Texas A&M
NEW MEXICO STATE
A&M Riders Squeak Past NMSU 11-9
Oct 12, 2007 | Equestrian
October 12, 2007
The Texas A&M equestrian team won a hard-fought match over New Mexico State, 11-9, at Freeman Arena on Friday.
With the entire match in the balance, junior Tonna Brooks (Newberg, Ore.), who earlier in the day had dropped her horsemanship match, came through in the clutch when the A&M team needed her most by defeating NMSU senior Bryn Wells, 73-66.5, to give the Texas Aggies the 11-9 win.
A&M?™s hunter seat riders kept the Aggies on top for much of the day thanks to 3-2 wins in equitation over fences and equitation on the flat. The A&M reiners closed the door with a clutch 3-2 decision after starting out 0-2 to end the day?™s competition.
Over fences, junior Erin Ivy (Cypress) turned in the highest score of the day, beating NMSU?™s Krystal Mack in an 85-79 shoot-out. Sophomore Lindsay Smith (West Friendship, Md.) and freshman Brooke Coleman (Houston) also turned in 80-plus point scores to seal the team fences win.
On the flat, senior Lindsey Lawrence (College Station) came through with the highest score of the day in the discipline, winning the first MVP honor of her career in an 80.5-65 victory over NMSU sophomore Catie Helmuth. Fellow senior Ashlie Soderstrom (Lake Oswego, Ore.) pulled the Aggies even in the overall standings at 7-7 with a 75-73 win over NMSU Aggie senior Krystal Mack. Junior Christina Matz (McKinney) gave the Aggies their second lead of the day thanks to a 76-73 win over fences MVP Meg Keeley on the flat.
NMSU took a 9-8 lead deep into the match after State?™s Breanne Bertrand scored a 70-62.5 over A&M senior Genna Fishgold (Scottsdale, Ariz.). A&M sophomore Maggie Gratny (Leavenworth, Kan.) tied things back up with a 73-68 MVP-winning performance over NMSU?™s Rachael Krause. Fellow soph Maddi Williams (Valley View) brought A&M to the cusp of victory by scraping out a 70-69 win over Kelli Younker while Tonna Brooks closed the day with the crucial win.
The Aggies dropped a 3-2 decision in horsemanship despite posting the two highest scores of the day in the discipline. Junior Sibyl Parsons (Combine) turned in the highest total in a 75-70.5 win over NMSU senior Bryn Wells. Sophomore Caroline Gunn (Greensburg, Ind.) was equally as impressive in a 74.5-71.5 win over another NMSU senior, Kelli Younker.
A&M earned the hunter seat team victory by a count of 6-4 while the western team went to a tiebreaker to determine their winner. The Texas Aggies slid by the NMSU Aggies, 645.5-640.5, to keep both the hunter seat and western squads undefeated on the season.
In hunter seat exhibition action, redshirt freshman Jenn Scholl (Austin) won her fences match over NMSU senior Marisa Propsner, 79-78, while fellow redshirt frosh Morgan Lucas (San Antonio) tied NMSU sophomore Sarah Suazo at 68. On the flat, sophomore Christina Heine (Toledo) grabbed a 78.5-73 decision over Beth Robinson.
In western exhibition play, senior Jordan Gardner (Lipan) topped NMSU?™s Kate Goodwin, 72-69.5, in horsemanship while sophomore Tyler Bryson (Scottsdale) topped NMSU freshman Codi Binkerd, 68.5-68.
With the win, A&M moves its overall record to 2-0 while NMSU falls to 1-1 on the young season.
The Texas A&M equestrian team will be back in action next Saturday, Oct. 20, as they take on two-time VENC champion Georgia Bulldogs in College Station.
