No. 4 seed SMU vs. No. 5 seed Texas A&M
Extraco Events Center – Waco, Texas
April 15, 2021 – 10 a.m. CT
Tournament Central | Bracket
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No. 4 seed SMU takes on No. 5 seed Texas A&M in the National Collegiate Equestrian Association National Championships on Thursday in Waco, Texas. Action at the Extraco Events Center is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. CT with Flat and Horsemanship followed by Reining at approximately 2:30 p.m. and Fences at 3 p.m.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
SMU and Texas A&M have faced off 15 times in program history and the Aggies lead the series, 10-5. The Mustangs are 0-2 when playing at a neutral site, and dropped a slim 8-7 final during the 2018 National Championships. The previous neutral site matchup took place at Nationals in 2007. Texas A&M enters competition with a 4-5 record and comes off of an 11-9 win over South Carolina in the consolation bracket at the SEC Championship. The Aggies have won two team NCEA National Championships in program history.

NCEA NATIONALS HISTORY
The Mustangs have competed in 14 NCEA National Championships and have entered competition seeded as high as No. 5. In 2019, SMU finished as the Reining event runner-up behind Georgia. 

THREE-TIME CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
SMU earned its third consecutive conference championship at the inaugural ECAC Championship in March. The Mustangs defeated Delaware State, 8-6, in the semifinal round before defeating UT Martin, 11-4, in the championship matchup. SMU earned five MOPs during the two matchups. The previous two conference championships for SMU came in 2018 and 2019 as members of the United Equestrian Conference. 2020's championship was canceled due to COVID-19.

2020-21 MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYERS
•     Aubrey Alderman – Reining: 2
•     Madigan Eppink -- Flat: 1
•     Emma Jolly – Fences: 1
•     Nya Kearns -- Horsemanship: 4
•     Dani Latimer -- Reining: 3
•     Taylor Madden – Flat: 2
•     Alex Pielet -- Flat: 1, Fences: 2
•     Devin Seek -- Fences: 3
•     Mallory Vroegh – Horsemanship: 3
•     Megan Waldron -- Horsemanship: 1
•     Olivia Woodson -- Fences: 2, Flat 1
•     Taylor Zimmerman – Reining: 2

2020-21 ECAC HONORS
•     Aubrey Alderman – All-ECAC Horsemanship
•     Madigan Eppink – Flat Rider of the Week (Feb. 2)
•     Chalyce Head – Reining Freshman Rider of the Year
•     Nya Kearns – 3x Horsemanship Rider of the Week (Feb. 2, Feb. 9, March 16), Horsemanship Rider of the Month (February), Horsemanship Rider of the Year, Horsemanship Freshman Rider of the Year, All-ECAC Horsemanship
•     Dani Latimer – Reining Rider of the Week (Feb. 9), All-ECAC Reining
•     Taylor Madden – Fences Rider of the Week (Feb. 9), Flat Rider of the Year, All-ECAC Flat
•     Jill Pfisthner – All-ECAC Reining
•     Alex Pielet – Flat Rider of the Week (Feb. 9), Fences Rider of the Week (March 9)
•     Devin Seek – Fences Rider of the Year, All-ECAC Fences
•     Taylor Zimmerman – Reining Rider of the Week (March 9)

2020-21 NCEA HONORS
•     Madigan Eppink – Dover Saddlery Flat Rider of the Month (January)
•     Nya Kearns – Shorty's Horsemanship Rider of the Month (March), Horsemanship First Team All-American
•     Dani Latimer – Reining First Team All-American
•     Taylor Madden – Flat Second Team All-American
•     Becky Morris – Standout Athlete of the Month (March)
•     Devin Seek – Dover Saddlery Fences Rider of the Month (January), Fences First Team All-American
•     Mallory Vroegh – Horsemanship All-America Honorable Mention
•     Megan Waldron – Shorty's Horsemanship Rider of the Month (January), Horsemanship All-America Honorable Mention
•     Olivia Woodson – Fences All-America Honorable Mention

50 WINS FOR CAROL GWIN
Head coach Carol Gwin earned her 50^th win at SMU when the Mustangs defeated South Dakota State at home on Jan. 29. Since starting at SMU in 2014, she has led SMU to two 10-win seasons, two conference championships and a national Reining runner-up title. Gwin has coached six NCEA First Team All-Americans, an NCEA Rider and two Co-Riders of the Year and countless Conference Riders of the Year and All-Conference riders. In 2018 and 2019, she was named back-to-back UEC Coach of the Year after sharing the title as Co-Coach of the Year in 2017.

ATTENDANCE POLICY
The NCEA National Championships will be closed to fans this year with the exception of those on the complimentary team pass list. The weekend's events will be streamed on Horse & Country TV and there will be live scoring to help fans follow along. For all of the links, visit SMUMustangs.com.

UP NEXT
If SMU wins, the Mustangs will face the winner of No. 1 Auburn and No. 8 Baylor on Friday in the semifinal matchup.