April 17, 2015
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WACO, Texas - The No. 5 Auburn equestrian team upset fourth-seeded Texas A&M, 9-6, to advance to the semifinals of the NCEA Championships on Friday at the Extraco Events Center in Waco, Texas.
"It was a great victory, but we still let penalties haunt us on the western side," head coach Greg Williams said. "I think they'll be focused and ready for tomorrow. We were strong against Georgia at SECs in western and the way our hunt seat kids are riding, we should be in good shape tomorrow. We are going to have to go hard. The girls are going to use that loss at SECs as their motivation. They have been looking for this day since we had that loss. It is how it happened for us in 2013 when we won the national championship. They just fed off that loss at SECs and I think we are doing it again now. I just can't wait for tomorrow."
The Tigers picked up two points in Reining as freshman Alexa Rivard defeated Laura Sumrall, 133.5-126, and junior Hailey Munger topped Sarah Kate Grider, 137.5-134.
In Equitation on the Flat, junior Elizabeth Benson scored a 179 to beat Marlena Parker's 171. Senior Demi Stiegler defeated Haley Buchmiller, 177-171 and sophomore Ashley Foster bettered Audrey Gallagher, 167-152. Sophomore Tory Hoft completed the sweep in the event and gave Auburn a 6-2 lead with a 183-163 victory over Anna Rea.
After the Aggies cut Auburn's lead to one after Horsemanship, Benson earned her 14th win of the season in Equitation over Fences, toppling Alex Desiderio, 164-140, before Foster clinched the match, defeating Hannah Williams 170-161. Stiegler earned a 184-150 victory over Leah Chenelle, giving Auburn its ninth point.
The Tigers will face top-seeded Georgia Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. CT, and the winner will face the winner of the Oklahoma State-South Carolina winner in the NCEA Championship match. Live scoring for the meet can be found here.
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