Senior Danielle Franchi placed second for open flat and clinched qualification for regionals in April. (PHOTO BY Tom Eng Photography)

Skyhawks post fourth place team finish, remain second in region
Franchi qualifies for regionals in open flat 

EASTON, Mass. (March 4, 2015) – The Stonehill College equestrian team opened its spring schedule with a fourth place team finish at the Bentley University show, hosted by Volo Farm, in Westford, Massachusetts, on Sunday.

Stonehill compiled 33 points to place fourth as a team, having recorded two first place ribbons and eight top three places overall. The Skyhawks remain second in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Zone 1, Region 4 standings with 246 points, just 12 points behind first place Tufts University who won Sunday's show with 36 points. Boston College placed second (35 points) and Boston University third (34).

Senior Danielle Franchi (Islip, New York/Islip) placed second for open equitation on the flat, earning enough points to qualify for regionals in April. She also turned in a sixth place finish for open equitation over fences at the show.

Freshmen Baylee Kimbar (Worcester, Massachusetts/West Boylston) and Abigail Westerlind (Auburn, Massachusetts/Auburn) both earned blue ribbons for first place showings on Sunday. Kimbar was first for novice flat, to go with a sixth place show for novice fences, while Westerlind earned a blue ribbon for beginner walk-trot-canter.

Sophomore Kayla McNulty (Tyngsboro, Massachusetts/Academy of Notre Dame) posted a second place finish for walk-trot in her first collegiate show. Senior Cassandra Otis (Downingtown, Pennsylvania/Bishop Shanahan) placed second for open fences to go with fifth place in open flat. Senior Kayleigh McDonnell (Rutland, Vermont/Rutland) earned a second place ribbon for intermediate flat to go with a fourth place show in intermediate fences, while classmate Justine Mitchell (Sunderland, Massachusetts/Frontier Regional) rounded out the Skyhawks second place finishers in walk-trot-canter.

Sophomore Kathryn Filer (Madison, Connecticut/Daniel Hand) competed in her first collegiate show and placed third for intermediate fences. Classmate Taylor Uccello (Westford, Massachusetts/Westford Academy) placed fourth in novice flat.

Stonehill is back in action on Sunday when it competes at the Wellesley College show, hosted by Rising Star Equestrian Center in Medway, Massachusetts, at 9 a.m.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks mobile app on iTunes and the Android Market.