Texas A&M
Fresno State
Aggie Riders Earn Weekend Sweep
Feb 18, 2007 | Equestrian
February 18, 2007
The Texas A&M equestrian team used a true team effort to defeat both Fresno State and New Mexico State in a two-day double dual match on Saturday and Sunday at the Fresno Student Horse Center.
The Aggies (6-1) beat host Fresno State (2-4) by a count of 14-6. In the battle of Aggies, the Texas version solidly beat the New Mexico version, 12-4. New Mexico State (2-6) did manage to beat Fresno St. in their match-up, 11-9.
?We had a great weekend,? A&M head coach Tana Rawson said. ?We had some pressure to make our rides count since one score would be used against both teams, not to mention the new batch of horses that we were competing on for the first time ever. We had some mental challenges and had to push through some weather conditions but I thought they handled it great.?
In each of the two school match-ups, one side of the A&M team drew even against their opponents while the other came through to pull out the team win. Against New Mexico State, the western squad rode to a 3-3 draw on Saturday, however the English team came through with a dominant 9-1 victory on Sunday to give A&M the 12-4 win.
Junior Katie Henion (Austin) earned her second fences MVP award of the season with 82-77 and 82-68 victories over Fresno?™s Lisa Wells and NMSU?™s Beth Robinson, respectively.
Sophomore co-captain Courtney Brooks (Alamo, Calif.) earned a fences sweep also with defeats of FSU?™s Morgan McDonald (75-70) and NMSU?™s Meg Keeley (75-69).
Freshman Lindsay Smith (West Friendship Md.) was the third and final Aggie to sweep her fence match-ups, dropping FSU?™s Katie Sellers, 76-55, while downing NMSU?™s Krystal Mack, 76-72.
Freshman Kristi Waldal (Battle Ground, Wash.) earned the win over fences against NMSU by defeating Sarah Suazo, 66-62, as did sophomore Erin Ivy (Cypress), 74-64 over Kristin Engel to give A&M a perfect 5-0 sweep over fences against the ?'other?™ Aggies.
A&M was nearly as dominant on the flat as they were over fences against NMSU. A pair of English riders earned flat sweeps over both teams. Sophomore Christina Matz kept her perfect record intact with wins over Kelsey Bullock of FSU (72.4-67.9) and Krystal Mack (72.4-70.7). Fellow soph Ali Mueller (Long Beach, Miss.) did likewise dropping the Bulldogs?™ Jennifer Jofy, 73.8-67.9, while defeating Meg Keeley 73.8-69.7.
Both junior Ashlie Soderstrom (Lake Oswego, Ore.) and Courtney Brooks earned flat wins against NMSU. Soderstrom beat Catie Helmuth, 68.6-58.8, while Brooks topped Kristin Engel, 71.8-65.1 to give A&M a 4-1 edge over NMSU on the flat.
While the English riders stepped to the forefront against NMSU, it was the western team who did the honors against host Fresno State. The Aggie stock seat crew beat Fresno 9-1 on Saturday meaning the English riders needed just two wins in 10 matches to put away the Bulldogs on Sunday.
Sophomore Tonna Brooks (Newberg, Ore.) led the way for the Aggies, earning her first MVP award of the season with a pair of victories in horsemanship while also sweeping both of her reining match-ups. Brooks earned horsemanship wins over Aspen Selby of NMSU, 78-71.5, and Rebecca Flood of FSU, 78-75. Brooks also defeated Rose Hennig of FSU, 67.5-64.5, and Bryn Wells of NMSU, 67.5-65, in reining to earn one-third of A&M?™s western victories over the weekend.
Freshman Maggie Gratny (Leavenworth, Kan.) continued her undefeated streak in the reining division with wins over Sara Barnes of FSU, 69.5-69, and Ashley Deitz of NMSU, 69.5-66.5.
Senior co-captain Sassie Broaddus (El Paso) posted a 2-2 record over the weekend. Broaddus earned a win over Sara Barnes of Fresno, 72.5-67.5, in horsemanship while defeating the Bulldogs?™ Heidi Smith, 68-66 in reining.
Freshman Caroline Gunn (Greenburg, Ind.) kept her undefeated streak in horsemanship going with a 73-69.5 defeat of Sierra Daniels of Fresno. Gunn rode to a 73-73 draw with NMSU?™s Bryn Wells.
Sophomore Sibyl Parsons (Combine) topped the Bulldogs?™ Daniel Nielsen, 72.5-71.5, in horsemanship, while tying NMSU?™s Kate Chesley at 72.5 apiece. Sophomore Amanda Ryan (Ramona, Calif.) defeated Fresno?™s Keri Blackledge, 68-66.5, in reining while tying NMSU?™s Kelli Younker at 68. Freshman Maddi Williams (Valley View) won her reining match against Kayla Schenck of Fresno 70-0, to give A&M a 5-0 mark in reining against the Bulldogs, while riding to a draw against Kate Chesley at 70 points apiece.
The Aggies will be back in action this weekend in College Station. On Saturday, A&M will face TCU at 1 p.m. at N.W. ?'Dick?™ Freeman Arena. The following day, the Aggies will face their third Big 12 opponent of the season in Kansas State. That match-up is slated for 9 a.m. Admission to both matches is free of charge.
