No. 3 Texas A&M Equestrian Tops No. 4 Oklahoma State, 12-5

COLLEGE STATION – The No. 3 Texas A&M equestrian team defeated No. 4 Oklahoma State, 12-5, Friday in both team’s season opener at the Hildebrand Equine Complex.

“We’re used to playing Oklahoma State, they’ve always been a really tough team. The girls rode so well. They were, for the most part, mistake free and that’s what it’s all about,” head coach Tana McKay said. “Hats off to Oklahoma State. They rode well, but had a couple mistakes and it’s hard to recover from that. I’m very proud of our girls. They worked so well as a team. It’s a big undertaking to put on a competition. There’s so much going on behind the scenes and one of the things the team did so well was work together.”

The Aggies (1-0) jumped out to an early 3-1 lead after Equitation over Fences as Caroline Dance opened the meet by defeating Hannah Janson, 85-76, earning Most Outstanding Player (MOP) honors. The Aggies tallied back-to-back points as Grace Boston topped Cassidy Wilbourn, 75-73, and Rebekah Chenelle outscored Katie Schell, 81-68.

Texas A&M extended their lead to 6-2 after earning three points in Horsemanship. Sarah Orsak led the way with a score of 73.5, besting Maddie Bender’s 71.5. Alex Albright followed suit and defeated Paige Kemper, 74.5-71, notching MOP recognition. Kyra Bouma added a point for the Maroon & White with a 74.5-62.5 triumph over Natalie Alcorn.

The Aggies went on to take Equitation on the Flat, 3-2. After Oklahoma State (0-1) scored the first point in the event, Chenelle answered by defeating Abigail Brayman, 83-80. Dance earned her second MOP honor of the meet after recording an 89 against Schell’s 77. To conclude competition in the Hunter Seat arena, Rhian Murphy earned another point for the Aggies, outscoring Molly Dunn by eight points, 81-73.

In the final event, Reining, Darby Gardner tallied a point for the Aggies with a score of 73 and was named MOP for the first time in her career. Courtney Yohey narrowly defeated Alexa Beaty, 66-65.5, before Marissa Harrell scored the final point with a 69-67.5 win over Kristi Wiggins.

Texas A&M returns to action against TCU on Friday, Oct. 5. The meet is slated to begin at 10 a.m. at Turning Point Ranch in Springtown, Texas.

To learn more about Texas A&M equestrian, log on to 12thMan.com or follow @AggieEquestrian on Twitter and Instagram.

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

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