Feb. 15, 2018
No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 3 Texas A&M
MEET
| Saturday, Feb. 17 | 11 a.m. CT | |
| #2 Auburn vs. #3 Texas A&M | ||
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The No. 2 Auburn equestrian team returns to the Plains Saturday, kicking off a four-meet homestand. The Tigers face off with Southeastern Conference rival and No. 3 Texas A&M at the Auburn University Equestrian Center starting at 11 a.m. CT.
"We're not taking this home stretch for granted," head coach Greg Williams said. "We're hosting the defending national champion and we know we're going to have our hands full on Saturday. The key is taking what we experienced last week at Georgia and carrying it into this weekend. The weather looks like it's going to be great so it's going to be a great afternoon for everyone out there!"
PROMOTIONS
It's a Family Fun Day out at the Auburn University Equestrian Center. Pony rides, cornhole, and inflatables highlight the fun that will be had Saturday! Admission to all regular season meets is free.
AUBURN LINEUP
The Auburn competition lineup continues to be junior and freshman heavy, featuring eight juniors and four freshmen. Joining the group will be two seniors and one sophomore.
Junior All-Americans Ashton Alexander, Caitlin Boyle, and Hayley Iannotti are set to compete in both Equitation Over Fences and Equitation on the Flat for the Tigers. Boyle leads the team with a 15-2-1 overall record on the year, including an 8-1-0 mark in Flat. Iannotti has seven wins in Flat with 12 overall.
Joining the trio in both events is freshman Taylor St. Jacques. The Glen Allen, Va., product has had an outstanding spring season, going undefeated in the month of February with four MOP honors. Junior All-American Alex Ladove is slated to compete in Fences for Auburn, while senior Caitlin Creel will ride in Flat.
On the Western side of competition, freshman Deanna Green earned the starting nod in both Horsemanship and Reining vs. the Bulldogs. Green is tied for first on the team with seven victories in Horsemanship and owns four MOP nods in the event. Redshirt junior Kelsey Jung also has seven victories in Horsemanship with one MOP.
Junior Lauren Diaz, sophomore Kara Kaufmann, and freshman Taylor Searles are set to join Green and Jung in Horsemanship. Both Diaz and Searles picked up victories at No. 1 Georgia last week and Diaz is third in the event with five wins on the year.
Senior Alexa Rivard highlights the Reining corps as she recently tied Auburn's career-wins record, having 34 to her name. The Suwanee, Ga., product has earned three wins this year so far in the event.
Freshman Terri-June Granger and junior Betsy Brown as tied for most wins in Reining on the team, having five each. Granger is coming off a MOP performance at Georgia, scoring a career-high 74 points. That total was also a team high for the year. Granger also has four MOP honors to her credit this season.
Junior Blair McFarlin will also go for the squad in Reining and has four wins on the year.
UP NEXT
Auburn remains home for another SEC contest, taking on No. 8 South Carolina. The Tigers and the Gamecocks will face off at 11 a.m. CT Saturday, Feb. 24.