Oct. 8, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M equestrian team kicks off its home season on Sunday when the Aggies host SMU in a hunter-seat only show at the Brazos County Expo Complex. Show time is 11 a.m. and admission is free.
A&M will be looking to protect its 24-show home win streak and remain unbeaten at the Expo Center, which opened in the fall of 2008.
"We're excited to kick off the home season in front of our fans," hunter seat coach Linzy Woolf said. "The girls performed well against UT Martin and I'm hoping the momentum will carry over to Sunday. We've had some battles with SMU in the past and we will have to ride our best in order to come out victorious."
The Aggies (1-0) opened the year two weeks ago with an impressive 14-5 win at Tennessee-Martin. On the hunter-seat side, Texas A&M claimed seven of 10 possible points, highlighted by an MVP performance from junior Maggie Earle over fences and a career-best 86-point ride by senior Brooke Coleman on the flat.
The Mustangs (0-4), meanwhile, are winless on the year and most recently suffered a 10-point loss at defending national champion Georgia. A&M has won four of five meetings with the Mustangs, who only sponsor hunter-seat riders. SMU--coached by former Aggie standout Haley (O'Neal) Schoolfield--earned its first win in the series last fall outside Dallas.
The two-time defending national champion western team will scrimmage following the show with the Mustangs.
The team will be wearing pink ribbons on the day in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, and 12th Man Team Rewards officials will be scanning at the show. It will be the first of seven for the Aggies this season at the 3,000-seat Expo Complex, which is located at 5827 Leonard Road in Bryan.
SMU (0-4) at Texas A&M (1-0)
Sunday, Oct. 10 - 11 a.m. (CT)
Brazos County Expo Complex, Bryan, Texas
PROJECTED TEXAS A&M LINEUP
FENCES: Jackie O'Connell (Jr., Saunderstown, R.I.); CiCi Riddle (Fr., Atlanta, Ga.).
FLAT: Lia Chafee (Jr., Wakefield, R.I.); Brooke Coleman (Sr., Houston, Texas); Maggie Earle (Jr., Fallbrook, Calif.); Hannah Soibelman (Jr., Evergreen, Colo.); Elizabeth Solch (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio); Megan Webb (Jr., Burlington, W.Va.). Alternate: Amber Goodwin (Jr., West Newbury, Mass.). Exhibition: Marisa Bernal (Jr., Albuquerque, N.M.); Alyssa Martin (Fr., Austin, Texas). Demo: Shelby Lawson (Fr., Austin, Texas); Erica Whaley (So., Cumming, Ga.).
UP NEXT: Saturday, Oct. 30 vs Oklahoma State (Expo Complex, Bryan), Time TBD.