April 19, 2013
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WACO, Texas – South Carolina’s Kimberly McCormack and Katherine Schmidt combined to go 4-for-4 on Friday as the Gamecocks’ Hunt Seat team cruised to a 6-2 victory over Texas A&M at the Extraco Events Center. With the win, the Gamecocks advance to the semifinals in the Hunt Seat bracket, where South Carolina will face SEC foe Georgia on Saturday morning.
“I thought we rode very well today, and I think our Hunt Seat girls executed our plan very well,” South Carolina head coach Boo Major said. “Both the flat and the jumping teams looked strong today, and we’re looking forward to what will be an exciting meet against Georgia on Saturday. Georgia is a very-well coached team and they rode well against SMU today, so I think everybody is excited about an all-SEC semifinal meet.”
The Gamecocks took control of Friday’s meet early, as South Carolina jumped out of the gate with a 3-1 win in Equitation Over Fences. Amber Henter scored the first of three straight points for the Gamecocks with a 170-168 over Texas A&M’s Marlena Parker. Sophomore Katherine Schmidt kicked off her 2-for-2 day with a victory over the Aggies’ Haley Buchmiller. Senior Kimberly McCormack finished the 3-0 run with a 180-167 victory over Emily Williams.
In Equitation on the Flat, South Carolina won 3-of-4 points again, as the Hunt Seat team won its opening meet at Nationals for the first time since April 16, 2010 against Oklahoma State.
McCormack completed her 2-for-2 day with a 170-150 drubbing of A&M’s Paige Russell, to give Carolina a 4-1 lead. The Aggies won the next point to cut the lead to two, but freshman Samantha Kraus made the most of her nationals debut, posting a 181 to defeat her opponent by 25 points. Kraus’ 181 was not only the highest Flat score of the South Carolina-Texas A&M meet, it was also the highest Flat score out of all 32 Flat riders who competed in Friday’s quarterfinal round. With the meet already in-hand, Schmidt knocked off Texas A&M’s Buchmiller for the second time on Friday with a 167-163 win.
The Hunt Seat team now advances to Saturday’s semifinal round, where the second-seeded Gamecocks will face No. 3 seed Georgia on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Live Scoring for Saturday: http://www.gamecocksonline.com/sports/w-equest/stats/2013-NCEA-day2.html
Live Video for Saturday: http://collegiateequestrian.com/competitions/nationalchampionship_feed1.html
Scoring Summary
SC-A&M
1-0 : Amber Henter defeats Marlena Parker, 170-168.
2-0 : Katherine Schmidt defeats Haley Buchmiller, 156-0.
3-0 : Kimberly McCormack defeats Emily Williams, 180-167.
3-1 : Kori Pickett defeats Samantha Smith, 163-110.
4-1 : Kimberly McCormack defeats Paige Russell, 170-150.
4-2 : Marlena Parker defeats Samantha Smith, 145-122.
5-2 : Samantha Kraus defeats Hannah Williams, 181-156.
6-2 : Katherine Schmidt defeats Haley Buchmiller, 167-163.
Final Score – South Carolina defeats Texas A&M, 6-2.
