Rustburg, Va. – The University of Lynchburg equestrian team defeated Berry 6-1 in an exhibition meet Friday afternoon.

Berry is a new member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference for equestrian, but the NCEA competition between the Vikings and Hornets did not count towards the standings as Berry did not have enough riders. 

Fallyn Belcastro opened the meet with a 90 over fences, allowing her to earn the MOP award for that portion of the competition. Brynley Smith followed Belcastro's performance with an 86, and Jacqueline Needle scored a 78 to secure the Lynchburg victory over fences..

Devyn Borden won the first point on the flat for Lynchburg after scoring a 66. Lucy Metzler followed with a 69 to earn the Hornets another point. The MOP on flats, Belcastro, scored an 89 to give Lynchburg a 3-0 lead. Despite putting up an 83 in her matchup, Kelley McCormick fell by one point to Berry's Maeghan Kursman. 

Prior the match, the Hornets celebrated three of their seniors, Kelley McCormick, Brynley Smith, and Jacqueline Needle. McCormick owns the best score in program history on the flat with a 93 from last season's ECAC championship, Smith has been named the ODAC's rider of the week over fences this season, and Needle has won six points for the Hornets so far in her senior campaign.

This was the last regular season National Collegiate Equestrian Association meet for Lynchburg. The Hornets will travel to Sweet Briar to compete in the ODAC Tournament starting on Thursday, March 21.

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--LYN--