Texas A&M
Kansas State
Aggies Advance to Big 12 Championship
Mar 26, 2010 | Equestrian
March 26, 2010
WACO, Texas - The top-seeded Texas A&M equestrian team advanced to the Big 12 equestrian championship on Friday afternoon with a 10-6 semifinal win over No. 4-seed Kansas State at the Willis Family Equestrian Center.
The Aggies (11-4) swept MVP awards in all four disciplines en route to their fifth straight win. A&M will battle host and No. 2-seed Baylor (8-8), 12-4 winners over Oklahoma State, in the championship on Saturday. The show is set to get underway at 9 a.m.
"I'm proud of the way we competed today," A&M coach Tana McKay said. "We got good rides across the board and to take home all four MVP honors is a big deal. Hats off to the team for a strong performance and I know we are excited for the chance to ride for a title on Saturday."
The Aggies won both disciplines, claiming hunter seat in a tiebreaker and coasting to a 6-2 win in western.
Leading the way on the flat was sophomore Christina Heine also scored for A&M with a 49-point victory over Larissa Laffey.
The horsemanship squad then took three of four rides to extend the Aggie lead to 5-3. Sophomore Caroline Gunn posted her eighth victory in a row and 19th consecutive postseason win as she downed Mikaela Sundgren, 147-137.
The reiners then pushed A&M's advantage to four points. Leading the way was senior Maggie Gratny's MVP effort, a 142.5-137 win over Aliecia Zimbelman. Also notching victories were sophomores Abigail Grabein and Courtney Dawe, who picked up her fourth straight win.
The Wildcats made a late push to tie the match, picking up the first two points in the fences competition, but true freshman Kori Pickett rode to a 163 that not only earned her MVP honors but clinched the overall victory for the Aggies. Sophomore Lia Chafee picked up the final point of the day with a 146-137 win over Bridget Doyle.
A&M will be gunning for its second Big 12 equestrian title on Saturday morning. The Aggies took first place at the inaugural event back in 2007, then called the Big 12 Classic. Texas A&M swept the season series from Baylor this year, knocking off the Bears 17-7 in Bryan on Oct. 31 and downing Baylor 9-8 in Waco on Feb. 13.
Players Mentioned
