-B (81) lost to Rebecca Flood, FS-R (82)
Sierra Daniels, FS-B (78) defeated Erin Bowen, FS-R (55)

Reining Individuals Results
Sara Barnes, FS-B (70.5) lost to Heidi Smith, FS-R (71.5)
Ashlee Ernst, FS-B (67.5) defeated Marybeth Brown, FS-R (0)
Rose Hennig, FS-B (67) lost to Keri Blackledge, FS-R (73.5)