Texas A&M
Kansas State
Equestrian Drops 10-9 Decision at Kansas State
Mar 04, 2007 | Equestrian
March 04, 2007
Kansas State edged A&M in equestrian action, 10-9, at Fox Creek Stables on Sunday.
A&M's western team, which defeated Kansas State, 9-2, a week ago, lost its first match of the season, 6-3.
The western judge awarded most valuable rider honors in horsemanship to A&M freshman Caroline Gunn, even though Gunn didn't win her head-to-head match.
Gunn, who entered the show undefeated, was awarded a score of 76.5, which would have tied Kansas State freshman Laura Browne. However, Browne's score was miscalculated and was bumped up to 77.
?I was really proud of my girls and wouldn?™t have changed anything in the way that they rode their patterns,? A&M horsemanship coach Beth Bass said. ?It was just of those days that can occur every once in a while in this sport. In the long run, this will only strengthen our resolve as a team as we head into the post-season. This was a tough loss with all the momentum we have been building as this year has progressed. We certainly don?™t want to let this situation get us off track towards our end-of-the-season goals. Our girls are resilient and will bounce back from this like the champions that they are.?
On the English side, sophomore Christina Matz lost a varsity match for the first time in two years, falling 81-62 to KSU sophomore Leslie Yates.
Things did manage to go much better for A&M in the English ring. One week after dropping a 6-5 decision to Kansas State, the Aggies grabbed a 6-4 team win. All five of A&M's fences riders posted scores of more than 80, resulting in a 4-1 win in the discipline.
Sophomore Erin Ivy won MVP honors over fences with an 85-82 victory over KSU's Leslie Yates.
?We knew we would have our work cut out for us against Kansas State today after seeing how strongly they rode at our house last week,? A&M English coach Linzy Woolf said. ?I definitely think that last week?™s loss to Kansas State combined with yesterday?™s loss to OSU caused our girls to have the extra will to pull out the win in English today. You could see it in their eyes when they rode in the ring. Their confidence was quite intimidating and obvious.?
The Aggies will spend the next month preparing to host the Big 12 Classic on March 31 and April 1st at N.W. ?'Dick?™ Freeman Arena in College Station. The other three Big 12 schools, Baylor, Kansas State and Oklahoma State, will all compete against the Aggies in a four-team tournament in what will be a precursor to an eventual Big 12 championship some time in the future.
