Articles written by Austin Nelson

Jenni Prescott celebrates Friday’s win over Belmont to put them in the second round.: JD Schein / PHOTO EDITOR

It was a weekend of triumph and disappointment for the Auburn women’s soccer team.  When Sunday came to a close, so did the Tigers’ 2008-2009 season.

The Tigers started NCAA Women’s Championship play going against Belmont University at 5 p.m. Friday.

Belmont put Auburn goalkeeper Allison Whitworth to the test early with an attack that penetrated Auburn’s defense. A sliding save by Whitworth kept the score at 0-0.

Rebecca Howell passed to teammate Kara Kasten at the start of the 18th minute. Kasten buried the ball near post to grab a one point lead at the 22nd minute.

Auburn (12-9-2) struck again in the 64th minute when Kasten connected a pass to Jenny Prescott. After two control touches, Prescott tucked it away to put Auburn up 2-0. Belmont was unable to overcome the two-point lead.

Prescott said preparation was the key to Friday’s victory.

The American Cancer Society and Alabama Department of Public Health want smokers to butt out Nov. 20.

Scarlet Thompson, director of marketing and communications for the Alabama American Cancer Society, said this is the 33rd annual Great American Smokeout.

“The Great American Smokeout is our encouragement to ask smokers to quit for one day,” Thompson said. “If we can get you to quit for one day, maybe we can get you to quit for a second and then a third. You just have to take it a day at a time.”

Julie Hare, director of the public information unit in the tobacco prevention and control branch of Alabama Department of Public Health, said this will be the fourth Smokeout the department has sponsored with the Alabama Tobacco Quitline.

“The Quitline provides counseling and resources to those who wish to stop using tobacco,” Hare said. “Eligible Alabama residents can receive up to four weeks of free nicotine patches.”

Six Alabama counties are under investigation for possible voter fraud.

The Birmingham News reported the counties of Conecuh, Greene, Lowndes, Perry, Washington and Wilcox all had more voters registered than were eligible to vote.

The analysis compared current voter rolls for the counties to the 2007 Census population projections.

The office of Alabama Secretary of State is responsible for coordinating state-wide elections, as well as hearing voter complaints.

Emily Thompson, chief of staff for Alabama Secretary of State Beth Chapman, said the numbers were hard to believe.

“It is not impossible, but Chapman said it was ‘improbable’ to have 110 percent of your eligible voters registered to vote,” Thompson said.

Although it oversees elections in the state, the Office of Secretary of State does not have the authority to investigate.

“We have to work closely with the Attorney General Office and the Department of Justice, informing them of the information we receive,” Thompson said.

Stop! Before rolling up this article to bludgeon that spider making its way across the floor, read on.

An awareness program at Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve titled “Creepy Wonderful Critters” took place Saturday.

Jennifer Lolley, administrator for the preserve, said the program, which was aimed primarily at children, is trying to make people appreciate, not annihilate, spiders.

“If you teach children at an early age, you can replace some of the fear with curiosity,” Lolley said. “If you understand something, it’s not as scary.”

Lolley said spiders were the focus of the program, but the overall goal of the preserve is fostering a less-targeted form of environmentalism.

Gary Mullen, professor of entomology at Auburn, spoke at the event.

He began the program by debunking a few common arachnid myths, such as the belief that daddy-longlegs are the most poisonous spiders.

“This has been a time-honored belief, but it can’t be farther from the truth,” Mullen said. “They are not even spiders.”

Thomas McMurtrie, a senior in accounting, stops buy Mamma Leone’s for a bite to eat: Students can taste each others’ pizza recipes Oct. 21 during “Create Your Own Pizza Night.” Morgan Thacker / ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR

Mamma Leone’s is looking for a new pizza recipe. Instead of utilizing the expertise of its executive chef, however, the restaurant is sponsoring a create-your-own-pizza contest that will call upon the culinary and creative skills of students.

Gina Groome, marketing coordinator for Tiger Dining, said signing up for the competition is easy.

“The students just fill out the recipe form with whatever they want for toppings and give their creation a creative name,” Groome said. “I will then pass the recipe on to Executive Chef Emil Topel.”

Topel will then choose six of the recipes as finalists. These pizzas will be featured on “Create Your Own Pizza Night” on Oct. 21. Topel, however, will not decide the winning pizza.  

Students of Francois Langevin have been learning the sport of Kin-Ball this year.

Kin-Ball may not sound familiar to many students.

Langevin said Auburn is one of two universities to offer the sport, the other being Pittsburg State University.

“The sport’s origin is in Quebec, Canada, where I grew up,” Langevin said. “I used to play Kin-Ball when I was younger.”

Langevin said his boss showed him a video of Kin-Ball last fall and asked if he knew anything about the game.

Langevin explained his past experience with the game, and then Auburn decided it would offer the sport.

Langevin then obtained a grant to pay for the equipment.

“The sport is played on two basketball courts at one time, which forms a 70 foot by 70 foot playing surface,” Langevin said. “Three teams of four compete at the same time.”

The first thing a spectator will notice about the game is the large size of the ball.

Rachel Shapiro, a senior in human development and family studies: spends money at the Auburn University Bookstore. Morgan Thacker / ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR

Monster Inc. and Bank of America sponsored two seminars focusing on student finances at Lowder Business Building last Thursday.

Yvonne Williams from Monster Inc. led the seminar.

“We talk about being better stewards over their credit cards, if they have one,” Williams said. “Also, we teach them what to look for when choosing a credit card.”

One credit card parameter the group warned against was adjustable rates.

“We call it a teaser rate,” Williams said. “The first six months will be at a lower rate, then after that, it will go up, and there is no telling what it will go up to.”

Williams said the purpose of the seminar was not to discourage people from getting credit cards.

Caleb Allen, a sophomore in sports broadcasting, returns the ball in the Student Act.: Morgan Thacker / ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR

The faint pitter patter of ping pong balls can be heard echoing through the Student Activity Center every Monday and Wednesday night.

No, it’s not an underground beer pong tournament. It’s the Auburn table tennis club.

Group leader Clark Kennedy, a sophomore in civil engineering, hopes to get more people involved in table tennis this year. Kennedy said this semester’s turn-out has not been as big as last year.

“Last year, we had 10 or 12 people every night,” Kennedy said. “This year, only about six to eight of us have been showing up regularly.”

Kennedy said the group plays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday, and the playing structure is flexible.

“You can just come and go as you want to,” Kennedy said. “And as of now, there aren’t even any club dues.”

Auburn University women’s soccer team went on the road last weekend for its first two SEC games.

They picked up a tie and their first SEC win on the road trip.

The Tigers took the pitch Friday at Kentucky in the first SEC game for both of the teams.

Auburn freshman Katy Frierson said defense was the name of the game.

“It was back and forth a lot,” Frierson said. “There was a whole lot of playing defense.”

The game remained deadlocked throughout and went into overtime.

“We had a lot of chances in overtime,” Frierson said.

Neither Kentucky nor Auburn, however, could capitalize on their opportunities. The game ended scoreless after two overtime periods.

Coach Karen Hoppa said a tie means good things for her defense.

Senior Jessica Glover: leaps to block an Ole Miss kill. Glover leads the team with 3.12 kills per game for the Tigers. JD Schein / PHOTO EDITOR

Fans packed in the Student Activities Center Friday to watch the Auburn Volleyball team play Arkansas in its SEC opener.

The Tigers got off to a bad start in game one, tallying only eight kills for an attacking percentage of -0.57.  The Razorbacks picked up a 22-25 win to jump to an early 1-0 lead in the series.

Game two was a chance at redemption for Auburn. The Tigers’ squad gathered 18 kills and only two errors, for a total attack percentage of .615. The improved offensive numbers equaled a 25-19 win, which tied the series 1-1.

Auburn kept its momentum going into game three. Jonelle Wallace scored two kills to put the Tigers up 2-0 early. Auburn led most of the game, pushing its lead to as much as 18-10.

A late Arkansas rally allowed the Razorbacks to put more points on the board.

Still, it wasn’t enough to squash the Tigers, and Auburn took game three, 25-17.