Big 12 Championship
No. 3 seed Fresno State vs No. 2 seed TCU
Friday, Mar. 24 • 8:00 a.m. PT • Pedigo-Hull Equestrian Center • Stillwater, Okla.
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
Live Scoring
Watch (Big 12 Now on ESPN+):
Friday
Western (Horsemanship & Reining)
Jumping Seat (Fences & Flat)
Saturday
Western (Horsemanship & Reining)
Jumping Seat (Fences & Flat)
THE BRACKET
No. 1 Oklahoma State and No. 4 Baylor will compete against each other in the first of two semifinals at the Big 12 championship. No. 3 Fresno State and No. 2 TCU will be the second semifinal matchup on Friday. The winners of the semifinal events will face each other for the title of Big 12 Champion on Saturday. The losers of the semifinal rounds will drop to the consolation bracket and compete for third place on Saturday.
TEAMS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
In the final NCEA regular-season team rankings, TCU led the Conference at the No. 3 spot after ending their season with a 12-7 win over No. 9 Baylor. Oklahoma State followed at No. 5 after ending its season with a single-discipline win over the University of Lynchburg. Fresno State finished at No. 8 after knocking off the Cowgirls on March 4th on Senior Day.
CHAMPIONSHIP FLASHBACK
Fresno State looks to compete at its third Big 12 Championship this weekend. The Bulldogs joined the conference in the 2019-20 season, but the 2020 edition of the championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bulldogs look for their first win at the Big 12 Championship as the team has finished in fourth place in its last two championships.
Fresno State's last conference title was in 2015 when it was named the United Equestrian Conference champion. That is the Bulldogs' only conference title in program history.
TEAM NOTES
Fresno State is 3-7 on the season and 2-4 in Big 12 competition.
The Bulldogs' conference wins are against Baylor (Feb. 4) and Oklahoma State (Mar. 4).
Fresno State went 3-1 in its spring season, falling only to TCU.
Fresno State was No. 8 in the last NCEA team rankings. The Bulldogs hope to keep that No. 8 spot following conference championship weekend as the Top 8 teams qualify for Nationals.
This weekend will be the first time since Nov. 18 that the Bulldogs will travel and compete on the road.
WESTERN 'DOGS
The western squads combine for a 32-56-10 record this season.
Horsemanship leads the way with 19 wins and the reining group adds 13 on the year.
The Bulldog horsemanship crew had its first sweep (vs. Minnesota Crookston, Feb. 3) since defeating UC Davis 5-0 on Feb. 8, 2020.
Senior Hannah Buijs has the most wins by any western rider with five in the horsemanship. Buijs also has a team-high two MOPs, both in the horsemanship, this season.
Alex Krebs, Ella Storch and Kendra Lee add four wins apiece in the horsemanship.
Krebs has one MOP on the year.
Senior Julianne Kelley leads the reining group with a 4-3-3 record.
Sarah Semrau leads the reining group with two MOPs, with her second one coming in the regular season finale against Oklahoma State.
Semrau rode for a 79 in a reining MOP ride against Baylor (Feb. 4), tying the program record alongside Robinette.
Brogan Hill and Semrau are behind Kelley with three reining wins this season.
JUMPING SEAT 'DOGS
Fresno State is 38-56-4 in its jumping seat rides this year.
The fences group has 20 wins and the flat has 18 this season.
Senior Sara Tuck was named the Big 12 Flat Rider of the Month after going 3-0 with three MOPs in the month of February.
Tuck scored a program record 96 in the flat in her final regular season ride as a Bulldog against Oklahoma State (Mar. 4, 2023).
Tuck now has the most career MOP honors in the flat by any rider on the current roster, having earned six in the event in her career.
Tuck and Elle Martin lead the flat team with five wins a piece.
Senior Ana Bertozzi leads the fences team with an 8-2 record and one MOP.
Tuck has a team-high two fences MOPs.
SCOUTING THE CONFERENCE
No. 1 seed Oklahoma State
OSU closed the regular season 6-4, with a 4-2 Big 12 conference record. Fresno State defeated OSU 10-9 on March 4, and ended a four-meet winning streak for the Cowgirls. The Cowgirls were the 2022 Big 12 and National Champions. OSU will be competing for its eighth conference championship in program history.
No. 2 seed TCU
TCU is 11-2 this season. The Horned Frogs are also 4-2 in their Big 12 competition. TCU's only losses this season were to Oklahoma State (11-9) on Feb. 25 and Baylor (12-7) in fall competition on Oct. 21. Both losses for TCU came on the road. The Horned Frogs were undefeated at home this season, marking the first time in program history the team had that accomplishment. TCU was consistently ranked in the Top 3 in the NCEA all season for the first time in its program's history. TCU has never won a conference tournament championship.
No. 4 seed Baylor
Baylor is 5-8 on the season, and 2-4 in Big 12 competition on the season. Baylor enters the conference championship weekend on a four-meet losing streak dating back to Feb. 3. Baylor's conference wins were a 12-7 win over TCU on Oct. 21 and an 11-7 win over Fresno State on Nov. 18. Baylor has four Big 12 titles in its program history.