AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 1 Auburn equestrian team returns to competition Saturday, Feb. 13, as the Tigers travel to No. 5 Texas A&M. The two squads will square off in a Southeastern Conference contest at 11 a.m. CT at the Hildebrand Equine Complex in Bryan-College Station, Texas.
"We're so excited to get back to competition," head coach Greg Williams said. "I always love starting on the road. Coaches Mary Meneely and Jessica Braswell are two of the best position coaches out there and they way the run their practices is just amazing. Our student-athletes are also out there pushing each other and are very driven. I'm looking forward to Saturday.
"Texas A&M is just a solid team and the Aggies are always good at their place," Williams continued. "All four of our events need to be on so we can come away with a win. Texas A&M is well coached with great facilities and great horses so they're going to be tough."
AUBURN LINEUP
The Auburn (3-0, 3-0 SEC) lineup features a wealth of experience vs. the Aggies.
The Jumping Seat squad is led by four All-Americans in senior Taylor St. Jacques, juniors Emma Kurtz and McKayla Langmeier and sophomore Ava Stearns. The quartet will compete in both Fences and Flat. St. Jacques finished the fall with a perfect 6-0-0 record, going 3-0-0 in both events.
Langmeier went 5-1-0 in the first half of the season, going 3-0-0 in Fences. Kurtz put together a 4-2-0 mark with a 2-1-0 record in each event.
Joining the four in Fences will be junior Meghan Knapic. The Smithtown, N.Y., product finished the fall with a 2-1-0 record for the squad. Sophomore Lindsey Klein is slated to compete in Flat vs. the Aggies, making her second start of the season.
The Western corps is led by a pair of senior All-Americans in Deanna Green and Taylor Searles. The duo will compete in both Horsemanship and Reining on the road. Searles went 2-0-1 in Horsemanship with a 2-1-0 mark in Reining in the fall, while Green finished 2-1-0 in Horsemanship and 1-1-1 in Reining.
Joining them in Horsemanship will be sophomores Olivia Tordoff and Maddie Spak as well as freshman Madison Parduhn. Tordoff, an All-American, is a perfect 3-0-0 in the event, while Spak stands at 2-1-0. The start for Parduhn will be the first of her career.
On the Reining side of competition, senior All-American Terri-June Granger joins her teammates vs. the Aggies and holds a 2-1-0 record on the season. Sophomore Boo Kammerer, the October NCEA Rider of the Month in the event, is also set to compete and is unbeaten this season with a 2-0-1 mark. Freshman Olivia Marino will earn her second start of the season.
AUBURN-TEXAS A&M SERIES
Auburn leads the all-time series, 22-6, against the Aggies, winning the last eight meetings. The Tigers are 5-6 in meets competed in Bryan-College Station.
The squads last met at the end of the Fall 2020 season with No. 1 Auburn topping then-No. 7 Texas A&M, 15-5, at the Auburn University Equestrian Center. The Fences crew swept the Aggies with junior Emma Kurtz leading the way with 88 points. Reining closed out the day with a 4-1 finish against TAMU.
UP NEXT
The top-ranked Tigers return to the Auburn University Equestrian Center for another Southeastern Conference match up. Auburn hosts No. 8 South Carolina at 11 a.m. CT. Spectator information for the meet will be released next week.