|
COLLEGE STATION,
Texas - The fourth-ranked Texas A&M equestrian team (1-1, 0-1 SEC) competes
at No. 3 Auburn (1-1, 0-1 SEC) Saturday at 10 a.m. CST at the Auburn University
Horse Center in the Aggies' second-ever Southeastern Conference (SEC) meet.
Both teams are coming off of SEC losses, as the Aggies
dropped a 5-17 decision to No. 1 Georgia while A&M was tied with the
Bulldogs in the polls. Auburn fell to No. 2 South Carolina in a 10-9 showing.
"We are looking forward to our meet at Auburn," head coach
Tana McKay said. "We have always had close competitions with them and know that
this will be an exciting SEC matchup between the No. 3 and No. 4 programs in
the country. Auburn will host the SEC Championships this season, so it will also
be good for us to get a feel for their facility."
The matchup between the Tigers and the Aggies is just the
second-ever SEC competition for both teams. The Southeastern Conference made the
decision in June to sponsor equestrian as the league's 21st sport.
When A&M and Georgia met two weeks ago in the battle of No. 1 teams, it was
the historic first SEC equestrian competition.
The Tigers, who will host the 2012-13 SEC Equestrian
Championships, are the 2011 overall and hunter seat national champions. The
Aggies own 11 national championships, including the National Collegiate
Equestrian Association (NCEA) western and overall titles from the 2011-12
season.
The reigning NCEA national champions and Auburn have met
just three times in the varsity equestrian format in the history of the two
programs. The Tigers lead the all-time series, 2-1. The teams last met in an
11-8 A&M victory in Bryan, Texas.
Despite the loss at Georgia, A&M produced three of four
Most Outstanding Players and now have five MOPs on the season. Seniors Emily
Williams (fences) and Laura Brainard (horsemanship), and sophomore Laura
Sumrall (reining) topped their opponents for MOP honors. Sophomores Kat Barkema
(fences) and Molli Jacobs (horsemanship) each led their classes in the Aggies'
season-opening victory at South Dakota State.
To get live scoring updates and to learn more about Texas
A&M equestrian, log on to AggieAthletics.com and follow @AggieEquestrian
Twitter.
|
