Texas A&M
South Dakota State
No. 9 Equestrian Tops South Dakota State
Oct 25, 2014 | Equestrian
COLLEGE STATION, Texas- The No. 9 Texas A&M Equestrian Team defeated the South Dakota State Jackrabbits 15-4 at the Hildebrand Equine Complex in College Station, Texas. The Aggies improve to 2-1 on the season and look to continue their campaign for the national title.
The Aggies started off strong with a 4-0 victory in the day's first event, equitation over fences. One point was offset by a 72-72 tie between A&M's Haley Webster and SDSU's Alissa Greenwald. Junior Marlena Parker earned the MOP award in the event for the second time in three meets, scoring a 90. Junior Hannah Williams provided support with a solid ride worth 82 points, as did freshman Alex Desiderio with an 81-point ride. No SDSU rider scored over an 80, while Texas A&M riders never scored under 70 points. The Aggies took the event 4-0.
Western competition began with Horsemanship. The Jackrabbits took an early 1-0 lead as Molli Jacobs' request for a re-ride was denied, leaving her with a score of 62.5 and the individual loss. The Aggies bounced back, however, and scored the events next four points. The most notable individual ride came with the very last competitor, as Sophomore MOP award-winner Rachel Lucht edged SDSU's Lexus Hoffman 75-74. The event fell in favor of Texas A&M, 4-1.
The attention was then directed toward the Hunter Seat arena for the Equitation on the Flat competition. The Jackrabbits got their revenge for Rachel Lucht's performance as Marielle Golden of SDSU narrowly defeated senior Haley Buchmiller 82-81 in the event's first matchup. But with solid performances from Hannah Williams (81) and sophomore Anna Rea (74) and another MOP-winning performance from Marlena Parker (84), Texas A&M took the victory, 3-2.
The Aggies went into the final event of the day, reining, with an 11-3 lead and the overall victory already under their belts. The team jumped to a 3-0 lead behind senior Laura Sumrall (71), freshman Madison Bohman (69.5), and MOP-winner Sarah Kate Grider (71.5). The Aggies went on to win the event 4-1.
Head Coach Tana McKay had only good things to say about her team's performance: “I was happy to see some very smart rides today. We made the most of our time off and the girls did a great job of executing today.”
The Texas A&M Equestrian Team will resume regular season action in Blythewood, South Carolina to take on the USC Gamecocks on Friday, October 31st.
To learn more about the team, log onto 12thman.com or follow @aggieequestrian on Twitter.
Players Mentioned
