AUBURN, Ala. - The Bridgewater College equestrian team opened its fall season with a string showing in a doubleheader against No. 1 Lynchburg and No. 3 Auburn.

The Eagles tangled with the top-ranked team in the NCEA Single-Discipline Poll, Lynchburg, to open the day. BC opened the afternoon by taking a 2-0 lead over Fences after strong showings from Aine Carey and Willow Wright. Carey scored an 80 on Lancer, while Wright followed with an 87 on Georgie to earn Most Outstanding Performer in the discipline. Lynchburg secured two points over fences to even the score, but Madeleine Granger secured a BC lead at the conclusion of fences as she scored an 82 on Asaro to make it 3-2 at the break.

The flat was highly contested. Margaret Brown's 88 was enough to force a tie on Fino, but three solid rides from the Hornets gave them the lead back. Granger's 80 on Cory earned another tie, but allowed the Hornets to secure the 5-3 win. 

BC then clashed with Auburn during the evening. The Tigers entered the matchup ranked No. 3 in the NCEA Dual Discipline rankings. AU swept the points over fences, but not without resistence. BC's best challenge came from Margarita Trukhina on Moe with her score of 75. 

Bridgewater had strong showings on the flat, but the Tigers proved to be a tough out. Brown and Wright each scored an 83 and Trukhina added an 82, but AU still swept the team points.

The Eagles are back at home on Oct. 3 as they take on Dartmouth at 11 a.m.