Texas A&M
Oklahoma State
Aggies Rope Cowgirls in Final Home Show
Mar 07, 2009 | Equestrian
March 7, 2009
BRYAN, Texas - The Texas A&M equestrian team closed its home schedule with a bang by beating rival Oklahoma State, 16-7, at the Brazos County Expo Complex on Saturday.
The third-ranked Aggies (7-3) won all four disciplines and took home three of the four most valuable rider honors. A&M won the hunter seat half, 7-4, while grabbing a 9-3 win on the western side. The win gives A&M a season sweep over the Cowgirls (6-4) for the first time in three seasons of showing in the varsity format.
With the match all but decided, the reining group stepped to the forefront and slammed the door shut on OSU's chance of winning the overall competition. Junior Maggie Gratny (Leavenworth, Kan.) clinched the overall match on the first reining ride with a 73-70.5 MVP-winning performance over Cowgirl Rachell Shobe. The MVP award is Gratny's second straight.
Sophomore Amanda Ryan (Ramona, Calif.) and sophomore Randi Standley (Madisonville, Texas) both earned their fourth wins of the season thanks to 71.5-66.5 and 69.5-67.5 wins over OSUs Leah Kuehn and Bri Parnell, respectively. Freshman Abigail Grabein (Houston) earned the highest score of her young collegiate career in a 73-72.5 squeaker over Cowgirl Molly Tipton.
A&M's fences group had its best outing of the semester, snatching wins in four of the six match-ups. Junior Kristi Waldal (Battle Ground, Wash.) earned her third MVP honor of the season in an 83-71 win over Oklahoma State's Erin Prutow. Junior Lindsay Smith equaled Waldal's team leading sixth fences win of the season with a 74-45 victory over Ally Blais. Freshman Maggie Earle (Fallbrook, Calif.) won her third straight match, 76-72, over Jaclyn Osterstock while another freshman, Lia Chafee (Wakefield, R.I.) earned her first career win, 75-69, over Hannah Beresford.
The Aggie horsemanship riders won their fourth straight competition with help from white-hot national champion Caroline Gunn (Greensburg, Ind.). Gunn won MVP honors for the fifth time in the last six competitions, making it a clean sweep in the MVP category at home this season. Gunn defeated Courtney Whitacre, 76.5-71.5.
Senior Reneé Dirkse (Rockwall) closed out her home career by earning a 73-72 horsemanship win over OSU's Nichole Chirico. Randi Standley proved a double winner against OSU, claiming a high-scoring 75.5-75 decision over Mamie Tomlin. Freshman Kelsey Adams (Colleyville) continued to impress, moving her seasonal record to 3-0 with a 73-72.5 victory over Suzanne Randolph.
A&M's flat riders won a prolific point-scoring match over the Cowgirls, 3-2. Senior Tegan Zealy (Tampa, Fla.) improved on her team-best win total thanks to an 86-80 win over Jen McLaughlin. Fellow senior Christina Matz (McKinney) celebrated senior day with a 75-63 win over Sarah Brown while junior co-captain Brittney Dodson (Amarillo) evened her season record with a 79-68 win over Sam Collingsworth.
The Aggies have a short week to prepare for their final regular season show of the year. A&M will take on New Mexico State in Las Cruces in the varsity format for the first time on Friday at 11 a.m. Central.
Players Mentioned
