AU ROUNDUP: No. 1 equestrian shines in wins

Special to the News

DOVER, Del. — The top-ranked Auburn equestrian team (6-1) continued their successful road trip defeating Delaware State (0-3) 12-8 on Sunday. The Tigers defeated the Hornets 7-3 in Hunt Seat and tied 5-5 in Western.

Auburn defeated Sacred Heart 14-2 on Saturday in Bethany, Conn.

“We had good rides today and picked up three of the MVPs today,” said Auburn head coach Greg Williams. “I’m very proud of our girls, but I’ve also got to give a lot of credit to Delaware State. They’re one of the newer programs on the scene, and their talent level has increased rapidly. They put on one of the best away meets we’ve ever been to.”

Auburn travels to Bishop, Ga., to face No. 2 and conference rival Georgia on Friday.

Soccer tandem honored by SEC
ORANGE BEACH — Katy Frierson and Sammy Towne were each voted to the Southeastern Conference’s All-Tournament Team on Sunday.

Frierson had a pair of assists as Auburn upset third-seeded Ole Miss, 2-1, in the opening round of the tournament. She created the turnover that led to Mary Coffed’s goal 2:38 into the match and then served in a corner that Julie King finished for the game-winning goal. The sophomore has a team-high 10 assists and a team-best 25 assists.

She was previously named First Team All-SEC prior to the start of the tournament.

Towne, a junior captain on the backline and a starting center back, helped the defense hold Ole Miss and LSU to a combined two goals in 180 minutes of play. She was voted to the All-SEC Second Team prior to the start of the conference tournament as well.

Auburn expects to hear its named called tonight when the NCAA announces the 64 invitations to this season’s tournament. The brackets will be announced at approximately 7 p.m. on ESPNews.

South Carolina earned the SEC’s automatic bid into the tournament, playing LSU to a 1-1 draw before advancing on penalty kicks, 8-7.

Volleyball falls to No. 9 Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Auburn volleyball traveled to No.9 Florida on Sunday afternoon and dropped a 3-0 match (15-25, 18-25, 13-25) to fall to 14-12 overall and 6-9 in the SEC.

The win gave the Gators a 20-3 overall record and a 14-2 SEC mark.

“We played with more emotion this match than we have in awhile and the scores do not reflect the level of emotion we had,” Wade Benson, head volleyball coach, said. “We played with energy and if we continue that energy through the rest of the season, I’m confident we’ll pick up a couple more wins and reach our goal of finishing second in the SEC West.”

Sophomore Kelly Fidero picked up nine kills and two service aces on the day, while freshman Sarah Bullock finished with eight kills and eight digs for Auburn.

Auburn returns to the Student Activities Center for two SEC matches next weekend.

The Tigers take on Tennessee at 4 p.m. Friday and then host No. 11 Kentucky at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.