St. Lawrence University's riding team added to its impressive list of individual national champions as sophomore Mackenzie Alderman and junior Emily D'Alessandro both came away with titles on Thursday. The Saints are tied for sixth in the team competition after the first three events at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championship Show in Harrisburg, PA.

The Saints are seeking a third straight national team title and will need strong showings in Thursday's three team competitions to close the gap on early leader Centenary, which has 14 points after day one. SLU has five points after a second place finish in intermediate on the flat by Alyssa Bokor in the final team event of day one.

The 2014 championship got off to a great start for the Saints as Alderman won the individual national championship in intermediate equitation on the flat, the first event of the championship show. D'Alessandro, who will have a busy three days as an individual competitor, a competitor for the Cacchione Cup as Region 2 High Point Rider and in team competition then added to the individual championship total with a win in open equitation on the flat.

Alderman, reserve champion in the regional show and champion in the Zone 2 Championships became the 26th individual national champion in Saint program history and D'Alessandro the 27th. They are the fourth and fifth Saint individual champions in the last four years.

D'Alessandro won her second individual national championship on Thursday. She was the 2012 champion in intermediate on the flat and becomes the second Saint to win two individual national titles, joining Allison Karkut as a two-time winner. D'Alessandro made it a clean sweep in open on the flat, winning the regional, zone and national titles. She also won the open flat competition in five shows during the season.

In the team competition, the Saints did not score in the first two events of the competition, novice on the flat and novice over fences. Six teams score in each event with the event winner earning seven points and second place five.