The State University of New York at New Paltz NCEA equestrian team earned a spot in the 2022 National Collegiate Equestrian Single Discipline Championships April 14-16 in Ocala, Fl.
 
"In our first full year competing NCEA and given how challenging these years have been, I'm incredibly proud of winning ECAC," said SUNY New Paltz coach Helaina Riccardi. "These girls have put in a tremendous amount of work to get this far and I'm excited to continue to support and coach them in the future." 
The Hawks put themselves in prime position to compete in their first national championship after winning the ECAC North Regional Single Discipline title this past weekend in Hanover, NH, defeating hosting Dartmouth College and Sacred Heart University.
 
SUNY New Paltz is one of four teams vying for the 2022 NCEA National title, with the Hawks seeded fourth, followed by Lynchburg, Sewanee and Sweet Briar who are seeded third through first, respectively.
 
First round pits fourth seeded SUNY New Paltz and the first seeded Vixens. The last time the two teams competed Feb. 25 in Sweet Briar, VA, the Hawks lost a close matchup, 5-3. SUNY New Paltz held the edge in fences, winning three of four matchups, but the Vixens went on to sweep all four head-to-head matchups in flat.
 
If the Hawks defeat top-seeded Sweet Briar, which would mark the first victory over the program, they would face the winner of Lynchburg and Sewanee. SUNY New Paltz fell to both the Hornets and Tigers earlier this year, but the Hawks do own a victory over Lynchburg during the 2019-20 season.

To read the official NCEA press release, click here.

***************
To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks, Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.