Gamecocks look to avoid falling to 0-2 in the SEC
After playing for four straight weekends, it’s safe to say that the South Carolina equestrian team enjoyed their week off last week.
However, the Gamecocks are back to action on Friday when they travel to Texas A&M in an important SEC matchup.
After losing a heartbreaking tiebreaker to rival Georgia in their last meet, the Gamecocks need a win against the Aggies to avoid falling to 0-2 in the SEC.
Senior horsemanship rider Alison Ceresani said that she spent the week off recovering mentally and physically after the demanding stretch of meets.
“I tried to give my brain a little bit of a rest,” Ceresani said. “Every week it has been like ‘remember pattern, remember pattern,’ so I was mostly just trying to work on my mental skills. I think that’s a huge part of the game that a lot of people kind of leave out.”
Ceresani needed, and got, a win in the final ride against the Bulldogs to force a tiebreaker. Ceresani said she was excited rather than nervous in that ride because she enjoys the pressure.
“I just had in my head that there was nothing to lose,” Ceresani said. “I kind of like that position and I just had fun and gave it everything I had.”
Ceresani said the win over UGA gives her confidence going forward, but she is making sure she doesn’t get too confident.
The Gamecocks are 2-0 away from Columbia on the year, with wins at Delaware State and against SMU in Delaware.
Coach Boo Major said the team will be able to use those positive results against Texas A&M.
“We’re certainly going to try and build on that,” Major said. “It’ll be tough against A&M but I think they’ll be prepared and ready to go.”
Ceresani also realizes the importance of the matchup and knows that the team will come into Texas prepared and also knows that there will be a lot of eyes on the Gamecocks (4-1), who are the defending SEC champions.
“I think a lot of people are looking to see what we do after our first loss,” Ceresani said. “We definitely want to show everyone and ourselves that one loss doesn’t define us and that we can come back stronger from it.”