Equestrian Falls to No. 3 Aggies

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The seventh ranked K-State equestrian team came up just short of the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies, losing a heartbreaking 9-9 decision on tiebreakers Friday afternoon at Fox Creek Farm.

The Wildcats won the Western portion of the show, 5-4, but were narrowly edged out in the Hunter Seat discipline by the same margin. The decision then went to the tiebreakers where Texas A&M was declared the winner due to their cumulative point total.

The loss drops the Wildcats to 2-2 on the season, with both losses coming against top five teams. The Wildcats opened the season with back-to-back wins over No. 8 TCU and then second-ranked Baylor Bears.

"We hung right in there against an excellent team,” said associate head coach Gardner Powell. “One point here or there on any number of close performances would have meant a win.”

K-State fell into an early hole in Equitation over Fences, losing a 4-1 decision. Senior Kendall Marvin picked up the only point in the discipline for the Wildcats. The 74-70 victory also marked her first individual winning ride of the season.

The Wildcats bounced back well in Equitation on the Flat, defeating the Aggies 3-1. Senior Paige Sullivan was named MVP after a strong 79-72 ride against A&M’s Megan Webb. Natasha Vincent improved to 3-1 on the year, and freshman Kali Yates notched her second win of her young career.

K-State tallied a decisive 4-1 victory in the Horsemanship discipline. The veteran-heavy squad has only lost seven points on the entire season. Senior team captain Alyssa Freeman picked up her first MVP award of the season, bringing her career total to five. Fellow seniors Courtney Watters, Mikaela Sundgren and Laura Browne rounded out the win for the Wildcats.

The Wildcat Reining squad lost its first competition of the year, falling 3-1 to the Aggies. Senior Morgan Campbell was a bright spot for the team, riding to a 70-69.5 victory that garnered her MVP honors. Freshman Sam Etsell finished with a 70.5-70.5 draw in the final point, which forced the competition to be decided by tiebreaker.

"Today was a really big test for our team and they fought hard through every ride,” said head coach Cassie Lisabeth. “The horsemanship riders dominated today and I couldn't ask for any more out of their performances. The reining riders also rode very well, we just had a few small mistakes that can't be afforded against a team of this caliber. Alyssa and Morgan were outstanding leaders today and really represented our team well."

K-State will hit the road for the first time this season in two weeks, when it travels to Tennessee-Martin. The double-header with both Tennessee-Martin and Delaware State will round out the fall schedule for the Wildcats.

Complete results from Saturday’s competition against Texas A&M are as follows.

VARSITY COMPETITION

Equitation over fences:

Jen Rawle 76 vs Kori Pickett** 81

Meredith Finch 69 vs Lia Chaffee 74

Katherine Deichmann 68 vs Maggie Earle 78

Kristen Rheinlander 71 vs Lindsay Smith 78

Kendall Marvin 74 vs Brooke Coleman 70

Equitation on the flat:

Paige Sullivan** 79 vs Megan Webb 72

Larissa Laffey 0 vs Kristin Bell 72

Natasha Vincent 74 vs Christina Heine 69

Christina Costello 65 vs Brittney Dodson 65

Kali Yates 71 vs Elizabeth Solch 64

Hunter Seat Totals: KSU 4 – TAMU 5

Horsemanship:

Laura Browne 74 vs Cailey Dreyer 70

Caley Coffey 73 vs Caroline Gunn 75.5

Courtney Watters 69.5 vs Randi Standley 66.5

Mikaela Sundgren 74.5 vs Katie Lisabeth 70.5

Alyssa Freeman** 76 vs Carey Nowacek 68.5

Reining:

Alecia Zimbelman 68.5 vs Courtney Dawe 69.5

Morgan Campbell ** 70 vs Randi Standley 69.5

Tara Hallan 68 vs Abigail Grabein 69

Kaylee Stout 69 vs Tara Christiansen 70.5

Sam Etsell 70.5 vs Maggie Gratny 70.5

Western Totals: KSU 5 – TAMU 4

OVERALL: KSU 9 – TAMU 9

TAMU Wins on Total Points 1423-1360.5

** Denotes MVP

EXHIBITION COMPETITION

Equitation over fences:

Katie Haukos 67 vs Jackie O’Connell 70

Equitation on the flat:

Melanie Hinzpeter 70 vs Hannah Soibelman 65

Hunter Seat Totals: KSU 1 – TAMU 1

Horsemanship:

McKenzie True 69 vs Dana Hall 69

Josie Kness 71 vs Kelsey Adams 71.5

Hayley Milch 67.5 vs Cassie Mantor 70

Reining:

Dana Johnson 62.5 vs Emma Myers 54.5

Western Totals: KSU 1 – TAMU 3

OVERALL: KSU 2 – TAMU 4

– k-statesports.com –