The Texas A&M equestrian team has had a phenomenal season. The No. 3 Aggies are 13-4 overall after sweeping past No. 6 Baylor in the NCEA quarterfinals.
Senior Devon Thomas gave the maroon and white a strong start in the first event of the day, scoring a 245 to defeat Baylor’s Caroline Fuller in Fences. Junior Morgan Rosia carried that momentum to collect a second point for the Aggies with a total score of 236. Sealing the victory in Fences for the Aggies were junior Kaitlyn Lovingfoss and senior Haley Redifer, gaining another two points to bring the total score to 4-1.
The Aggies continued to dominate in Horsemanship, gaining another four points to continue to outscore Baylor, 8-2. Baylor had a strong start in the event, almost gaining the first two points for the Bears, but graduate MacKenzie Chapman outscored Marley Mainwaring 221-220. Senior Hayley Riddle edged out Isabella Rosa 219-217.5 to gain a second point for the maroon and white. Closing out the event strong for A&M was junior Cori Cansdale and sophomore Ella Petak, who contributed two more points for the Aggies.
In Flat, fifth-year Caroline Dance scored one of two points for the Aggies. Senior Nicole Leonard collected the second point for the team with a total score of 244. Although the Bears outscored A&M in the event, 3-2, it was not enough to take the lead.
A&M outscored Baylor 3-1 in Reining, the final event of the day. Senior Lisa Bricker, graduate student Marissa Harrell and junior Emmy Lu Marsh teamed up to score the final three points for the Aggies, giving the team a 13-6 victory over Baylor.
“I’m really excited for these girls, they’ve worked really hard all year long,” coach Tana McKay told 12thMan.com. “We knew we were up against a tough Baylor team, and we knew we had our work cut out for us. In all the events they did, what we had planned, and there was a lot of consistency and it paid off.”
The Aggies will compete in the NCEA semifinals against the SMU Mustangs on Friday, April 15 at 1 p.m.
