No. 4 Texas A&M falls to No. 2 Auburn, 14-6

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. – No. 4 Texas A&M Equestrian fell to No. 2 Auburn, 14-6, Friday in the first round of competition at the SEC Championships at One Wood Farm.
 
The Aggies (10-6) started off with an early lead over the Tigers (10-3) after winning the day's first event, Equitation over Fences, 4-1. Caroline Dance scored the first point of the meet by edging out Hayley Iannotti, 161-160. Rachael Hake secured her 13^th victory of the season after defeating Taylor St. Jacques, 155-144, to move into third in program history for wins in a season. Following suit, Rebekah Chenelle topped Caitlin Boyle, 169-166, before Alex Desiderio concluded the event with a dominating 156-126 victory against Alex Ladove.
 
Auburn rallied back in the Western Arena to tie the meet, 5-5, at the halfway point after claiming Horsemanship, 4-1. Alex Albright tallied the lone point for the Maroon & White after outscoring Kara Kaufmann, 151-148.5
 
The Tigers jumped out to a 9-6 lead following Equitation on the Flat after winning, 4-1. Chenelle downed Caitlin Creel, 155-139, for the Aggies' sole victory and was named Most Outstanding Player.
 
In the final event, Auburn won Reining, 5-0.
 
Texas A&M will face off against South Carolina in the consolation meet Saturday at 8 a.m. CT.
 
Information on the SEC Championship including live scoring can be found online at www.gamecocksonline.com.
 
To learn more about the Aggie equestrian team, log onto 12thman.com or follow @AggieEquestrian on Twitter.