^^^^^
Unfortunately, this is not uncommon and often has to do more with timing than qualifications per se. In some competitive states, the MOCs as a group want to ensure as many students as possible have noms. Thus, one will not nominate a candidate to a particular SA if that candidate has a nom to that SA from another MOC source. (Some apply it just to a specific SA -- i.e., would give someone a nom to a different SA; others will only allow one nom per candidate period).
Thus, if the Rep makes his/her choices first, and the Sens won't duplicate a nom, in theory, the Sen could be picking "lesser qualified" candidates. However, in a state as large as TX, there are probably many, many very highly qualified candidates so that, even if Sen. Hutchinson makes her decisions after every single Rep in the state and the other Sen has done so, I imagine there are still lots of great candidates from which to choose.
While we can debate the timing aspects, this process makes a certain amount of sense in that it should give as many Texas students as possible the opportunity to compete for an appointment. If we assume that the MOCs as a group end up selecting the best candidates, it really doesn't matter whether the Sens or the Reps nominate the "most highly" qualified candidates of the bunch.