Oct. 8, 2005

ATHENS, Ga. - Burris rode extremely well and earned a second place standing in the Reining discipline. In the semifinals, Burris tied with Kelsey Likness from South Dakota State with 72.5 but was able to outscore her in a ride off, 71-67. The championship matched Burris with Texas A&M's Tonna Brooks who posted 76 points to Brenna's 72.5. In her first official show as a Bear, Burris also finished third in Horsemanship. During the Horsemanship rounds, Texas A&M's Brooks again beat Burris in the semifinals 73-71.5. But Burris was still able to compete for third place where she defeated South Carolina's Allison Bradley 47-72.5.

Burris entered the tournament with national experience. She rode at Southern Idaho and most recently at Fresno State where she boasts being IHSA's Regional AQHA high point rider and IHSA's regional champion in open trail and reining last year.

Assistant coach Trista Armstrong said, "It was a good tournament. This was a great learning experience for us, and the girls took away good lessons with them. We needed to see how these shows are run and now we know."

Unfortunately, Baylor's English team failed to advance to ride today. The University of South Carolina eventually defeated Texas A&M in the semifinals as Georgia defeated New Mexico State University. Georgia battled and defeated South Carolina to become the first champion of the inaugural Big Eight tournament.

Big Eight Show
Baylor's Results
Saturday, Oct. 8

Western
Horsemanship
Semifinals
Rider-School Score Horse Score Rider-School
Brenna Buris-BU 71.5 Sammy 73 Tonna Brooks-TAMU

Third-Place Competition
Brenna Buris-BU 74 Mac 72.5 Allison Bradley-USC

Reining
Semifinals
Brenna Buris-BU 72.5 Jazzy 72.5 Kelsey Likness-SDSU

Ride-Off
Brenna Buris-BU 71 Noah 67 Kelsey Likness-SDSU

Championship
Tonna Brooks-TAMU 76 Whiz 72.5 Brenna Buris-BU