A discontinuous fiber-reinforced thermoset material produced by the Sheet Molding Compound process is investigated. Due to the process-related fiber orientation distribution, a composite with an anisotropic microstructure is created which crucially affects the mechanical properties. The central objectives are the modeling of the thermoelastic behavior of the composite accounting for the underlying microstructure, and the experimental characterization of the pure resin and the composite material. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.