AU ROUNDUP: Swimming & diving opens season at LSU

The Auburn swimming and diving team kicks off the 2009-10 campaign by traveling to LSU today.

The meet is set to start at 2:30 p.m. at the LSU Natatorium.

The Tiger men enter the season as the defending national champions and 13-time SEC champions, while the women look to build on last season when they finished second in the conference and sixth at the NCAA championships. Returning for the Tigers are 20 All-Americans and seven NCAA champions, as well as 15 SEC champions.

The LSU teams opened up the season Oct. 16-17, facing Tennessee at the LSU Natatorium. The men fell to the Volunteers, 134-166, while the women lost 130-170. A pair of freshmen in Andrei Tuomola and Craig Hamilton had a great start to their collegiate careers for the Tiger men. Tuomola picked up wins in the 50 free and 100 free, while Hamilton touched the wall first in the 500 free and 1000 free.

Mary Beck led the way for the women, recording three wins for the Tigers. Beck broke the school-mark in the 200 back, finishing in 1:57.45, while taking first in the 200 IM and 200 free. Sara Haley picked up a win in the 200 fly and Rebecca St. Germain took first on both springboard events.

Along with the trip to Baton Rouge, members of the Auburn swimming team will take part in the War Eagle Invitational hosted by the Auburn Aquatics club team at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center. The three-day invitational is an age-group clubs meet with swimmers of all ages set to compete. Tigers will compete in the 15 and over division that starts today.

Auburn returns to competition Nov. 12, hosting in-state rival Alabama at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center. The meet is set for 5 p.m.

Scoring barrage in 2nd half lifts soccer to win
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Auburn scored three second-half goals to erase a 1-0 halftime deficit and win, 3-1, over Tennessee in Thursday night’s Southeastern Conference matchup.

The win was the first for Auburn in Knoxville in five tries and also spoiled Tennessee’s senior night.

“The second half was the best we have played from back to front all season,” Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said. “The team was absolutely fantastic tonight and to get our first win in Knoxville when we needed a win so badly is very, very special.”

Down 1-0 at the half after a Tennessee (7-7-3, 3-4-2 SEC) goal off a Mick Imgram goal on a corner kick, Auburn’s come-from-behind win started just 32 seconds after intermission.

Katy Frierson started the run by finding Mary Coffed, who took it down the near sideline and threaded a cross into the 18, past two defenders and an Auburn forward before Chelsea Yauch was able to race in from her midfielders position uncovered and drill it in for her fourth goal of the season.

“Coach Hoppa told us that Tennessee’s goal wasn’t the only one that was going to be scored on the night,” Yauch said. “She told us to keep attacking and that what was on my mind.”

Rebecca Howell gave Auburn (7-7-3, 4-5-0 SEC) a 2-1 lead just nine minutes later, ripping in her fifth goal of the season from two touches inside the 18 after she split a pair of Tennessee defenders at the top of the box. Caitlin King had fed Yauch who then left it for Howell, who struck for her 19th career goal.

“We decided at halftime that we weren’t going to lose and we were going to get it done,” Howell said. “The forwards talked with Amy (Berbary, assistant coach) about figuring it out. We scored the first goal 30 seconds after the half and we knew we couldn’t stop there.”

Julie King made it 3-1 when she and sister Caitlin teamed up to finish off a Heather Havron corner kick in the 63rd minute. Havron sent the corner halfway through the 18, which is where Caitlin King took a touch and sent it back across the top of the six to Julie King, who buried her second goal of the season.

“It took us a little while to figure out how to play Tennessee. They are such a dangerous attacking team and once we did we had momentum and we continued that out of halftime. We knew the score wasn’t going to stay 1-0 and it was up to us to change it into a positive for us,” Hoppa said.

Imgram bent in her 11th goal of the season off of a corner kick in the 11th minute to give Tennessee the 1-0 first-half lead. Her service was initially stopped by Auburn goalkeeper Amy Howard, but she was unable to squeeze the shot, which dropped out of her mitts and over the line.

Caitlin King’s two assists on the night give her 25 for her career and eight points in the last three matches.

The win moves Auburn into sixth place in the SEC standings with two matches remaining.

Auburn returns home for its final match in the Auburn Soccer Complex this season when it plays host to Georgia at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Prior to the match, Auburn will honor the six seniors on this year’s team. The match will air live on Fox Sports South (Channel 33 in Lee County).

Women’s golf travels to NCAA Fall Preview
WILMINGTON, N.C. — The third-ranked Auburn women’s golf team will take to the links this weekend as it concludes the fall season at the 2009 NCAA Fall Preview.

The 2009 NCAA Fall Preview is hosted by UNC Wilmington and will be played on the par-72, 6,325 yard Pete Dye Course at the Country Club of Wilmington. The location will serve as the host site of the 2010 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship in May.

With the team returning to action after a two-week break, head coach Kim Evans has her expectations for the team.

“I’m looking for us to take care of the little things as much as we can and just keep it simple, taking it one step at a time,” Evans said. “We just want to look at the golf course and figure out how each individual needs play it and try to execute the game plan every single day.”

Leading the way for Auburn will be junior Cydney Clanton, who was named the SEC Golfer of the Week in the league’s first posting of the weekly honor.

“Cydney is really playing well. There’s a lot to her golf game,” Evans said, “But, one of the things she’s doing well is navigating the golf course and I think that has really picked up her game.”

Clanton, currently ranked fourth individually, will lead a strong group of Auburn players who have proven to be effective thus far. Auburn’s competing top-five will be Clanton, Candace Schepperle, Haley Wilson, Carlie Yadloczky and Patricia Sanz, respectively.

“They’ve been a good group throughout the fall,” Evans said. “We’ve got a few good players back home, but this is the five that has played solid throughout the year.”

The Tigers will need three days of solid play this weekend as the field is packed with many of the best teams in the nation. Within the 18-team field, all but one team is ranked in the top-30 of the most recent GolfWeek rankings and each of the top-5 will be present.

“It has the best field, the best we’ll see until the National Championships, which is good,” Evans said. “I like the idea that we’re ending up the fall with a tournament with the best field. It will let us know what we need to work on during the winter.”

Other than a top-notch field of contenders, Auburn will also have to put up with the difficulty of the Pete Dye Course. Located right off the Atlantic Ocean, the course will come with several bumps and strong wind gusts, factors that Evans is hoping the team will overcome.

The Tigers will begin the three-day competition today at 9:08 a.m. from the 10th hole, paired with No. 8 Pepperdine and No. 16 Oklahoma State.

Other teams competing in the NCAA Fall Preview are No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Arizona State, No. 3 Purdue, No. 5 Michigan State, No. 6 USC, No. 8 Pepperdine, No. 9 Alabama, No. 11 Georgia, No. 12 LSU, No. 13 Duke, No. 16 Oklahoma State, No. 18 Wake Forest, No. 20 Denver, No. 22 Virginia, No. 28 New Mexico, No. 30 North Carolina and host No. 74 UNC-Wilmington.

Volleyball hosts Bama, Miss. State
The Auburn volleyball team continues its SEC homestand, hosting a pair of matches this weekend.

The Tigers take on in-state rival Alabama today at 6 p.m. and close out the weekend with a 1:30 p.m. match against Mississippi State on Sunday.

Both matches will be held at the Student Activities Center and admission is free.

“Our rivalry match coming up on Friday is going to be a big match for this team,” Wade Benson, head volleyball coach, said. “It is an early read on who could finish second in SEC West. The last couple matches between the two teams have really come down to the wire and hopefully it’ll be our turn on Friday to come away with the win.

“Mississippi State is a much-improved squad and will put up a good match on Sunday,” Benson added.

Auburn looks to set another attendance record this season at the Student Activities Center as the Tigers “Pack The Act” tonight against Alabama.

Free “Beat Bama” T-shirts will be handed out to the first 250 fans courtesy of University Village. There will be a performance at intermission by the Auburn University Tiger Paws and a post-match autograph session with members of the Tiger volleyball squad.

Auburn split its conference matches last weekend, falling to nationally-ranked Florida 3-0 and defeating South Carolina 3-1. The Tigers are now 12-8 overall and 4-5 in the SEC. The 12 wins are the most Auburn has had since the 2006 season when the team finished the year with 13 total victories.

Freshman Sarah Bullock led the Tigers with 10 kills and 11 digs against the Gators on Friday, while junior Morgan Johns finished with nine kills.

Sophomore Kelly Fidero and freshman Katherine Culwell led all attackers with 18 kills apiece against the Gamecocks, Sunday. Culwell also picked up 12 digs on the day. Bullock finished with 10 kills and 10 digs, while Christina Solverson finished with 22 assists and 12 digs. Junior Alyssa Davis finished with nine kills and a match-high seven blocks.

Men’s tennis nets 4 wins at South Regional
NEW ORLEANS — The Auburn men’s tennis team tallied four singles victories on Day 1 of the Wilson/ITA South Regional on the campuses of Tulane and University of New Orleans.

Juniors Tim Puetz and Alex Jorne, along with sophomore Alex Stamchev and freshman Michael Wardell picked up singles wins on the day.

Second-seeded Puetz defeated UNO’s Stepan Siska (6-3, 6-4), while eighth-seeded Stamchev came away with a 6-0, 6-0 win over UNO’s Rohit Chivukula.

Jorne opened the tournament with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Troy’s Branko Weber, but fell to UNO’s Benjamin Bouhana (3-6, 4-6). Wardell also finished 1-1 on the day, topping UNO’s Abdelrahman Zaki (6-3, 6-2) and falling to Louisiana-Lafayette’s Tomasz Krzyszkowski (1-6, 1-6).

Also competing was senior Nick Maurillo and freshman Davis Taylor. Maurillo fell to Mississippi State’s Antonio Lastre (1-6, 3-6), while Troy’s Guilherme Sahadi defeated Taylor is three sets (6-3, 2-6, 2-6)

In doubles competition, Maurillo and Wardell fell to LSU’s Sebastian Carlsson and Julien Gauthier, 8-3.

Singles play resumes today, seeing Puetz face Louisiana-Lafayette’s Carlin Murray and Stamchev take on Cody Loup of LSU in the round of 32. Maurillo faces Tulane’s Adam Bernstein in the consolation round, while Jorne takes on Lucas Viel and Taylor goes up against Stefan Szacinski of LSU.

Women’s tennis hosts Southern Regional
The Auburn women’s tennis team is set to host the 2009 ITA Southern Regional tennis tournament at Yarborough Tennis Center from Friday-Monday.

Twelve teams will on hand for the tournament, which includes UAB, Alabama, Troy, LSU, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tulane and Samford.

“We are thrilled to host the ITA Southern Regional this weekend,” said head coach Tim Gray. “We have an extremely strong field for the tournament. Whoever wins this regional will have a great chance to win the ITA National Indoor Tournament in November.”

Day 1 today will feature 32 singles matches and 16 doubles matches, followed on Saturday by quarterfinals, semi-finals on Sunday and finals on Monday.

Play is scheduled to begin today at 8 a.m. with doubles action, followed immediately by singles matches.