FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State equestrian team enters the 2024 Big 12 Championship as the No. 3 seed. The championship event is hosted by Baylor this Friday and Saturday at the Willis Family Equestrian Center in Waco, Texas.
The Bulldogs will face No. 2 seed Oklahoma State in the first round of competition on Friday. Oklahoma State has won three Big 12 titles in a row.
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THE BRACKET
No. 1 TCU 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 Oklahoma State 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 as the nation's No. 1 team. Oklahoma State is the only other team in the NCEA rankings, checking in at No. 7 in the final rankings.
CHAMPIONSHIP FLASHBACK
Fresno State looks to compete at its fourth 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 three 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.
BULLDOG BONES
Fresno State is 3-8 (1-5 Big 12) on the season
The Bulldogs defeated two ranked opponents on the year in then-No. 2 SMU and then-No. 9 UC Davis.
Fresno State's lone Big 12 win was against Baylor at home.
Fresno State was not ranked in the NCEA team rankings once this season.
This weekend's competitions will be the first for the Bulldogs away from Fresno since the first week in February.
WESTERN 'DOGS
Fresno State is 41-59-8 in its western events this season.
Reining leads the two with 24 wins and horsemanship adds 17.
Horsemanship has six ties on the season.
The Bulldogs' reining group had its best showing of the season with a 4-1 win in the event against Oklahoma State on senior day.
Shelby Robinette leads the reiners with a 7-4 record, and one MOP. Freshman Alana Becker is right near with a 6-4 record.
Becker earned her first career MOP against Oklahoma State in the regular season finale.
Brogan Hill has a winning record in the reining with a 4-3-0 mark on the season, with one MOP honor.
This season, Hill has not scored lower than a 69.5.
Sophomore Abby Goddard earned her first career horsemanship MOP against the UC Davis with a career-high 76.5
Goddard has a 4-4-1 record to lead the team into the postseason
Senior Alex Krebs has a 4-5-2 record with an MOP on the year.
Joining Goddard and Krebs with a horsemanship MOP this season is Kendra Lee. Lee sports a 4-6-0 horsemanship record this season.
JUMPING SEAT 'DOGS
Fresno State is 40-65-6 in the jumping seat events this season.
Fresno State has 21 wins in the fences and 19 in the flat.
Olivia Ferro has been hot in the fences this season, totaling a 6-4-1 overall record with one MOP.
All six wins for Ferro came in a row from Oct. 7 - Feb. 2.
In the flat, senior Sara Tuck had continued her special career as a Bulldog, coming into the weekend with a 8-2-1 record on the year with four MOP honors.
Tuck has only lost one flat point since falling 87-85 against then-No. 1 TCU on Oct. 20.
This season, Tuck set the program record for most career flat MOPs with 10.
Taylor Holstead is 5-4 in the fences and 4-5 in the flat. She adds two flat MOPs to her resume this season.
Freshman Sage Lindvall has entered the chat. The true freshman has rode in five rides so far in her career, totaling a 3-1 record in the fences and earning one tie in the flat.
SCOUTING THE CONFERENCE
No. 1 seed TCU
TCU finished the regular season with an 11-1 record, and an unblemished 6-0 mark in Big 12 competition. The Horned Frogs finished the regular season as the nation's top-ranked team. TCU's lone loss came in an 11-7 loss at then-No. 3 SMU in the regular season finale on March 8.
No. 2 seed Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State closed out the year with a 6-6 overall record and a 4-2 mark in conference play with both of its losses coming by TCU. The Cowgirls won two straight to end the regular season at Fresno State and at UC Davis. The win over the Aggies came in a raw score tiebreaker on the road in the regular season finale. Oklahoma State has won the last three Big 12 titles, and has nine in the program's history.
No. 4 seed Baylor
Baylor finished the regular season with a 2-10 overall record and a 1-5 mark in Big 12 competition. The two wins for the Bears were against Bulldogs as the Bears defeated Fresno State in a raw score tiebreaking win and Georgia 11-8 at home to open the spring season.