AU ROUNDUP: Men's golf inks star recruit

The first recruiting class of Auburn head coach Nick Clinard’s tenure on The Plains was a strong one as three top-50 recruits, including a top-10, signed National Letters of Intent.

“I’m extremely excited about these three players signing on with the Auburn golf family,” said Clinard. “We definitely addressed our needs and they will instantly increase our talent level and depth. They believe in the vision of this program moving forward.”

Niclas Carlsson, of Enenyberg, Sweden, will come to Auburn as the 10th-ranked college prospect in the world, according to the American Junior Golf Association/Polo Golf Junior Rankings. Currently rated as the top amateur golfer in his home country, Carlsson is a member of the exclusive Swedish National Team.

“Niclas Carlsson brings tons of worldwide experience to Auburn and he is a big, strong athletic player that will have an excellent college career,” said Clinard. “He is very sharp mentally and has a tremendous amount of golf knowledge for someone his age. I look forward to him becoming an All-American and competing for championships while at Auburn.”

Also making his way to Auburn will be Dan Stringfellow of Roselle, Ill. The 2009 Illinois state high school champion is currently rated as the No. 38 recruit in the nation and has accumulated numerous top-10 finishes in national junior events, capped by a victory at the 2009 PGA Junior Series. Stringfellow also placed third at the 2009 AJGA Southeast Junior open.

Blake Soni, the No. 50 recruit in the nation, has signed to Auburn by way of Bradenton, Fla. Soni recently placed third in the 2009 Florida State Amateur and has recorded four top-10s in AJGA events. Over the course of his junior career, Soni accumulated 12 top-10 and four top-five finishes in national competition.

Volleyball falls to Kentucky in 4 sets
The Auburn volleyball team struck first, but could not hold on as the Tigers fell 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 11-25, 12-25) to No. 11 Kentucky at the Student Activities Center on Sunday.

Auburn is now 15-13 overall and 7-10 in the SEC.

“The scores do not show how the match went and I think we played really well,” head coach Wade Benson said. “We accomplished a lot this weekend in beating Tennessee and really taking it to Kentucky. We’ve already exceeded our goal this year and we’re going to keep pushing.

“We have three important matches from here on out, with two of them on the road. Our expectation is to win all three for a 10-10 finish in the SEC, which would be Auburn’s best finish in a long time.”

Freshman Sarah Bullock finished with 13 kills and eight digs to lead Auburn. Junior setter Sara Shanks picked up her second consecutive double-double, recording 21 assists and 10 digs. Libero Liz Crouch led the Tigers with 17 digs on the day.

Blaire Hiler tallied a match-high 14 kills, while Sarah Mendoza finished with 11 kills and 13 digs for Kentucky (26-2, 16-1 SEC). Libero BriAnne Sauer had a match-best 19 digs and Sarah Rumely recorded 40 assists.

The Wildcats took a 6-3 lead at the start of the first set and pushed ahead to go up 12-7. Down 7 at 15-8, a pair of kills from Bullock brought Auburn within 5 and at 17-12, a kill from Morgan Johns sparked a Tiger run. A kill by Kelly Fidero cut the Kentucky lead to 1 at 18-17 and a kill by Katherine Culwell tied the set at 21 apiece. The Tigers rattled off a 4-1 rally to win the set, 25-22.

The beginning of the second set featured six ties and a pair of lead changes. At 6-6, the Wildcats pulled ahead on a pair of kills to take the 8-6 advantage. A kill from Alyssa Davis triggered an Auburn run and a Kentucky attack error gave the Tigers the 12-11 lead. A Wildcat rally put the visitors up 20-16, but a pair of kills from Culwell brought Auburn within 1 at 20-19. Kentucky, however, held on and took the set 25-22.

A kill from Jonelle Wallace tied Set 3 at 5, but Kentucky rebounded quickly and rattled off a 7-point rally to take a 12-5 advantage. A kill from Johns brought Auburn within 6 at 17-11, but another Wildcat run solidified the 25-11 win for Kentucky.

Kills by Courtney McDonald and MacKenzy Harper locked the score at 2 apiece early in the fourth set before Kentucky pushed a 7-point run to go up 9-2. A kill by Brittney Rhude stopped another Wildcat rally at 15-4, but Kentucky went on to win 25-12.

The Tigers head out on their last roadtrip of the regular season, traveling to Arkansas on Friday for a 7 p.m. match. Auburn then faces Ole Miss on Nov. 22 at 1:30 p.m. in Oxford, Miss.