Texas A&M
BAYLOR
Aggie Riders Cruise By Baylor, Face Rival OSU in Championship on Sunday
Mar 31, 2007 | Equestrian
March 31, 2007
The Texas A&M equestrian team cruised to a 12-4 win over Baylor during first round action at the Big 12 Classic being held at N.W. ?'Dick?™ Freeman Arena this weekend.
The Aggies (10-2) ran their win total to double digits with their third, and most dominating, victory over Baylor this season. A&M had beaten the Bears 12-8 on Nov. 12 in College Station and 14-6 on Feb. 3 in Waco. A&M was evenly balanced across both disciplines, scoring 6-2 wins in both hunter seat and western competition.
?It was a good day for us,? A&M head coach Tana Rawson said. ?We got off to a great start. I think we will see a lot better runs tomorrow now that everyone has had a day under their belts. The girls did what we have been practicing leading into the competition. We have things we need to polish up but we definitely did what we needed to do today to get the job done.?
The Aggies were led on Saturday by their equitation over fences riders. A&M earned a perfect 4-0 sweep over fences to get jumpstarted in the right direction at the outset of the show.
Junior Katie Henion (Austin) continued her impressive season over fences with her 10th individual win of the year, an 85-82 shoot-out with Baylor?™s Nicole Brown. Henion (10-2) earned her third most valuable rider honor of the season for her winning performance.
Freshman Lindsay Smith (West Friendship, Md.) won her sixth fences class in her last seven outings. Smith (6-2) squeaked out a 74-73 victory over the Bears?™ Shelby White.
Sophomore Erin Ivy (Cypress) ran her season record to 7-4 with a 75-0 fences win over Analisa Muti while freshman Kristi Waldal did likewise thanks to a tight 79-78 fences win over Mary Smitson.
Junior Ashlie Soderstrom (Lake Oswego, Ore.) earned A&M a sweep of the English most valuable rider honors thanks to a convincing 83-58 win over Baylor?™s Shelby White in equitation on the flat. Soderstrom?™s MVP award was her fourth of the season. Junior co-captain Viviana Cordero (Sunland, Calif.) earned the Aggies?™ other flat win, a 72-69 victory over the Bears?™ Cara Wilson.
On the western side, the Aggies won both horsemanship and reining disciplines by a 3-1 count.
Sophomore Tonna Brooks (Newberg, Ore.) continued her masterful season by running her yearly record to a flawless 19-0. Both of Brooks?™ matches were close however, getting by Missy Gonzalez, 70.5-69, in horsemanship and Amanda Graber, 69-68, in reining.
Freshman Caroline Gunn (Greensburg, Ind.) improved to 9-1-1 in horsemanship with a solid 73.5-70.5 win over the Bears?™ Lindsey Tomko. Sophomore Sibyl Parsons (Combine) brought home the top horsemanship score of the entire day in a 75-72.5 decision over Amanda Graber.
Both sophomore Amanda Ryan (Ramona, Calif.) and freshman Maddi Williams (Valley View) improved to 6-2-1 on the season in reining. Ryan squeezed by Baylor?™s Valtie Riddle, 67.5-67, while Williams took home a 64-0 victory over Lindsey Tomko.
In the other round one match, Oklahoma State dug itself out of a tremendous 7-0 hole to start the competition to snatch victory from Kansas State by a score of 8-7. Oklahoma State will face the Aggies starting at 9 a.m. on Sunday while Baylor will face Kansas State in the bronze medal match.
Sunday will be highlighted by a ?'halftime?™ performance by select members of the Texas A&M football team (approximately 11:30 a.m.). There will also be drawings for A&M sports gear and a silent auction. Area Boy Scouts will cook food for fans at the competition as a fundraiser as well.
Admission to Texas A&M equestrian events is free of charge. Freeman Arena is located on at the intersection of FM 2818 and Turkey Creek Road in College Station.
