Auburn tennis Senior Day ends in a close loss
Auburn’s men’s tennis team hosted No. 25 LSU on Sunday, April 5, for the Tigers' final home match of the season.
Auburn’s men’s tennis team hosted No. 25 LSU on Sunday, April 5, for the Tigers' final home match of the season.
With her homerun against no. 11 Tennessee this weekend to clutch the win for the Tigers, senior Branndi Melero claims the co-player of the week title alongside Bailey Landry of LSU. Melero is known for her strength in the batter’s box and her efficiency on defense as right fielder. She falls into the five-hits-or-more club in this weekend’s series next to Kasey Cooper and Morgan Estell, and is credited for seven homeruns this season alone. Melero stands with 39 RBI for a .348 average, making her no.
After evening up the series Saturday night, April 4, the Auburn Tigers felt that Sunday’s game, April 5, and by extension the series, was a must-win. On Easter Auburn let two leads squander away—one late in the game—and fell to the Arkansas Razorbacks 6-4, dropping the series in the process. Up 3-2 after six strong innings from Rocky McCord, the Tigers looked to be in good position to win.
Auburn track and field impressed Saturday, April 4, at Hutsell-Rosen Track, tallying 10 wins as the Tiger Track classic came to a close. Senior Samantha Scarlett finished first among collegiate competitors in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.35.
No. 8 gymnastics performed above and beyond in front of a full house Saturday night, April 4, during the NCAA Gymnastics Championship in the Auburn Arena. The team totaled 196.900 overall, smashing the record for the highest regional total in the program’s history. “We talked all day about, ‘You have to fight for everything you get here,'” said head coach Jeff Graba.
The baseball team hosted SEC rival Arkansas Saturday, April 4, in the second of a three-game weekend series. Following the close loss to the Razorbacks on Friday, April 3, the Tigers won 3-2 in a close game that was decided in the bottom of the ninth inning. “I’m just proud of all of our guys, not just Keegan [Thompson], “ said head coach Sunny Golloway.
In the second straight sold out game of the season, the Tigers headed into the third and final match of the Tennessee series 1-1. Auburn had a shaky start as the Vols brought in 6 runs in a two-outs rally in the first inning.
Expectations are higher than ever for the offense this season with the loss of key players. However, the offense fell to the newly reconstructed defense in regards to evident progress and overall plays made in Saturday’s scrimmage. Although Gus Malzahn said the offense wasn’t moving in a negative direction, there weren’t any plays that stood out as anything spectacular.
“The defense probably got the best of the offense today,” Malzahn said. “There were probably more big hits than in any of the scrimmages we’ve had up to this point.”
Auburn (18-12, 3-7 SEC) baseball lost its first of a three-game SEC series 10-7 this weekend after a back and forth battle with the Arkansas Razorbacks (15-4, 4-6 SEC) Friday, April 3, at Plainsman Park. “It’s just a tough loss for Friday night,” said coach Sunny Golloway.
Auburn softball fell to no. 11 Tennessee, 8-6 in its second match of the weekend’s three-game series after a nail-biting finish Friday, April 3, at home. The loss broke the team’s spotless home-field record of 21-0 for the 2015 season. The Vols took the lead in the first half-inning with a homerun by Gretchen Aucoin after Tiffany Howard’s first left field catch of three total throughout the game. At bat, the Tigers couldn’t muster a run, and gave the inning to Tennessee, 1-0. The Tigers wouldn’t respond until the bottom of the second with Jade Rhodes’ sixteenth career homerun this season, tying the game 1-1. In the third, Emily Carosone’s hit merely missed the right-field wall and gave her a double, bringing in Tiffany Howard for another point on the board. Kasey Cooper then nailed a pitch to center field for a single that allowed Carosone to plate another run, giving Auburn their first lead of the game, 3-1. The Tigers didn’t hold on to the lead for long, when Tennessee’s Scarlet McSwain nailed one over the fence to plate three for the Vols. No response came from the Tigers directly after at bat as Auburn headed into the fifth trailing by one, 4-3. Although the Tigers held Tennessee on defense in the fifth with Lexi Davis on the mound, opposing pitcher Rainey Gaffin dished out three straight strikeouts to Howard, Carosone and Cooper. “We knew coming in what she threw,” said coach Clint Myers.
Auburn’s men’s tennis team traveled to College Station, Texas, on Friday, April 3, to play the highly ranked Texas A&M Aggies. The Tigers played strongly, but fell 4-0 in their third top ten match-up of the season. Auburn fell in doubles despite winning on court one.
Lost in recent discussions of autonomy and student-athlete compensation, one of Auburn’s most successful athletic sports faces an uncertain future with the NCAA. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics recommended to remove equestrian from a list of emerging sports in October 2014 after the sport failed to meet the minimum of 40 schools in 10 years. According to Leah Fiorentino, executive director of the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA), 24 schools currently sponsor equestrian at the NCAA level. While that number falls short of the NCAA requirements, recent organizational changes have many convinced the sport’s future may be brighter than it seems. “We have all these plans laid out and ready to go, but we’re just waiting in limbo for the NCAA to make a decision one way or the other,” Fiorentino said.
Before she was an All-American at Auburn, and even before she was a national recruit as a teenager, Auburn gymnast Caitlin Atkinson knew she had the talent and the drive to become great. “I always kind of knew when I was younger because, even from the start, I always wanted to go more, always wanted to train more hours,” Atkinson said.
Days away from Auburn’s first spring scrimmage in Jordan-Hare Stadium, defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said he is pleased with the progress the secondary has made thus far this offseason as coaches continue to define roles at key positions. “We purposely, some days, throw a lot at them to see how they adjust and how they handle it,” Muschamp said.
Softball kicks off UT series with win By David McKinney Assistant Sports Editor Even without the long ball, the Auburn softball team found a way to win Thursday night, April 2.
Auburn golfer Ben Schlottman named SEC Freshman Golfer of the Week Auburn’s Ben Schlottman was named SEC Freshman Golfer of the Week on Thursday, April 2 following his performances at the Schenkel Invitational and the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate. At the Schenkel, Schlottman finished second at 11-under, including a career-low 6-under first round.
For those who don’t know of former track and field star D.J. Smith, they may not know of one of the most storied careers in Auburn history. Originally a two-sport athlete, Smith excelled in both basketball and football, receiving high-level college interest in both sports.
Auburn junior swimmer Annie Lazor was honored with a spot on the USA Swimming roster for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, Wednesday, April 1. The junior will compete in the 100m and 200m breaststroke for the USA team in the third-largest international multi-sport event in the world on July 14-18. Lazor is coming off strong swims in the 2015 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships where she and five other Tigers earned All-America honors. Touching in at 2:08.41 in the 200-yard breaststroke in the consolation final was the second-best swim in school history and a only .18 seconds shy of the school record.
This season, the Auburn men’s tennis team is credited for showcasing the talents with students from around the world.