Rustburg, Va. -- The University of Lynchburg equestrian team claimed an NCEA dual meet victory in commanding fashion by taking down ODAC foe Bridgewater, 9-1, on Friday afternoon.

The Hornets (2-2, 1-1) earned their first conference win of the season and swept the Most Outstanding Performer awards. Senior Emma Schweizer claimed the MOP in fences and earned a score of 85 riding Eragon, the highest score of the afternoon for the fences event. Senior Lucy Metzler was award the MOP in flat and was given a score of 88 riding Caleb, tying the best score of the meet with junior Abby Zemp, who also scored 88 in flat riding Carl.

Determined to bounce back after dropping last week's meet, every Lynchburg performer who rode for team points scored 70-or-better today. In the fences event, freshman Madeline Rubin and Zemp scored 70 and 71 riding Kevin and Tommy, respectively. Rubin's score was enough to claim a point for the Hornets and Zemp's score, although solid, was the only occasion where Bridgewater took the team point. Senior Fallyn Belcastro earned a score of 81 riding Colin and Metzler rounded out the Lynchburg performers in fences with an 83 riding Radio.

The aforementioned Metzler and Zemp each earned the top scores of the entire meet in the flat event, helping Lynchburg sweep the team points in flat. Sophomore Devyn Borden claimed an impressive score of 84 riding Van Gogh, the final of six scores for Lynchburg that were awarded over 80. Sophomore Kristin Palmer earned a 76 while riding Eragon and Belcastro closed out the Lynchburg riders with a score of 77 riding Rolo.

The NCEA equestrian squad triumphed with its largest scoring differential since April 19 of last season, when the Hornets clean-swept Sewanne in the NCEA Single-Discipline National Semifinals, 10-0. Lynchburg's next outing is this Sunday, October 20 when the team travels to Lexington, Va. for a dual against Washington and Lee at 10 a.m.

Visit Lynchburg athletics' home online, LynchburgSports.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news on all Hornets sports and coverage from the Lynchburg Hornets Sports Network.

Sign up here to receive Lynchburg Sports news in your email inbox. 

Give Lynchburg Sports a like on Facebook, and follow Lynchburg athletics on Instagram and X.