The No. 2 ranked Texas A&M equestrian team was defeated 14-5 by the No. 1 Auburn Tigers on Friday at the Auburn University Equestrian Center.
“We made some very large mistakes that opened the door for them,” A&M head coach Tana McKay told 12thman.com. “We can’t do that against a team like Auburn in Auburn’s house. I am proud of the reiners. They closed out it out with a win, and they rode really well.”
The Aggies (4-1, 1-1 SEC) took their first loss of the season, while the Tigers (4-0, 2-0 SEC) remain undefeated with only one fall game left.
Auburn made their presence known early in the matchup after sweeping Equitation over Fences with all five riders earning a point for the team.
In Equitation on the Flat, A&M was still unable to find their rhythm. The Aggies earned their solo point in this event from sophomore Rhian Murphy’s 84-72 victory over Auburn’s Becky Kozma. However, Auburn still came up with the 4-1 win and moved into the Horsemanship ahead 9-1.
Horsemanship showed a similar performance, as the Aggies added just one more point to the scoreboard. A&M senior Sarah Orsak earned a 73.5-71 win over Deanna Green, while sophomore Alex Albright and Auburn’s Kelsey Jung drew a tie at 74.5 that cancelled out the point for both teams.
A&M was able to close out the meet with a 3-2 win in the final event of the day, Reigning. Junior Darby Gardner opened the event as she edged Deanna Green, 73-72, and junior Courtney Yohey followed up with a 73-71 win against Terri June Granger. Sophomore Marissa Harrell earned her second MOP honor of the season with a 74.5-73.5 victory over Betsy Brown to close out the meet. Despite their performance in this event, the Aggies were unable answer back to Auburn’s 14 points.
The Aggies will face Georgia next for their final fall season meet on Friday, Nov. 16 at 11 a.m. at the Hildebrand Equine Complex in College Station.