Equestrian team falters at Zone Championships

The postseason came to an end this past Saturday for the three riders who competed in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Zone Championships at the Stoneleigh Burnham School in Greenfield, Mass. In order to qualify for the National Championships, the riders had to place first or second in their class at the Mount Holyoke-hosted meet.

The strongest performance came from junior Melissa Faubert, who finished third in the walk/trot, missing a spot in Nationals by one position. Sophomore Heather Foster did not qualify in the novice flat despite a solid ride, and junior co-captain Hally Phillips finished fourth in the open flat.

"Melissa rode very well," Phillips commented. "Heather rode well also, but she made a careless error in front of the judge, which really hurt her. I was satisfied with my ride. My class was very rigorous; it was an hour long, which is very unusual."

Some of the riders' failure to meet expectations might be the result of sub-par horses. In an attempt to make the horse selection as fair as possible, the Zone Championships use horses that have not been ridden by any of the meet's competitors - these horses are donated by local stables, and are typically less than ideal for a show.

"Horses are usually donated for a reason," Phillips said. "The horses have progressively gotten worse at Zones. They were hard to ride, and the judges had a hard time determining whether it was the rider or the horse that was at fault."

In order to help alleviate this problem, the judges had the riders perform "tests," or demonstrations of superior command over the horse, using three different horses. This was not enough, however, as some of the horses were not trained to do what the judges demanded of the riders.

"My horse hadn't been used all day," Phillips said. "It was not calm and it was hard to control"

Overall, Zones was disappointing for the team. Additionally, it proved to be a weak showing for the region, which only sent two riders to Nationals.

"That's very unusual, because our region is considered to be very strong," Phillips said. "Even Boston University did not make it to Nationals. Our region has had bad luck recently. We're hoping for a better season next year. I think this was definitely a rebuilding year."

Next year, however, might be a different story, with Phillips, co-captain Sarah Summers, and Faubert leading the team and Foster and junior Kate Johnston looking to step up. Students currently abroad could also be contenders and, as always, freshmen and new riders could emerge onto the scene and make an impact on the team.

"Overall, I think there were definitely some successes this year," Phillips said. "And we've had disappointments. Hopefully, we'll be able to learn and build a stronger team."

Men's Ultimate

The E-men entered the tournament - generally an indicator of what lies ahead at Regionals - seeded third behind UMass Amherst and Cornell. On Saturday, during pool play, with shifting winds and sunny skies, the squad went 4-0, taking out Swarthmore (13-5), Brandeis (13-3), Boston University (13-5), and Middlebury (13-9).

"We beat Middlebury, which was a big game," sophomore Ian Schneider said. "They're a team that we see a lot - they're in our region. It's important for us to beat them, and we came through."

In Sunday's tournament play, the E-men first faced Utah State, winning 13-5 with ease. Still, the team feels it didn't perform at its peak both offensively and defensively.

"We didn't do well in all of those areas," junior Neil Pallaver said. "We beat them purely because they are not of our caliber. We try to focus on ourselves - who we are playing does not matter. Despite the win, we were not satisfied with how we performed."

The next victory came against Wesleyan. The team won 13-8, controlling the match from the beginning.

"Wesleyan was huge," Pallaver said. "If we lost, it would have greatly affected our standing at Regionals. We came out strong and the team was really fired up. We had the game in our hands, despite the close score."

Following this match, Cornell proved too tough an opponent for the E-men. The squad was able to come back from a 12-6 deficit, tightening the lead to 13-12 after a score by sophomore Josh Weisstuch. But the E-Mean could not muster up enough energy to complete the run, losing 15-13.

"I was satisfied," Pallaver said. "We almost ended up winning, we just couldn't finish with the last push. We were disappointed in the fact that we did not win. We were satisfied that we did not roll over and lose."

The E-men are looking to perform well in the postseason, as they head into the April 28-29 Sectionals seeded number two.

"I'm not worried about Sectionals," Pallaver said. "Our goal is too high that we won't let [a poor performance] happen."

Weisstuch agreed. "We feel really confident about Sectionals. We're hoping to make Nationals. We've been working really hard, and I'm excited," he said.

Sectionals will be held on the fields across from Cousens gym, where the team hopes that the members of Guster visit before going on stage during Saturday's Spring Fling. Two members of the band played ultimate while at Tufts.