COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 4 seed Texas A&M equestrian team is set to compete at the Southeastern Conference Championships this weekend, facing No. 1 seed South Carolina in Friday's semifinal round at 9 a.m. CT/10 ET at One Wood Farm in Blythewood, S.C.
The winner of that meet will ride against the winner of the No. 2 Georgia-No. 3 Auburn matchup, in the championship round Saturday at 12:40 p.m. CT/1:40 ET. The consolation round is slated for an 8 a.m. CT/9 ET Saturday start.
“The great thing about college equestrian is that each meet is a fresh start,” Head Coach Tana McKay said. “We are traveling to South Carolina with a group of the best riders in the nation to compete against three national leaders, and we are confident that our team has what it takes to return home with the conference trophy.”
Admission and parking for both days are free to the public. Parking is available across the street from One Wood Farm in the Cobblestone Park neighborhood, with free shuttles available to fans both to and from the facility each day. To learn more about the second-ever SEC Equestrian Championship, go to the SEC Championship Central page.
The SEC began sponsoring the sport of equestrian in the summer of 2012, making these championships the second-ever league tournament for the conference. Last season, then-No. 2 seed South Carolina won the inaugural SEC Championship. The No. 4 seed Aggies fell, 11-8, to No. 1 seed Auburn in the semifinals, then dropped a 15-5 decision to No. 3 Georgia in the consolation final.
Schedule of Events
Semifinals: Friday, March 28, 9 a.m. CT/10 ET
No. 4 Texas A&M (2-8, 1-5 SEC) vs. No. 1 South Carolina (11-2, 4-2 SEC)
No. 3 Auburn (9-4, 3-3 SEC) vs. No. 2 Georgia (9-3, 4-2 SEC)
Championship: Saturday, March 29, 12:40 p.m. CT/1:40 ET
Winner of A&M/South Carolina vs. Winner of Auburn/Georgia
Consolation: Saturday, March 29, 8 a.m. CT/9 ET
Loser of A&M/South Carolina vs. Loser of Auburn/Georgia
Live Scoring
Live scoring for the event is available here for all teams, and through the @AggieEquestrian Twitter feed for the A&M equestrian team.
Texas A&M Lineup
Equitation over Fences: Leah Chenelle (Jr.), Shelby Lawson (Sr.), Marlena Parker (So.), Kimmy Saul (So.), Hannah Williams (So.), 1st Alt: Haley Buchmiller (Jr.), 2nd Alt: Izzy Norton (Fr.)
Equitation on the Flat: Haley Buchmiller (Jr.), Marlena Parker (So.), Megan Phillips (So.), Paige Russell (Sr.), Hannah Williams (So.), 1st Alt: Avery Farley (RFr.), 2nd Alt: Ellie Wilkins (Sr.)
Horsemanship: Caroline Ammons (Sr.), Laura Brainard (Sr.), Molli Jacobs (Jr.), Rachel Lucht (Fr.), Logan Pluhar (So.), Alt: Alyssa Soechting (Jr.)
Reining: Lindsey Bernbaum (Sr.), Ashley Dotson (So.), Hannah Jechow (So.), Ashley Skold (Sr.), Laura Sumrall (Jr.), 1st Alt: Sarah Kate Grider (Fr.), 2nd Alt: Logan Pluhar (So.)
Aggies at Conference Championships
The Aggies competed in four Big 12 Championships, earning a 5-3 all-time record at the event, before showing in the first-ever Southeastern Conference Championship last year. Texas A&M hosted and won the 2011 Big 12 Championship.
Year Site Finish Record
2009 Stillwater 3rd 1-1
2010 Waco 2nd 1-1
2011 Bryan 1st 2-0
2012 Manhattan 2nd 1-1
2013 Auburn 4th 0-2
Aggies vs. the SEC Field
Texas A&M has an 9-21 all-time record against the three combined SEC opponents ... the Aggies went 1-5 in league play this year, losing by just a combined nine points through five meets. The Aggies defeated then-No. 3 South Carolina, 10-9 in Texas A&M's first SEC meet of the season.
Opponent Overall Series
Auburn AU leads, 6-2
Georgia UGA leads, 8-1
South Carolina USC leads, 7-6
Date Opponent Result
O5 at No. 4 Kansas State L, 2-17
O11 No. 9 SMU W, 12-8
O25 No. 3 South Carolina W, 10-9
N1 at No. 5 TCU L, 6-14
N8 at No. 1 Georgia L, 9-10
N24 No. 3 Auburn L, 10-10
F1 No. 6 Georgia L, 9-10
F15 at No. 3 Auburn L, 8-10
F22 at No. 1 South Carolina L, 6-11
M8 No. 3 Oklahoma State L, 9-11
Racking Up the Awards
Junior Laura Sumrall was named to the NCEA All-America Honorable Mention team on Tuesday, earning the first All-America honor of her career. Junior Paige Linne also took accolades this week as she was chosen to represent the Aggies on the SEC Equestrian Community Service Team. As a team, the Aggies earned 13 Most Outstanding Player honors this season. Haley Buchmiller (flat) led the team with three awards, and Laura Brainard (horsemanship), Logan Pluhar (horsemanship) and Lindsey Bernbaum (reining) each contributed two MOPs.
To learn more about Texas A&M equestrian, log on to AggieAthletics.com and follow @AggieEquestrian on Twitter.