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A&M scores equestrian win against Georgia

Freshman's ride puts Ags over the top

By LARRY BOWEN
Eagle Staff Writer

Aggie freshman Randi Standley rode into Freeman Arena with a chance to win Texas A&M's equestrian match against Georgia. It was like a basketball player going to the free throw line for two shots with her team trailing by one and no time left on the clock.

Standley came through on the last scoring ride of the day, delivering the deciding point with her victory in reining as the Aggies beat the Bulldogs 11-9 in a matchup of national powers.

The Madisonville product scored 69.5 points, good for a one-point win over Christina Grant. It was the second point of the day for Standley, who also won her match in the horsemanship class.

"I'd been watching everybody go and I was keeping track of the scores and asking my coach," Standley said. "I kind of knew [that she had a chance to clinch the match], but I didn't let it get to me. I just wanted to have a clean run. It was awesome to see the score."

Standley's heroics helped A&M's western riders escape with a 4-4 tie Saturday. Georgia won a tiebreaker based on total points scored, but the Aggies took the overall match because of a surprising 7-5 edge in the two English disciplines, hunter seat fences and flat.

The Bulldogs have been one of the nation's top English teams under coach Meghan Boenig, who was an assistant at A&M before starting the Georgia program.

"We had a great day," said Linzy Woolf, who rode for Boenig at A&M and now coaches the Aggie hunter seat riders. "I felt at the end of last year that this English team was on its way to being one of the top contenders."

Brittney Dodson was the last-rider hero for A&M's English riders. The Aggies had a 3-2 edge on the flat when the sophomore from Amarillo posted an 80 to win her match by three points.

"She was wonderful under pressure," Woolf said. "She stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park."

Aggie coach Tana Rawson expected the match against Georgia to be close, but she wasn't afraid to have a freshman and sophomore at the back of the lineup.

"It's nice to know that they can work under pressure," Rawson said. "If they can't work under pressure, then this is not going to work for them. You've got a lot of people counting on you."

A&M forged a 3-3 tie over the fences, getting wins from Kristi Waldal, Lindsay Smith and Katie Henion. The Aggies' other points on the flat came from Christina Heine, Brooke Coleman and Lindsey Lawrence.

In western, the Aggies got wins from Tonna Brooks in horsemanship and Genna Fishgold in reining.

Needing to sweep the last five reining matches, Georgia kept its hopes alive with three wins and a tie before Standley delivered the winning ride. Standley's previous experience had been as an exhibition rider against New Mexico State.

"I'm very confident now," Standley said. "It's crazy, actually. Hard to explain."

The Aggies will host Baylor on Sunday, with the match starting at 10 a.m.