Sweet Briar riders in top-10 in NCEA Event Rankings

Sweet Briar’s NCEA team with head coach Mimi Wroten (right) and assistant coach Lizzie Fisch


The National Collegiate Equestrian Association on Wednesday announced the first set of NCEA Event Rankings for the 2018-19 collegiate equestrian season, as determined by the NCEA Selection Committee, with Sweet Briar in the top-10 in equitation on the flat and equitation over fences.

The Vixens are ranked No. 8 in equitation over fences and No. 10 on the flat.

Over fences, Sweet Briar has seven individual head-to-head victories on the season and picked up a 3-2 advantage against Southern Methodist University and 4-1 advantage over Delaware State University. SMU is ranked No. 4 over fences, while Delaware State ranks No. 11.

On the flat, the Vixens recorded seven individual head-to-head victories, while earning a 3-2 advantage against South Dakota State and a 3-1 differential over Tennessee-Martin. South Dakota State is ranked No. 13 on the flat, while Tennessee-Martin is No. 8 according to the NCEA.

The National Championship format includes four event titles that will be included in the April 2019 NCEA National Championship. The event titles will be determined through a head-to-head bracket format in each of the four events that comprise a head-to-head in-season meet. The event rankings are determined by the NCEA Selection Committee and are released to the National Championship. The final set of rankings will be used to seed teams for the event title competitions in Waco, Texas.

Event rankings are determined at each head-to-head competition based on a variety of data points (win/loss; home/away; current rank of opponent). The event rankings may differ from the NCEA Team Rankings that are released every week throughout the season, as they are based solely on the results from the single event in the head-to-head meet.

Sweet Briar will return to NCEA action on Feb. 8, 2019, as Texas Christian University visits the Harriet Howell Rogers Riding Center. The Horned Frogs are ranked No. 7 overall in the FARNAM Top-10 Rankings and are slotted No. 7 on the flat and No. 3 over fences.