For
immediate release
May 16, 2005MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE DRESSAGE TEAM TAKES RESERVE CHAMPIONSHIP
AT NATIONALS
SOUTH HADLEY, MA--- Mount Holyoke College's dressage team won the
reserve championship at the Interscholastic Dressage Association's
national championships, held the weekend of April 23 and 24 at
Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio. Overall, 12 teams of four
riders competed on Saturday for the team championship. Competing
on the Mount Holyoke team were senior Nicole Mazzeo (Commack, NY),
who placed third at First Level, first-year Asheley Ireland (Westbrook,
ME), who placed sixth at Upper Training Level; sophomore Nadine
Krause (Newtown, CT), who won Lower Training Level; and first-year
Jaimee Steiner (Northfield, MA), who took fourth at Introductory
Level.
Mount Holyoke lost out to host school Lake Erie by one point, ending
its three-year streak as national champion. All the Mount Holyoke
team riders finished in the top six in their classes, the only
team to score so consistently high.
On Sunday, 48 individual riders from the 12 competing schools rode,
including five from Mount Holyoke. Twelve riders competed in each
of the four divisions. At First Level, senior Katy D'Ambly (Raynham,
MA) took fourth and Nicole Mazzeo placed tenth. Asheley Ireland
took fourth place at Upper Training Level. At Introductory Level,
first-year Janne Matzner-Gore ( New York, NY) placed fifth and
Jaimee Steiner placed seventh.
Mount Holyoke coach Rebecca Schurink said, "I am thrilled
with this year's achievement at the Intercollegiate Dressage Association's
National Championship. We had a team comprised of relatively inexperienced
competitors, with the exception of Nicole Mazzeo. Out of 16 team
members, 11 are first-year students. It was not until the last
six weeks of training that I felt we had a chance to place as one
of the top four teams in the country. I am thankful that the riders'
academic education at Mount Holyoke also prepares them for the
intensity of top-level competition. They really knew how to put
their game faces on and kept their cool in the arena even when
things were not going as planned."
