The Aggies (5-2, 2-1 SEC) suffered their second loss of the season Saturday morning when No. 10 New Mexico State (4-4) defeated them in a tiebreaker. This is the Aggies first loss of 2017 with their last defeat coming at the hands of the Auburn Tigers via tiebreaker back in October of 2016.
The Maroon and White took an early 5-3 advantage at the half with a 3-1 victory in Horsemanship and a 2-2 tie in Equitation over Fences. Sophomore Sarah Orsak led the charge with a 73-71.5 win over NMSU’s Haylee Schoonover. Junior Avery Ellis capped off the Horsemanship competition with an event-high 73.5 over Hallie Padilla’s 70.5, earning her first MOP honors of the season. Alex Desiderio continues to show her dominance in Over Fences this season with an 80-76 victory over Erica Rosinski. Sophomore Rebekah Chenelle rounded off the half with an 82-78 showing over Samantha Perlman.
Equitation on the Flat kicked off the second half of competition where the Texas A&M Aggies held a healthy lead. Chenelle scored a lone point for A&M by topping Isabel Walton, 73-70. Junior Madison Bohman carried the Aggies to a 7-7 tie with her 71-66.5 win over Allison Nordvall of New Mexico State. Her MOP efforts in the Reining competition makes her the leading Aggie with six wins in the event and three MOPs on the season.
The 1201.25 – 1052.25 tiebreaker loss moves the Aggies down to No. 3 in the nation’s rankings. The remaining five competition for the Aggies all come against top-10 opponents. A&M will hit the road again this Saturday as they take on SMU in Dallas. With A&M setting its sights set on March’s SEC Championship. The competition between the Mustangs and the Aggies will kick off at 10 AM CST.