Georgia, Dartmouth Capture Historic NCEA Championships

Georgia finished the regular season 6-5 and was bounced in the opening round of the SEC Championship at the end of March. Over the past three seasons, the Bulldogs have earned a spot in the NCEA bracket, only to be eliminated on Day 1. 

All of that made Georgia a heavy underdog coming into Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup with No. 2 Auburn. It was a position the Bulldogs decided to embrace. 

Georgia easily dispatched the Tigers, 13-4, then did the same on Friday against SEC foe Texas A&M in a 16-4 decision. That set the stage for Saturday’s championship round with the Mustangs. Top-seeded SMU was aiming to become just the second program in NCEA history to win three straight dual discipline titles. The only other school to do it – Georgia from 2008-10. 

“It was such a great competitive atmosphere. I think we all wanted it really bad and their riding pushed us to ride even better,” said senior Jordan Davis. “They would go out and throw out a big score and we were, ‘OK, we’re going to go get an even higher score.’ I think it just fueled the fire.”

Despite trailing 6-4 after reining and horsemanship, the Bulldogs never flinched, taking control with a sweep of the flat and then securing the victory with a 3-2 effort over fences. 

The outcome adds to Georgia’s already impressive legacy in the NCEA. The program has the most dual discipline championships of any school at eight and counting. More than that, the win keeps a significant streak alive – few student-athletes have left Athens without at least one national title ring to their credit. The longest drought for Georgia was six seasons between 2015-20 meaning. 

“I think we’ve come to this championship three years before and have not made it past the first round,” said senior Catalina Peralta. “So to be able to come here this year with this belief that we will get this job done at all costs and to be able to execute that is extremely special and something that I’m going to remember forever just because of the belief we had in each other and this team.”

Dartmouth claims first NCEA single discipline crown

When it was announced that fences riders would be the first to go during Saturday’s NCEA single discipline championship finale, Cassidy Exner knew it was the opportunity she and her Dartmouth teammates needed. 

The Big Green program is strongest over fences, meaning the team could seize control early. It was a chance they didn’t squander. 

“That momentum was so important going in. We know we make good choices over fences consistently and everybody was just on today,” Exner, a sophomore, said. “Going in knowing exactly what you have to do to close it out on the flat was really helpful to the mindset in the second half.”

Dartmouth raced out to a 4-1 lead thanks to a strong showing over fences, then held off a late charge from the College of Charleston to secure a raw score 749.67-701.67 victory after each team picked up five individual victories. 

The outcome capped a whirlwind week for the Big Green as the program was making just its second appearance at the NCEA Championship in Ocala. Dartmouth, which officially joined the NCEA in 2021, earned a berth in the single discipline bracket for the first time last April. 

The Big Green and Cougars were no strangers to each other as they each compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference. The teams split regular season meetings with each picking up a win at home. The programs also met in the finals of the ECAC single discipline championship back in late March. Charleston claimed the league title en route to its first trip to the NCEA Championship. 

The path to a fourth meeting was anything but easy. 

Dartmouth's first-round opponent on Friday, top-seeded Lynchburg, was on the hunt for a fourth straight single discipline national title. 

“We were excited to take them on head-to-head in the first round as the No. 4 seed playing the No. 1 with their history and their past championships,” Dartmouth head coach Tenley Walsh said of the 6-4 win. “It was actually the first time in Dartmouth history we’ve ever beaten Lynchburg, so that was already kind of a huge box to check.” 

Dartmouth refused to rest on its laurels Saturday, battling with the Cougars from the opening ride. The deciding factor came down to two pieces – sophomore Riley Dickman’s win on the flat gave the Big Green its fifth point to pull even with Charleston overall. The Cougars had a fences rider go off pattern earlier in the meet, producing a zero-point ride, which ultimately gave Dartmouth the edge in raw score. 

The experience of getting to Ocala last year ignited a fire within the program. Saturday’s effort proved that their determination wouldn’t be denied. 

“I’m just so proud of all of my teammates showing up under pressure. We all knew that we could, and it’s just fantastic to get to prove it on the big stage,” Exner said. “I’m just thrilled that we were able to put it together because we knew coming in we could.”