EQUESTRIAN
Aggie riders open with victory over Fresno State: The fifth-ranked Texas A&M equestrian team opened the season Sunday with an 11-8 victory over No. 9 Fresno State at the Brazos County Expo Complex.
The Aggies claimed three of the four possible MVP honors as they won their season-opening show for the fourth consecutive season. The Bulldogs fell to 1-2.
Senior Lindsay Smith claimed the first most valuable rider honor with an impressive 86-70 victory over Fresno State junior Holly Elsbernd in equitation over fences. Senior Christina Heine completed the hunter seat MVP sweep for A&M with an 82-76 victory over Nicole Roworth in equitation of the flat.
Sophomore Hannah Soibelman also gave the Aggie hunter seat riders a lift, posting a 24-point win over Bulldog freshman Lanie Madrazo.
On the western side, senior Caroline Gunn rode to a 76-68 win over Bulldog sophomore Kelsi Fischer in horsemanship discipline.
Fresno State senior Keri Blackledge claimed her squad's lone MVP honor, which came in the reining discipline on the last ride of the day.
A&M will take to the road for shows against a pair of Southeastern Conference powers Auburn and Georgia this weekend. The Aggies face the No. 3 Tigers (3-1) at 3 p.m. Friday at the Auburn Equestrian Center before battling the No. 4 Bulldogs (1-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday in Bishop, Ga.
GOLF
Aggies rally, finish fourth in North Carolina: CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The No. 19 Texas A&M women's golf team shot the best round of the day Sunday to finish tied for fourth at the Tar Heel Invitational at the Finley Golf Course.
Senior Julia Boland fired a 2-under 70, leading the Aggies to a team total of 1-over 289. A&M shot even par over the last two rounds after opening with a 16-over 304 on Friday.
No. 10 Michigan State won by 12 strokes with a 54-hole score of 860. A&M (304-287-289--880) was 20 shots back.
Louisville's Sara-Maude Juneau captured individual honors by six shots with a 10-under 206. A&M freshman Sara Beth Davis (72-72-72--216) tied for sixth while Boland (76-72-70--218) tied for 11th.
A&M senior Ashley Freeman (76-71-74--221) tied for 21st, junior Sarah Zwartynski (80-72-75--227) tied for 53rd and freshman Chloe Garner (81-76-73--230) tied for 64th.
The Aggies return to action at the Alamo Invitational, Oct. 26-27 in San Antonio.
TENNIS
Aggies wrap up USTA Invitational: SAN ANTONIO -- The Texas A&M men's tennis team concluded tournament play at the UTSA Invitational held over the weekend at the UTSA Tennis Center.
Inclement weather hampered much of the tournament, forcing the cancellation of additional rounds in the singles and doubles draws.
Aggie juniors Kayvon Karimi, Calon Alpar and Patrick Dean each picked up victories against regional opponents. Karimi reached the quarterfinals of the singles blue draw with a 6-3, 6-4 first-round victory over Paulo Roessle of Tyler Junior College, while Alpar won his consolation singles match against Roessle, 7-6 (6), 6-0.
Dean teamed up with Alpar to claim an opening-round 8-4 victory in the doubles draw against Billy Bishop and Marco Lopez of Tyler JC, who are coached by former Texas A&M player Dash Connell (2004-05).
The Aggies continue the fall season with individual players competing in Austin and Mansfield on the USTA Futures circuit. That leads up to the Wilson/ITA South Central Region Championships, Oct. 24-27 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
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Four Aggies advance at Austin USTA Futures Tourney: AUSTIN -- Current Texas A&M players Alexis Klegou, Jeff Dadamo and Alexey Grigorov, as well as former A&M player Conor Pollock, advanced past the first round of the singles qualifying draw at the 10sPortal.com Classic this weekend.
Sophomore Klegou is seeded seventh in the qualifier, followed by junior Dadamo as the No. 8 seed. Pollock, a former three-time All-American, is the No. 10 seed, and junior Grigorov is also competing.
Pollock defeated Eric Roberson 6-1, 6-3, to reach the second round. Klegou won in three sets over Hans Hach Verdugo of Mexico, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Grigorov advanced in straight sets against Kevin Gardner of the Netherlands Antilles, 6-1, 6-1, while Dadamo won in three sets against Maksim Tikhomirov, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
UTSA Invitational
Oct. 9-10 at the UTSA Tennis Center in San Antonio.
SINGLES BLUE DRAW
Round of 16
Kayvon Karimi (Texas A&M) def. Paulo Roessle (Tyler JC), 6-3, 6-4.
Brett Powers (St. Edward's) def. Jack Seider (Texas A&M), 6-2, retired.
Ashwin Vijayaragavan (UT-Pan American) def. Calon Alpar (Texas A&M), 7-6, 6-2.
Quarterfinals
Ashwin Vijayaragavan (UTPA) def. Kayvon Karimi (Texas A&M), 6-1, 1-6, 6-3.
Consolation
Calon Alpar (Texas A&M) def. Paulo Roessle (Tyler JC), 7-6 (6), 6-0.
SINGLES ORANGE DRAW
Round of 16
Beau Bernstein (UTPA) def. Patrick Dean (Texas A&M), 6-1, 6-1.
Mick Walter (St. Edward's) def. Beau Blackshear (Texas A&M), 6-0, 6-1.
Consolation
Shariq Khan (UT-San Antonio) def. Patrick Dean (Texas A&M), 6-3, 6-3.
Felipe Baptista (Laredo CC) def. Beau Blackshear (Texas A&M), 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (5).
DOUBLES DRAW
Round of 16
Alpar-Dean (Texas A&M) def. Bishop-Lopez (Tyler JC), 8-4.
Raiti-Wiggins (St. Edward's) def. Karimi-Seider (Texas A&M), 8-4.
Rodier-Thompson (Tyler JC) def. Dornauf (UTPA)-Blackshear (Texas A&M), 8-4.
-- Eagle staff reports
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