No. 4 Equestrian Shuts Out Kansas State

Friday, November 20

Felton, Del.

9:30 AM

Texas A&M

Kansas State

Nov 20, 2015 | Equestrian

FELTON, Delaware—The No. 4 Texas A&M equestrian team didn't drop a single point in an overwhelming 14-0 shutout of No. 9 Kansas State.

The hunter seat competition opened up with equitation on the flat, which the Aggies swept 4-0. Senior Audrey Gallagher and sophomore Alex Desiderio each won their matchups by one point, 77-76 and 81-80, respectively. Senior Hannah Williams scored an 80 to take her point. Event MVP junior Izzy Norton defeated Kansas State's highest score of 85 with a stellar 94-point performance in her first ride of the year.

The western squad began its day with the horsemanship competition, taking a 3-0 victory for the Aggies. Freshman Sarah Orsak won the first point of her young career as well as her first MVP with a 70-69 victory. Sophomore Avery Ellis won her point 69.5-63. Senior Carolyn Day's score with her opponent was tied at 71.5, resulting in a cancellation of the point. Wrapping up the competition with a win was junior Rachel Lucht with a 70.5-70 performance, becoming the first horsemanship rider for Texas A&M to reach five wins this season.

All four Aggie riders scored higher than an 80 to win their points in equitation over fences. Marlena Parker cruised to victory with the event's highest score, an 88. Alex Desiderio won her second event of the day with a clutch 83-82 MVP performance to beat Kansas State's highest score in the event. Freshman Rebekah Chenelle won her point by a score of 85-79 while sophomore Kai Devoglaer wrapped up the event with a point-winning 86.

The Aggies took reining 3-0. Senior Hannah Jechow improved to 6-0 on the season with a 69-68 victory over Kansas State's Taylor Todd. Senior Ashley Dotson won her second MVP of the season by scoring a 69 for the point, improving to 6-0 on the year. Senior Logan Pluhar scored the third and final Aggie point with a 63.5-62 performance while junior Sarah Kate Grider tied her point at 69, cancelling it out.

"I'm very excited about how today went," head coach Tana McKay said. "We are growing as a team and it's really showing in the arena. We had some challenges thrown at us this morning due to weather and unfamiliar territory, but the girls remained focused on what we talked about in practices leading up to this meet."

The No. 4 Texas A&M equestrian team will get through the first half of the meet with host Delaware State today before finishing it tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. central.

To learn more about the Texas A&M equestrian team, log onto 12thman.com and follow @AggieEquestrian on Twitter