A shutout win wasn’t good enough for equestrian as the Aggies claimed both matches in the Delaware doubleheader this weekend. The meet highlighted feats for many of the A&M riders on the season.
Texas A&M equestrian (6-1, 2-1 SEC) hit the road for its final meet of the 2015 calendar year. The meet was held in Felton, Delaware between the Aggies, host Delaware State (2-3) and Kansas State (2-3). The Aggies gained an all-out 14-0 sweep over the Wildcats Friday morning, and followed with a 10-4 finish over Delaware State early Saturday morning.
The Aggies started out their trip on Friday morning with their first full-match sweep of the season against KSU. A&M shined on all four events in the competition to gain the sweep, led by Hannah Jechow and Ashley Dotson who both remained undefeated at 6-0 on the season. The match also put junior Izzy Norton in the spotlight with her first ride of the year, which ended with MVP honors on a 94-point ride.
Freshman Sarah Orsak faired well against the Wildcats, as she earned her first-ever point as an Aggie, and hoisted an MVP award for her 70-69 victory on the flat. Rachel Lucht claimed her point in horsemanship to be the first Aggie with five wins this year. Against KSU, the Aggies finished out hunter seat with an 8-0 sweep and western with a 6-0 sweep. Following the match, Texas A&M head coach Tana McKay told 12thman.com she was excited about the match’s outcome and the weather was a challenge in Delaware.
“I’m very excited about how today went,” McKay said. “We are growing as a team and it’s really showing in the arena. We had some challenges thrown at us this morning due to weather and unfamiliar territory, but the girls remained focused on what we talked about in practices leading up to this meet.”
With the momentum of Friday’s match against KSU, the Aggies finished off the meet with a swift win over Delaware State Saturday morning. The first half of the match against the Hornets began Friday, but after a 6-2 finish in the former half, the Aggies never looked back to finish off with a 10-4 win.
Alex Desiderio started off the Aggies with their first point in fences before Haley Webster’s loss tied the score at 1-1. However, the Aggies charged back with a 3-1 finish in the fences portion of hunter seat with Rachael Hake earning MOP honors. With continued momentum, A&M also finished 3-1 in reining to conclude the Friday portion of competition.
Saturday started and ended with Aggie points in the flat, which ended with a 3-1 final score. Bailey Cook was the only Aggie to score in the horsemanship event, whereas Logan Pluhar was the only Aggie defeated to tie the score at 1-1.
The Aggies are finished with their 2015 calendar schedule, but will return Jan. 30 to re-challenge the Georgia Bulldogs, whom are the only team to defeat the Aggies this season. The match will be hosted by the Aggies at the Hildebrand Equine Center at 11:00 a.m.
