Feb. 3, 2007

WACO, Texas - The Baylor equestrian team dropped its spring season opener on Saturday, falling to Texas A&M, 14-6, in action at the Willis Family Equestrian Center. Despite the loss, Baylor's Mary Smitson was the high-point rider in the Equitation Over Fences event while Nicole Brown earned high-point honors in the Equitation On the Flat event.

The Bears held a 6-4 advantage over the Aggies after the Equitation portion of the show. In addition to Smitson (75), Analisa Muti (76), Shelby White (78) and Brown (86) scored points for the Bears in the Fences event to take a 4-1 lead.

Baylor added two more points in the Flat event as Brown (69) and Smitson (78) recorded points in the event to give Baylor a two-point lead heading into the Western portion of the program.

Texas A&M responded; however, as the Aggies claimed all 10 points, many of them coming in close pairing victories, on the Western side to come away with the win.

Caroline Gunn (80) led the way for Texas A&M and was the high-point rider in the Horsemanship event while Maggie Gratney (77) earned high-point honors for the Aggies in the Reining event.

Lindsey Tomko (73.5) posted the best score for Baylor in the Horesmanship category while Madelyn Mooney posted the top score for the Bears in the Reining category.

With the loss, Baylor falls to 0-1 on the spring season as the Bears will return to action on Saturday, February 10, when they host Georgia at 9:30 a.m.