Horned Frogs Defeat Texas A&M, to Face SMU in NCEA Championships Semifinals

Thursday, April 13

Ocala, FL

7:30 AM

TCU

Texas A&M

Horned Frogs Defeat Texas A&M, to Face SMU in NCEA Championships Semifinals

4/13/2023 3:20:00 PM | Equestrian

OCALA, Fla. – As sports clichés go, the saying, "it's hard to beat a good team three times in one season," stacks up among the most frequently uttered.

Well, TCU equestrian proved the prevailing idea a myth on Thursday at the World Equestrian Center.

No. 4 seed TCU downed No. 5 Texas A&M 12-8 in the quarterfinals of the NCEA National Championships, notching its third victory over the Aggies in 2022-2023 along the way.

The Horned Frogs (13-3) move on to face No. 1 SMU at 1 p.m. CT on Friday for a spot in the grand finale. The Mustangs narrowly defeated No. 8 Baylor 10-8 to set up a Battle for the Iron Skillet in the Sunshine State.

TCU scored eight of the meet's final 10 points, transforming a 5-5 tie at the half into a comfortable victory.

Texas A&M finished with the advantage in cumulative points (4,500.5-4,460). But as was the case in the teams' first meeting in September, a 10-10 tie that TCU won on cumulative points, the Horned Frogs' dominance in Western was the difference.

The Horned Frogs rolled to an 8-2 combined win in the discipline. A 3-2 triumph in Reining forced the halftime gridlock. Leading 8-7, TCU closed the meet with a 5-0 Horsemanship shutout – its sixth of the season.

The victory sends TCU to its second consecutive NCEA National Championships semifinals. TCU picked up its 10^th all-time victory in the history of the tournament.

The Horned Frogs also seg a Big 12 era record for single-season victories. A win on Friday will make the group the winningest team in program history, surpassing the 14-10 season record produced by the 2009-2010 squad.

Fences

Isabella Baxter was the first athlete on either side to enter the winner's circle. The four-time All-American edged Texas A&M's Brooke Brombach 225-224.

TAMU claimed the next three points to build a 3-1 head start.

Ella Bostwick countered with a 228-223 win over the Aggies' Morgan Rosia in the event's final ride.

The Aggies' 40-point margin of victory in the cumulative tally ultimately came down to Fences. TAMU outscored the Horned Frogs 1,201-1,151.

Reining

Bostwick's result in Fences ignited a string of three consecutive Horned Frog victories.

Mattie Dukes, the reigning Big 12 Reining Rider of the Year, grinded out a 215-214.5 win against TAMU's Ariana Gray.

Freshman Lannie-Jo Lisac regained the Horned Frogs' lead at 4-3. She was awarded 208.5 points to the 204 given to the Aggies' Lauren Hanson.

The see-saw affair soon continued, as TAMU rallied to take the ensuing two rides.

Shea Graham emphatically forced the halftime tie. The TCU junior earned an event-leading score of 219 on her way to a 6.5-point takedown of Emmy Lu Marsh.

The Horned Frogs finished with 1,056 cumulative points to TAMU's 1,050.5.

Flat

The scoring breakdown in Flat was identical to Reining, with TCU taking the first, second and fifth rides and assuming a narrow 8-7 lead entering the meet's final event.

Laurel Smith and Wynne Weatherly teamed up to stake TCU to a 7-5 edge with double digit victories behind respective scores of 230 and 246. Weatherly was TCU's top performer in Jumping Seat.

Sydnie Young gave TCU the lead for good on the strength of a 222-209 win over Maggie Nealon.

Horsemanship

Two of Texas A&M's rides were sent to the judges for review, but by the time the scores were announced, the meet was decided.

First team All-American Giorgia Medows put TCU within two points of victory, cruising past Cori Cansdale 226-219.5.

Graham picked up her second of two wins on the day shortly thereafter. She produced a 222.5-218 win over Hannah Olaussen, setting up the Horned Frogs for the meet-clincher.

Payton Boutelle punched TCU's ticket to the semifinals, scoring a match-leading 229 points and bettering TAMU's top performance – a 225-point ride from Ellie Gerbrandt.

TAMU was unable to trim TCU's final margin of victory with its reviewed rides. Jessica McAllister picked up TCU's 12^thpoint, as the Big 12 Horsemanship Rider of the Year eased by Alexis Robins on 223.5-215.5. Dukes joined her discipline-mate Graham in entering the win column twice. She sealed the six-point win with a 227-225 win against Ella Petrak.

TCU boosted its season record in Western to 14-1-1 with its Horsemanship sweep.

Up Next

Friday's semifinal tilt vs. SMU begins with a Fences and Reining overlap at 1 p.m. Flat is scheduled to begin at 2:35 p.m. following a brief intermission. The meet concludes with Horsemanship, targeted for a 3:50 p.m. first ride.

A win over the Mustangs will send TCU to just its second NCEA National Championship in its 17-year history. The Horned Frogs finished as the national runner-up to Auburn in 2016.