No. 3 Aggies battle in SEC finale at Auburn

COLLEGE STATION – No. 3 Texas A&M equestrian fought hard Saturday but fell to No. 1 Auburn via the tiebreaker, 10-10 (1555-1499), at the Auburn University Horse Center. The Aggies (9-3, 3-3 SEC) will be the No. 3 seed for the SEC Championships, which will take place March 26-27 in Athens, Ga.
 
"I am very proud of how our team fought for every point today," head coach Tana McKay said. "No team has gone to Auburn and come this close to winning, so I am happy with the way we performed."
 
The Tigers took an early 4-1 lead in Equitation over Fences as junior Haley Webster earned the lone point for the Aggies, defeating Ashley Foster, 83-77. A&M rallied in Horsemanship, winning 4-1, to even the match at five at the break.
 
Junior Rachel Lucht began the event with a 72-70 victory over Sarah Miller before senior Logan Pluhar defeated Hannah Loseke, 70-69.5. Sophomore Avery Ellis topped Hannah Stephens, 71.5-69.5, as junior Kaci Fisher defeated Lauren Diaz, 71.5-70.
 
In Equitation on the Flat, senior Marlena Parker was named MOP following her 92-86 win over Tory Hoft. Sophomore Alex Desiderio earned her sixth win of the season in Flat, defeating Caitlin Boyle, 91-90.
 
Senior Hannah Jechow kicked off Reining with a 68.5-68 victory over Hailey Munger, before sophomore Madison Bohman topped Blair McFarlin, 67-66.5. Pluhar tied the match at 10 with a 70.5-69 win against Allie Dusha.
 
A&M returns to action March 19 at 11 a.m. against SMU and will honor its nine seniors after the meet.
 
To learn more about the Aggie equestrian team, log onto 12thman.com or follow @AggieEquestrian on Twitter.