After a tremendous momentum shift in Texas A&M equestrian’s attitude landed them in the semi-finals of the NCEA National Championships, the Aggies fell just one match short of a chance at the trophy.
A&M equestrian fought to the third round of the tournament in Waco’s 2016 edition of the NCEA National Championships. After lopsided victories over No. 12 Fresno State Thursday and No 4. Oklahoma State Friday, the Aggies met their match against SEC rival and No. 1 Auburn Saturday afternoon. A&M was only able to win one event against the Tigers 一 reining.
The Aggies pulled quickly ahead with a 1-2-3 punch over the Tigers in reining Saturday morning to start off the semifinals match. The Aggies’ monumental start was short-lived as the Tigers finally tied the score at 4-4 before they carried away with the match victory. Despite the dominant 3-1 start in reining, Auburn was able to take command of the match in the Hunter Seat division and the Western event horsemanship.
Auburn was able to take swift advantages over the Aggies in individual performances, particularly in equitation over fences. When Auburn riders won in the event, they outscored Aggies riders by an average margin of over 14 points. Individual performances led to 3-1 victories in equitation over fences, equitation on the flat and horsemanship.
The Aggies missed out on a chance to compete against the Tigers in the SEC Championships in March. A&M first fell to Georgia in the opening round before again losing to South Carolina in the consolation match. However, the Aggies were able to redeem their postseason slump by placing in the NCEA National Championships this year. Despite the losses at the SEC Championships, the Aggies were given a No. 5 seed heading into the final tournament.
After two weeks of preparation, the Aggies were pitted against No. 12 Fresno State in the first round to see who would face No. 4 Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals. After a 9-9 tie breaking victory on Oct. 24 over the Bulldogs, A&M was able to show its maturity against the club with a 14-2 askew first round victory at Nationals Thursday.
After sitting out with a first round bye, the OSU Cowgirls challenged the Aggies Friday morning. Their first round break was not enough to keep the Aggies from putting on a show as A&M let loose to a 11-5 one-sided victory over Oklahoma State Friday.
Although the Aggies did not finish the season as NCEA National Champions, they were able to right any wrongs from the SEC Tournament with two clear-cut wins at the NCEA finale. After its victory over A&M, Auburn went on to compete in a 8-7 thriller win over the TCU Horned Frogs in the championship round.
