The No. 8 Texas A&M equestrian team beat South Dakota 13-5 on senior day.
Starting off the day was Haley Redifer in Fencing, giving the Aggies the first point. Redifer also earned her third consecutive Most Outstanding Player (MOP) award. In the same category, Caroline Passarelli defeated her opponent 82-78. This was Passarelli’s first victory in her career. Caroline Dance won her match (87-84) and Grace Boston came out on top (82-79). All four bought A&M to a 4-1 tally for the fencing group.
The second portion of the day was the Horsemanship category. Katie Conklin started off this segment winning 75.5-73.5,for which she earned her second consecutive MOP honor. Alex Marlow, Alex Albright, and Ashley Davidson all contributed wins as well to make the point board 8-2 in at the halfway point.
Into the next part of the competition who had a standout day was the Flat segment. Recording their career highs was Ellie Williams and Hayden Stewart both receiving a 91 score. This 91 score was a season high for the Aggies. Along with her best, Williams received her first MOP award. Caroline Dance best her opponent with a score of 90-78. After this performance, the Aggies were still up 11-3 with one event to go.
At the fourth and final event, the Aggies split with South Dakota 2-2. Darby Gardner won her match 74.5-72 earning her the MOP honor. Gardner’s score of 74.5 was a career high and an Aggie season high in that division. Lisa Bricker finished off the meet with a victory 73.5-71.5.
This win makes the Aggies 6-6 on the season. A&M coach Tana McKay said she was happy with the performance.
“I am really proud of the girls,” McKay told 12thman.com. “I felt like as a whole, they had their heads on. They did a good job of staying focused and getting their jobs done behind the scenes and getting the horses ready. A couple bobbles today, but nothing that is not fixable.”
The Aggies will compete next weekend, March 7, against the No. 1 ranked and SEC competitor Auburn. The meet will begin at 11:00am at Auburn University Horse Center.
“We got our work cut out for us as we head into a tough competition at Auburn, but we are ready to take it on.” McKay said.