The No.7 Fresno State equestrian team’s three-game winning streak is over as the No. 2 Georgia completed the comeback to steal a victory on Nov. 9.

Fresno State Equestrian hosted the second ranked Georgia Bulldogs alongside No. 8 Baylor as part of a two-day home stand this weekend. Fresno State took its meet against Baylor, however, failed to complete the perfect weekend, dropping to Georgia 10-9.

“We’re very proud of this team,” said head coach Eric Hubbard, following the loss. “Georgia is a very tough team. They have a huge history, they are well coached … we were talking this matchup as a dogfight, and we knew it was going to come down to the end, and it did.”

This meet was the last time Fresno State would perform in front of its home crowd for the fall semester. This was also Georgia’s first time traveling on the road this fall. The only Fresno State rider who walked away with a most outstanding performer recognition was freshman Bailey Alexander for her performance in the reigning event. 

The first event of the meet between Georgia and Fresno was fences. This event saw both teams trade points one after the other with Fresno State only picking up two out of the five points available (3-2). Sophomore Cecilia Hayes beat her opponent 78-76, and senior Erica Rosinski beat hers with the same score.

In horsemanship, Georgia took the first point with a score of 75.5 to Fresno State sophomore Hannah Buijus’ 74.5. Following the dropped point, Fresno State swept the rest of the available points, as freshman Alex Krebs, senior Nicole Campbell and freshman Hannah Hays all won their matchups. Sophomore Kameron Thorn ended the horsemanship event tying her opponent and solidifying a 3-1 victory for Fresno State.

By intermission, Fresno State would have a one-point lead against Georgia with the total being 5-4.

The next event saw a Fresno State rider’s streak come to an end. Rosinski had been perfect throughout the entire season, not dropping a single matchup in the flat event. However, against Georgia senior Maddy Darst, Rosinski would lose for the first time this season with the score being 78-71.

“All good things have to come to an end,” Hubbard said, commenting on Rosinski’s streak. “That’s competing, and sometimes you hit a bump, and being there at a high level all the time can be hard. You’ve got to get knocked down before you get back up.”

Only Fresno State freshman Ana Bertozzi would win her matchup in the flat (78-77). With Georgia taking in the flat 4-1, it all came down to the reigning event with Georgia leading 8-6 coming into the event.

Fresno State took the first point with Alexander taking her matchup 73-72.5. Then, Fresno State senior Shea Gilson was allowed a re-ride while senior Paige Barton gave another point to Fresno in her ride (68.5-68). However, even with Gilson winning her re-ride, Georgia would earn the final two reigning points and walk out with the overall victory.

For Fresno State’s next meet, the Bulldogs will travel to Davis, California, to take on UC Davis on Friday, Nov. 15 for the team’s fall finale.