Fourth-Seeded Aggies Fall in First Round of SEC Championships

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. – The No. 4-seeded Texas A&M equestrian team dropped a 12-7 decision at No. 1 South Carolina Friday in the first round of the SEC Championship at One Wood Farm.

Texas A&M falls to 2-9 on the season and finds itself out of contention for SEC Champion. Sophomore Hannah Jechow was awarded MOP honors for her performance in the reining competition.

The Gamecocks started hot with a 4-1 edge over the Aggies in equitation on the flat. No Aggie scored higher than junior Haley Buchmiller’s 140 points, while South Carolina saw only one rider score below 150 points. Texas A&M’s lone point came with sophomore Hannah Williams’ defeat of USC’s Adele Norton by a score of 131-128.

Texas A&M evened the deficit with a 4-1 victory in reining. Sophomore Ashley Dotson had the highest score of either team with a 138.5. Juniors Ashley Skold and Laura Sumrall also scored a point for the Aggies, while Jechow ended the event with her point-winning MOP performance. The score was tied 5-5 going into the final two disciplines of the day.

The top-seeded Gamecocks took fences by a score of 3-1. The first contest between USC’s Samantha Smith and A&M’s Shelby Lawson ended in a tie at 160. Sophomore Kimmy Saul, with the Aggies’ second-best score in the event, lost by a narrow margin of 161-164. Sophomore Marlena Parker scored the Aggies only point with a strong 164-138 victory over USC’s Alexa Anthony.

South Carolina maintained its overall lead with a 4-1 victory in horsemanship. The Aggies made a strong push to win the event as the first two A&M riders lost by only a combined four points. Senior Laura Brainard scored the event’s last point with a 148-146 victory, helping A&M even the score at five-all in the western discipline.

The A&M equestrian team will be back in action again tomorrow (Saturday, Mar. 29) as it will face Auburn in the consolation round. To learn more about the team, log on to AggieAthletics.com and follow @AggieEquestrian on Twitter.

No. 4 Texas A&M (7) at No. 1 South Carolina (12)
Friday, Mar. 28, 2014
Blythewood, S.C. – One Wood Farm

Hunter Seat – USC 7, A&M 2

Equitation over Fences – USC 3, A&M 1
Samantha Smith, USC, ties Shelby Lawson, A&M, 160-160

Samantha Kraus, USC, def. Leah Chennelle, A&M, 160-130

Marlena Parker, A&M, def. Alexa Anthony, USC, 164-138

Katherine Schmidt, USC, def. Kimmy Saul, A&M, 164-161

Amber Henter, USC, def. Hannah Williams, A&M, 142-135

Equitation on the Flat – USC 4, A&M 1
Kathrine Scmidt, USC, def. Haley Buchmiller, A&M, 162-140

Samantha Smith, USC, def. Megan Phillips, A&M, 160-132

Alexa Anthony, USC, def. Marlena Parker, A&M, 155-138

Hannah Williams, A&M, def. Adele Norton, USC, 131-128

Kelsey Hart, USC, def. Paige Russell, A&M, 160-128

Western – USC 5, A&M 5

Horsemanship – USC 4, A&M 1

Sam Chiodo, USC, def. Logan Pluhar, A&M 146.5-143.5

Katie Kopf, USC, def. Molli Jacobs, A&M, 145.5-144.5

Abigail Pait, USC, def. Rachel Lucht, A&M, 145.5-139.5

Johnna Letchworth, USC, def. Caroline Ammons, A&M, 151-145.5

Laura Brainard, A&M, def. Alison Ceresani, USC, 148-146

Reining – A&M 4, USC 1

Ashley Dotson, A&M, def. Sarah Bouchard, USC, 138.5-137.5

Ashley Skold, A&M, def. Jordan Brown, USC, 130.5-128

Layla Choate, USC, def. Lindsey Bernbaum, A&M, 137-134.5

Laura Sumrall, A&M, def. Cody McMIllion, USC, 132.5-132

Hannah Jechow, A&M, def. Johnna Letchworth, USC, 138-135.5

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

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