ECAC announces Driver of the Month for November
DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced the Riders of the Week for the month of November.
Fences: Juliana Gullo – South Dakota State
Juliana was unbeaten in November and showed she could score points for her team over fences in both home and away games. Juliana started the month with a win against UC Davis on Vita. She continued that momentum the next day with another win against UMC on Mambo, breaking a personal record of 85. She didn't stop with her two home wins in November and continued this trend with two away wins against DSU UTM. All of their November scores were by a point margin of seven or more points.
Apartment: Marin Gilliland – UC Davis
Gilliland has won every November event she has competed in, across four competitions. The experienced senior captured the Rider of the Week title with her performance against No. 4 Oklahoma State in a one-point duel while riding Sophie as the MOP winner. On November 7th, she and Calvigo won against Georgia by four points.
Equestrianism: Anna Minich – South Dakota State
First-year rider Anna Minich had an excellent start to her first-year riding career. In November, Minich picked up two MOP awards at home, scoring a 76 and a 76.5. Minich also won her point away at DSU with a 76, beating her opponent by 3.5 points. Minich ends their fall season undefeated at home with a winning record of 3-1-1.
Reining: Ada Hirschfeld – South Dakota State
Freshman Ada Hirschfeld had a great start to her collegiate career in reining. In November, Hirschfeld beat three of four of her competitors, winning by an average of 6.3 points. Hirschfeld also earned MOP honors at home against UMN. Hirschfeld won both points away at Delaware State University. She defeated DSU's Cambry Hedges by 9.5 points aboard Luna and also won a neutral point against the 10th-ranked team, UT Martim.
Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Month: Aubrey Malone – UT Martin
Aubrey Malone, a senior at UT Martin, is studying mass media and strategic communications from Fayetteville, TN. She competes in reining for UTM and has a 4-3 record this season and earned MOP honors against SDSU at DSU in November. Aubrey is a captain and a member of the team's social media committee. She is one of the UTM photographers and takes many photos of teammates and horses during our meetings. This month, Aubrey began working at the NRHA Futurity. Aubrey has always been driven by the desire to do communications work in the horse industry. She had never graduated from the NRHA but was always interested in it, so she started working for the NRHA as a management intern and then helped in the awards department until she proved her mettle and earned a place at what she loves, deserves: a media internship. At the NRHA Derby this fall, she wrote several human interest stories, interviewed exhibitors from around the world and did a live interview on ABC news station KOCO to recruit people from OKC to attend the Derby finale.
Horse of the Month: Lewendowski aka “Lewy” – State of Delaware – Jumping Seat – Owned by DSU Athlete Mckenzie Elkins
Lewy's first reunion after a debilitating year-long injury took place in November. It was a long, arduous recovery that vets weren't sure would happen. Lewy had a lot of fun in both competitions in the fences this weekend. He posted a great score of 87, helping a DSU freshman win her point. Their UTM opponent posted an equally impressive score of 83 with Lewy. These rides took place on Senior Day and Lewy's owner is a senior on the team. It was very moving that the owner and his family were all there to witness the comeback of Lewy's.
ABOUT THE ECAC
The ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) is an 85-year-old organization with well over 200 member schools in all three NCAA divisions – I, II and III. The ECAC's mission is to enhance the experience of student-athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics events and to provide significant value to universities and colleges through sponsorship of championships, leagues, bowl games, tournaments and other competitions throughout the Northeast. The ECAC's esports platform is growing to include more than 60 colleges and universities, expanding the conference's geographic footprint nationally. The ECAC also sponsors competitions and leagues involving other varsity and club sports that do not fall under the auspices of the NCAA.
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