Texas A&M
South Carolina
Equestrian Takes Down No. 1 Gamecocks, Advances to SEC Finals
Mar 27, 2015 | Equestrian
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 4 Texas A&M Equestrian team defeated No. 1 South Carolina, 11-7, in the semifinals of the SEC Championship on Friday, March 27th, at the Hildebrand Equine Complex. The Aggies improve their undefeated record at home to 8-0, taking down their fourth conference opponent in their new home, and advanced to the Southeastern Conference championship for the first time in program history.
Competition began in the hunt seat arena with equitation on the flat. The Aggies took the event with a 3-2 victory, winning the three points by a combined 29 points. Juniors Hannah Williams and Audrey Gallagher won their points with a 154 and 139, respectively. Senior Haley Buchmiller won her ride with an impressive 162, earning MOP honors with a score that is tied for the fourth highest ride in SEC Championship history.
In the Western Arena, action began as the team's faced off in reining. Sophomore Sarah Kate Grider edged her opponent, taking the first point by a 137.5-131.5 margin. Junior Ashley Dotson and senior Laura Sumrall each took a point for the Aggies while junior Hannah Jechow was narrowly defeated by half a point by South Carolina's Layla Choate, the event's MOP. Junior Logan Pluhar fell by another thin margin, 136-134, and the Aggies took the event 3-2.
Leading 6-4 after two events, the meet resumed in the Hunter seat arena with equitation over fences getting underway. The Aggies first rider, junior Marlena Parker, started things off with a crowd-pleasing 158. This score was matched by her competitor, however, and the point was cancelled. The first Aggie point came on a 164 from freshman Alex Desidero. Williams won her second point of the day by a narrow 169-166 victory, recording the highest score of the event and earning first MOP honors of the season. Senior Leah Chenelle and sophomore Haley Webster both had solid rides but weren't able to beat their opponents and the event ended in a 2-2 tie.
The Aggies wrapped up the meet with the horsemanship competition. Leading 8-6, Pluhar scored an impressive 150.5 but her opponent scored the same for a tie and no point awarded. Senior Molli Jacobs earned the first horsemanship point, outscoring her competitor 150.5-144.5. Freshman Avery Ellis followed suit and won the clinching point, scoring a 147.5 and giving the Aggies ten points overall. Sophomore Rachel Lucht scored the final Aggie point, defeating her opponent by a razor thing 149-148.5 to earn the third Aggie MOP honors of the day. The Aggies took the event by a score of 3-2 and beat the Gamecocks for the second time in the Hildebrand Equine Complex, 11-7.
Coach McKay Post-Meet Sound:
“In both disciplines, western and hunt seat, we competed so balanced today. We came off such a tough last season and the girls fought tooth and nail, every practice, to get here. It's great to see the hard work pay off, the long hours and day in, day out effort. They had a goal in mind and worked all year to achieve it.”
Let's Hear a Hullabaloo…
…for first times. The Aggies went undefeated at home this year, against both non-conference and SEC opponents, and carried that over into the conference championship. In the third year of SEC competition, Texas A&M took down each of their conference foes in their home arena and used that momentum to propel the team into the SEC Championship for the first time in program history. Gig 'em, Aggies!
Up Next:
The Texas A&M Equestrian team will resume action tomorrow, March 28th, as they take on the number one seed Georgia starting at 1 p.m. To learn more about the Aggie Equestrian Team, log onto 12thMan.com or follow @AggieEquestrian on Twitter.
Players Mentioned
