Texas A&M
SMU (Hunter Seat)
English Riders Defeat SMU in Tiebreaker
Oct 15, 2006 | Equestrian
October 15, 2006
The Texas A&M English riders defeated Southern Methodist thanks to a tiebreaker after drawing even with the Mustangs on Sunday afternoon at N.W. ?'Dick?™ Freeman Arena.
After riding to a 6-6 draw, the tiebreaker -- which team scores the most overall points on the judges?™ cards -- was brought into play. A&M outscored SMU 937-902 to earn the victory.
?I think we rode just well enough to win today,? A&M English coach Linzy Woolf said. ?As a group, we need to work on precision of execution on our flat tests. We were a little weak on that. I think we might have gotten a little too comfortable with how things were going as the day wore on. I think the fence rides were great for the most part, even on some that were awarded lower scores.?
The Aggies were fairly dominant over fences, earning wins in four of the six matches. Junior Viviana Cordero (Sunland, Calif.) was named the fences MVP after defeating SMU?™s Lauren O?™Neill 85-74. Fellow junior Katie Henion (Austin) also scored what would turn out to be a very important 25-point win over the Mustangs?™ Nicole Havens, 85-60.
Sophomores Erin Ivy (Cypress) and Ali Mueller (Long Beach, Miss.) each earned their first wins of the season. Ivy squeaked out a 75-72 win over SMU sophomore Haley Hyland, while Mueller topped the Mustangs?™ Kathryn Garvie, 84-76.
A&M was not so fortunate on the flat, dropping four of six matches, including each of the last three, which led to the tiebreaker situation. Most of the four matches that the Aggies lost proved close, as they actually outscored SMU 460-456 on the flat despite only winning the two head-to-head contests.
Junior Ashlie Soderstrom (Lake Oswego, Ore.) continued her impressive start to the season with an 85-60 win over Lauren O?™Neil. Cordero completed a perfect day individually by taking down SMU?™s Megan Davenport by a tight 81-78 margin. SMU?™s Kathryn Garvie was named the flat MVP after scoring 83 points in her match with Aggie freshman Lindsay Smith.
?This was Viviana?™s first time to show on the flat this semester,? Woolf said. ?I was really glad to see her perform so well there. We know what she is capable of over fences. That is a big strength for her and us.?
Prior to the 2 p.m. match-up with SMU, A&M participated in four individual head-to-head exhibitions against riders from Delaware State and SMU. The Aggies swept all four matches.
Sophomore Christina Matz (McKinney) was named the exhibition MVP after recording an 83-65 win over SMU?™s Morgan Wiley. Junior Katrina McLeod (Rockport), the reigning IHSA western national champion in beginner horsemanship, scored an impressive 80-68 English win over Delaware State?™s Jenna Warren. Junior Erin Sharp (Elgin) topped DSU?™s Kamerra Brown, 78-65, while junior Megan Von Tungeln beat SMU?™s Kim Hunter, 75-73.
?I think the beginning of the day was very strong,? Woolf said. ?I was extremely impressed with our exhibition riders in the new format.?
A&M will spend the next three weeks preparing for their first-ever head-to-head varsity match against Big 12 rival Oklahoma State. The Aggies will host that match on Sunday, Nov. 5.
