Texas A&M
South Carolina
Top-Seeded Aggies Advance to SEC Championship Final
Mar 29, 2024 | Equestrian
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION- The number one seeded Texas A&M equestrian team defeated number four South Carolina in the SEC Championship semifinal by a score of 14-6 Friday evening at the Hildebrand Equine Complex.
The Aggies kicked off the meet winning Reining 3-2 with Gracie Casebolt (68.67), Keesa Luers (69.83) and Lauren Hanson (71.17) earning points. The win moved the Maroon & White to 5-3-3 on the season in the event and are now unbeaten in five of their last six.
Maggie Nealon led the way for Texas A&M in Flat registering her second MOP of the season and moving her record to an impressive 7-2-3. Her score of 89.33 is the highest by a Flat rider in the SEC Championship in program history. Rylee Shufelt (85.33) and Devon H. Thomas (86) also captured points for the Aggies to take the event 3-2. At the break the Maroon & White led 6-4.
Texas A&M jumped out the gate to start the second half of the meet, winning the event 4-1. Freshman Ali Treuting picked up her first career MOP with a score of 90. Brooke Brombach also had an outstanding day setting another SEC Championship program record with a 90.33. To round out the scoring, Kate Egan earned a point and Devon H. Thomas added her second of the day.
The Aggies closed the day with another strong performance with a 4-1 victory in Horsemanship. Cori Cansdale added her second MOP this year, earning a 76.33 for her ride. Following behind her were punching the last points for the Maroon & White were Ellie Gerbrandt (75.83), Ella Petak (72.50) and Hanna Olaussen (70.67).
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Tana McKay
On Impacts of Hosting the SEC Championship
"It is a big day when we are hosting and there is a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that a lot of people don't see that our team handled extremely well and think that helped us be successful. At the end of the day, they ride neutral horses, and it is a really good, fair competition."
On Overcoming Adversity
"They handled the adversity issues really well today. We had to do a couple of re-rides and so just handling that. We go in with a plan and try to go execute and then you kinda have to regroup and get a new horse. All happens really quick, and they did a great job of handling that today."
Next Up
Texas A&M will face number three seed Auburn in the SEC Championship Final tomorrow at the Hildebrand Equine Complex at 2 p.m.
How to Follow
To learn more about Texas A&M equestrian, log on to 12thMan.com or follow @AggieEquestrian on X and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
