COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 1 Auburn equestrian team completed a tough Texas road trip with another big win, edging No. 4 Texas A&M Saturday afternoon at the Hildebrand Equestrian Complex, 11-9.
The win moved the Tigers to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the Southeastern Conference.
"It's great to see this group battle together as a complete team," head coach Greg Williams said. "We had some tough situations today, but we held on and fought for each other. Texas A&M is very well coached and a very strong team, so I'm glad to get back to the Plains with a win. They are competitors from top to bottom so I couldn't be more proud of our team for stepping up in the tough moments."
With a 7-3 lead at the break, the Tigers needed just four points to clinch the team win with Flat and Reining remaining.
The Reining corps picked up a key victory from sophomore Peyton Hall as the Shreveport, La., product topped her opponent, 67.5-66.
Needing just three points, Auburn's Flat crew went 3-2 over the Aggies to secure the team win. After TAMU took the first point, sophomore McKayla Langmeier followed with her MOP ride and bested her opponent, 92-88. Freshman Ava Stearns followed with a 70-66 victory to give the Tigers their 10th point and junior Taylor St. Jacques sealed the team win with a career-high score of 94.
Horsemanship put together a big performance in the first half, riding to a 4-1 victory over the Aggies. Junior Deanna Green opened up with a 76.5-71.5 win and freshman Olivia Tordoff earned a career-best 78 points to top her opponent, taking home MOP honors. Classmate Maddie Spak edged TAMU's Kamiah McGrath, 72-71, and junior Taylor Searles put up a big 77 to best Aggie Alex Marlow's 76.
Auburn's Fences corps finished 3-2 on the day, starting with a big ride from sophomore Meghan Knapic. The Smithtown, N.Y., product tied her career high with an 88-78 victory. Stearns earned MOP honors with an 87-86 edge over Haley Redifer, while Langmeier closed out the event with 88 points in her win.
The No. 1 Tigers close out the fall slate with a showdown with No. 2 Georgia, Nov. 15, at the Auburn University Equestrian Center. The conference rivals will face off at 3 p.m. CT and admission is free.
#1 AUBURN 11, #4 TEXAS A&M 9
Fences
Meghan Knapic (AU) def. Hayden Stewart (TAMU), 88-78
Caroline Dance (TAMU) def. Taylor St. Jacques (AU), 90-81
Ava Stearns (AU)* def. Haley Redifer (TAMU), 87-86
Kaitlyn Lovingfoss (TAMU) def. Emma Kurtz (AU), 90-88
McKayla Langmeier (AU) def. Grace Boston (TAMU), 88-87
Flat
Caroline Dance (TAMU) def. Emma Kurtz (AU), 90-82
McKayla Langmeier (AU)* def. Rhian Murphy (TAMU), 92-88
Ava Stearns (AU) def. Hayden Stewart (TAMU), 70-66
Taylor St. Jacques (AU) def. Kaitlyn Lovingfoss (TAMU), 94-90
Nicole Leonard (TAMU) def. Anna Claire Smith (AU), 80-67
Horsemanship
Deanna Green (AU) def. Ashley Davidson (TAMU), 76.5-67.5
Olivia Tordoff (AU)* def. Cameron Crenwelge (TAMU), 78-73
Katie Conklin (TAMU) def. Kara Kaufmann (AU), 76.5-73
Maddie Spak (AU) def. Kamiah McGrath (TAMU), 72-71
Taylor Searles (AU) def. Alex Marlow (TAMU), 77-76
Reining
Emmy-Lu Marsh (TAMU) def. Jen Kasper (AU), 68.5-66
Peyton Hall (AU) def. Darby Gardner (TAMU), 67.5-66
Lisa Bricker (TAMU) def. Boo Kammerer (AU), 69.6-69
Marissa Harrell (TAMU)* def. Deanna Green (AU), 69.5-65
Courtney Yohey (AU) def. Terri-June Granger (AU), 67.5-66.5