Articles written by Rachel Morand

Equestrian earns National Championship

wpolley — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Auburn Equestrian Team

The Auburn equestrian team won its first National Championship title in the Hunt Seat in Waco, Texas, Saturday. The Tigers defeated second-seed Texas A&M 5-2 at the 7th annual Varsity Equestrian National Championship.

With graduation looming, thank you for the great memories, Auburn

wpolley — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400

This time four years ago, I was a happy-go-lucky senior at Lake Worth High School in south Florida. Graduation was still weeks away, I already received and acceptance letter from Auburn University and I was concerned with nothing more than having a good time with my friends at the beach before going our separate ways that August.

Now, I’m a happy-go-lucky senior at Auburn, absolutely petrified about the events the upcoming weeks entail.

SEC-leading Crimson Tide sweeps Auburn in state showdown

wpolley — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:43:46 -0400

The Tigers were swept by in-state rival Alabama in softball’s version of the Iron Bowl last weekend.

Saturday’s double header had Auburn lose 5-4 in the first game and an overwhelming 12-1 loss in the second. A victory in Sunday’s game was in the Tigers’ grasp, but Alabama’s two-run blast in the fifth inning put the Tide on top for the 4-2 win. Auburn is now 33-14 overall and 9-1 in the conference.

Several medals won by Auburn swimmers

wpolley — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:42:15 -0400

Former Tigers have a ball in England over weekend

Eight Gold, three Silver and two Bronze medals were won by current and former Auburn swimmers at the FINA World Short Course Championships in Manchester, England this past weekend.

Five of those gold-winning times set new world records. Eleven swimmers from the Plains competed in the championship, and former head coach David Marsh served as the United States women’s team head coach.

Upcoming weekend baseball series against defending SEC champs

wpolley — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:39:05 -0400

The Tigers prepare to face off against 2007 Southeastern Conference Champion Commodores this weekend in Nashville

Freshman Hunter Morris: leads the Tiger offense with a .372 batting average and eight home runs. The first baseman has started all 37 games at the position. Kyle Cooper / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

The Tigers will travel to Nashville tomorrow to take on the Southeastern Conference defending champion Vanderbilt Commodores for a three game series this weekend. Friday’s game begins at 6 p.m., while Saturday’s starts at noon and Sunday’s first pitch is at 1 p.m.

As of Monday, Vanderbilt is ranked No. 14 in the nation in the USA Today/ESPN poll and fifth in the Southeast Conference’s eastern division with a 24-10 overall record. Auburn is third in the western conference with 6-9 and 22-15 conference and overall records, respectively.

The most recent conference series ended with the Tigers being swept by No. 10-ranked South Carolina last weekend. The Commodores last conference match-up had them dominate Mississippi State by an average of eight runs in the three-game series.

It was announced Monday that Vanderbilt’s outfielder David Macias received the SEC Player of the Week honor. He leads the Commodores in batting with a .386 average and has already reached his career-high homer mark with six from the leadoff spot. Macias’ performance against the

Bulldogs last weekend and the two games prior, going 13-for-23 and nine runs scored in five games, helped him earn the nod from the conference.

Staff Opinion: Working toward overcoming the daybreak blues

wpolley — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:15:25 -0400

A good chunk of the Auburn University student population has one thing in common: we’re broke and need to pick up a job to help pay for our extracurricular habits that mom and dad won’t support. I, personally, fall into this group as I recently started working as a waitress at a local bar.

Tigers swept in South Carolina double-header, record drops to 31-11

wpolley — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Anna Thompson: had a shaky appearance against the Gamecocks Sunday, allowing three earned runs and six hits in six innings. She leads the Tigers in strikeouts with 181 and is tied for the No. 1 spot in wins with 10. Pete Riley / PHOTO EDITORStarr Dorsey: dives into third base during a game against Mississippi State. Dorsey went hitless against South Carolina in Sunday’s second game. Pete Riley / PHOTO EDITOR

Despite women’s liberation, looks do matter for female athletes

wpolley — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400

What do racing’s Danica Patrick, tennis’s Anna Kournikova, swimming’s Amanda Beard all have in common aside from being female athletes?

Their names probably ring a bell because they’re hotties.

Women’s basketball beats Arkansas, loses to Vanderbilt in SEC tournament

wpolley — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Bonner: covered by Georgia’s Jasmine Lee (No.3) and Angela Puleo during Auburn’s 82-52 win over the Bulldogs Jan. 13 in Auburn. Pete Riley / PHOTO EDITOR

The 2007-2008 chapter of Auburn women’s basketball was completed Friday as the Tigers fell to No. 21 Vanderbilt 49-44 in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament in Nashville, Tenn.

Although the Commodores held a strong lead throughout the majority of the game, the victor was unclear in the final minutes of play.

The match up was a defensive battle as both teams had 13 offensive rebounds, but Vanderbilt aggressively had 27 defensive rebounds with seven steals, compared to Auburn’s three steals.

“I feel like I just got done with a prize fight,” Fortner said in a press conference. “It was like one slug, then another slug. It was just a hard-fought defensive battle.

With 1:45 remaining, Vanderbilt’s team scoring leader Christina Wirth’s sole bucket of the night broke a tie at 41 to give the Commodores 43.

“She had been so consistent for us and has been the go-to (and) has hit so many big shots,” said Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb. “She stepped up at the end and had that big shot. That says a lot about her maturity on the floor as a player.”

Will my faith in baseball be restored?

wpolley — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

“Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets,” Robert DeNiro’s character, Travis Bickle, said in the 1976 Academy Award nominated film Taxi Driver.

Bickle was referring to the prostitutes, those that frequent their services and other such vile people. I think it perfectly applies to the mayhem that’s going on now in professional sports. The scum being steroid users and the rain is Roger Clemens’ Congressional testimony.