February 02, 2008
The Texas A&M equestrian team dropped a tight 11-9 road decision to Auburn University on Saturday afternoon at the Auburn Equestrian Center.
The Aggies (6-2) produced several standout individual performances and grabbed team victories in both equitation the flat (hunter seat) and horsemanship (western) but fell just short in the overall win column to the Tigers (6-1). The Aggies did manage to up their hunter seat record to 7-1 after winning the tiebreaker, making it their best start in school history.
?Auburn put on a great competition and were wonderful hosts,? A&M head coach Tana Rawson said. ?We had some nice triumphs out there today while others gained some learning experiences that they will hopefully use in the future.?
A&M?â„¢s horsemanship riders shined the brightest against the Tigers as they rode their way to a 4-1 win in the discipline. Sophomore Caroline Gunn (Greensburg, Ind.) led the way, earning her third most valuable rider honor of the season in a 75.5-73.5 win over Amy Bohan. Junior co-captain Sibyl Parsons (Combine) kept her seasonal undefeated streak going with a 74.5-73 win over Auburn?â„¢s Ashley Milton. Freshman Randi Standley (Madisonville) continued her very impressive freshman campaign with a 72.5-71.5 win over Jessica Jones. Sophomore Amanda Cushman (Huntsville) upped her seasonal record to 3-1 with a 73.5-73 win over Kim Tidwell.
?I felt like we turned out our best performance of the season out there today,? A&M horsemanship coach Beth Bass said. ?They were the most consistent that they?â„¢ve been all year. We made a lot of early season mistakes but I feel that things are really on the upswing for us as a group.?
The Aggie hunter seat flat riders continued their stellar season by earning their seventh team victory in eight chances. Senior Ashlie Soderstrom (Lake Oswego, Ore.) turned in the highest score of her career in an 87-75 win over Auburn?â„¢s Katie Breedlove.
?Ashlie drew a great horse that fit her riding style and she executed her game plan very, very well once she got on him,? A&M hunter seat coach Linzy Woolf said.
Senior Lindsey Lawrence (College Station) upped her team-leading individual win total to seven over fences with a 77-69 flat win over Tiger Coburn Park. Sophomore Brittney Dodson (Amarillo) moved her record to 6-2 with an 82-76 win over Rebecca Rifkin.
Despite losing a tight 3-2 battle over fences, A&M did have a few bright spots in the competition. Senior Katie Henion (Austin) earned her second most valuable rider award of the season in an 80-73 win over Auburn?â„¢s Dotty Grubb. Sophomore teammate Lindsay Smith (West Friendship, Md.) held onto a share of the team lead in fences with Henion by grabbing her fifth victory of the season, an 81-70 triumph over Jenny Reinhart.
?We?â„¢ve had some trouble early on this year in fences but I?â„¢m really happy I saw the team that I?â„¢ve been looking for most of the season out there today,? Woolf said. ?Everyone had real solid rides and no big mistakes. We took a big step in the right direction.?
The A&M equestrian team will look to halt its two-match losing streak this Friday in Waco as they take on Baylor (3-6) at 1:45 p.m. at the Willis Family Equestrian Center.