February 02, 2007
The Texas A&M equestrian team will resume its season at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3, with a rematch against the Baylor Bears at the Willis Family Equestrian Center in Waco.
The Aggies (3-1) haven?â„¢t competed since a 12-8 victory over Baylor (3-3) in College Station on Nov. 12. At that show, A&M had three freshmen (Maggie Gratny, Caroline Gunn, Lindsay Smith) earn three of the four possible MVP honors.
A&M has posted team victories over Stephen F. Austin, Southern Methodist, and Baylor so far this season. The Aggies have had half of their competitions result in ties at the end of regulation. A&M held the advantage in the tiebreaker in a 6-6 split over SMU on Oct. 15, but came out on the short end in a 16-16 stalemate with Oklahoma State on Nov. 5.
A&M?â„¢s English squad has posted an overall record of 3-1 within their discipline so far in its first full year of varsity competition. The hunt seat riders earned a 7-1 win over SFA and a 6-4 win over Baylor while coming out on the good side of a 6-6 tie with SMU. The English team?â„¢s lone loss was a 10-6 setback to Oklahoma State.
The western squad is a perfect 3-0 heading into the spring portion of its schedule. The Aggies opened the year with a tiebreaker win after being locked up at 4-4 with Stephen F. Austin. The stock seat riders went on to claim 10-6 and 6-4 wins over Oklahoma State and Baylor, respectively.
Freshmen Caroline Gunn (Greensburg, Ind.) and Maggie Gratny (Leavenworth, Kan.) have posted spotless records in their primary disciplines so far this season. Gunn has posted a perfect 3-0 record in horsemanship, while Gratny has done likewise in reining. Sophomore Tonna Brooks (Newberg, Ore.) has been perfect in both horsemanship and reining as she takes 2-0 marks in both categories into the match with Baylor.
On the English side, junior Katie Henion (Austin) has been perfect over fences this season, winning all four of her head-to-head match-ups. Freshman Kristi Waldal (Battle Ground, Wash.) has also been impressive with a 3-1 mark while team captain Viviana Cordero (Sunland, Calif.) and sophomore Erin Ivy (Cypress) have earned 2-1 marks. On the flat, sophomore Christina Matz (McKinney) has started out with a perfect 2-0 record while Cordero and junior Ashlie Soderstrom (Lake Oswego, Ore.) have earned two wins each as well.