Cowgirl Equestrian Topples Aggies to Advance to Big 12 Finals

Friday, March 27

Stillwater, Okla.

12:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

Texas A&M

Cowgirl Equestrian Topples Aggies to Advance to Big 12 Finals

March 28, 2009 | Cowgirl Equestrian

Led by a strong showing from its seniors, the Oklahoma State Equestrian team upset Texas A&M, 9-6, Friday at the Big 12 Conference Championships to gain their eighth win of the season and advance to Saturday's finals.

OSU's seniors went 4-1-1 Friday to vault the Cowgirls into a Saturday showdown against Baylor for the conference title.

“We are excited,” said OSU associate head coach Suzanne Flaig. “We had a good day of competition. We were solid from top to bottom, and we hope to do it again tomorrow.”

After nearly three hours of delays, the Cowgirls got underway with a victory in equitation over fences in dominating fashion as OSU won three of the four head-to-head matches in the discipline.

Senior Jaclyn Osterstock, junior Ally Blais and sophomore Alice White all captured victories on the day for the Cowgirls. Blais picked up her 10th win this season while earning the MVP for the discipline. Osterstock has now earned a six wins this season and one MVP. White also picked up her sixth win of the season.

In equitation on the flat, the Cowgirls pulled off a 3-1 victory over Texas A&M. Seniors showed their leadership as all three victories came from the upperclassmen. Sarah Summers picked up her ninth win of the season, and Charlotte Collingsworth earned the MVP and her 11th win of the season. Sam Collingsworth also reached the 10-win mark with her victory on Friday. The 6-2 victory over the Aggies in the English disciplines brought OSU's overall record to 7-5-1.

“The pattern was very difficult, and it was a stressful week getting ready for it,” Charlotte Collingsworth said. “I thought we did a great job riding after a hard week of preparation.”

The Cowgirls dropped the horsemanship discipline, 2-1, with sophomore Margaux Tucker picking up the lone victory for Oklahoma State. Tucker earned her sixth victory on the season.

Oklahoma State split with Texas A&M in the reining discipline to secure a win at the end of the day. Juniors Rachell Shobe and Leah Kuehn both earned victories on the evening. Kuehn picked up her eighth win, while Shobe has now earned seven victories on the season.

With their win, today the Cowgirls advance to the championship show Saturday against Baylor. The show will begin at 10 a.m. at the Animal Science Arena. OSU split with the Bears during the regular season, winning the matchup in Stillwater.