Sports

Finney's homers lift Tigers over Hogs

By Brittany Cosby / Staff Writer | April 8

The Auburn softball team took its series against Arkansas 2-1 Sunday, bringing its record to 27-13 overall and 7-7 in the Southeastern Conference.The 5-4 win was secured by Myesha Finney's two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning.The teams split the double header Saturday, with Auburn winning the opening game 4-3, but losing the second game 4-2."Myesha played outstanding against Florida in our last series," said Auburn head coach Tina Deese.

Tigers score 11 runs late to win Bulldog series

By Brittany Cosby / Staff Writer | April 8

The Auburn baseball team defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 12-10 Sunday afternoon in Starkville to make their record 20-10 overall and 6-6 in the Southeastern Conference.The Tigers were down by six runs in the bottom of the fourth.Auburn answered with 11 runs, scoring six runs in the fifth, two in the seventh and three in the eighth to claim its first series win at Mississippi State since 2003."We were down 8-2 early, and it looked like we didn't have anything going, and we were playing poor baseball," said Auburn head coach John Pawlowski.

Sullivan Britnell, a 7-year-old cystic fibrosis patient, swam 50 meters in the Laps for Cystic Fibrosis event in Auburn Saturday. JD Schein / Photo Editor

Laps for CF a success

By Christian Becraft / Staff Writer | April 8

The cheers echoing from the Martin Aquatics Center Saturday morning were not just in spirit of Auburn's NCAA swim team.Instead, the encouraging sounds were for 7-year-old Cystic Fibrosis patient Sullivan Britnell as he swam a 50-meter lap, finishing up the Laps for CF event.Saturday marked Auburn University's fifth year participating in Laps for CF, an organization and event founded because of one patient's efforts to help raise money for research, as well as a financial support for families who struggle with CF.Emily Schreiber, 16, from Birmingham, was diagnosed with CF when she was 9 years old, and, at this age, she started the foundation Laps for CF.What began as her pledge to swim laps for each individual and business's donation to the cause has now turned into an event involving the community and swim and dive team, like Saturday's event held at Auburn."The swim team, they are all such great athletes," Schreiber said.

Bonner heading to WNBA draft

By Abby Albright / Assistant Sports Editor | April 8

To top-off a truly incredible season, senior DeWanna Bonner is one of 15 top WNBA prospects invited to attend the 2009 draft, at the NBA Entertainment studios in Secaucus, N.J."I am excited, I am nervous, a lot of different emotions right now," Bonner said last week.

Auburn staff shows football can be fun again

By Alex Scarborough-Anderson / Managing Editor | April 8

When did Auburn football start looking like the set of Rush Hour?We knew the coaching staff would be totally revamped after the departure of Tommy Tuberville and the Good Ole Boy network, but when did Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker come to The Plains to coach 'em up?Whereas practice in the Tommy Tuberville era was akin to Cool Hand Luke - quiet, sincere and methodical - the 2009 staff looks more like a Judd Apatow film - smart, witty and high-energy.With the exception of the field general himself, Gene Chizik, the rest of the coaching staff appears more Robin Williams and less Marlon Brando.Both styles can get the job done, but this group of high-energy jokesters seem to relate to a younger team playing looser than any in more than a decade.Assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor embodies the seismic shift of attitude on the gridiron.Taylor, hat always turned backward, is a show in himself.

Auburn women's tennis loses to Georgia Friday

By Bridgette Bonner / Staff Writer | April 5

The No. 29 Auburn women's tennis team fell 5-2 to No. 2 Georgia at the Yarbrough Tennis Center Friday night.The loss makes Auburn's record 11-7 overall and 3-3 in the Southeastern Conference.

Women's tennis suffers loss to Tennessee in last home game April 5

By Mallory Boykin / Campus Editor | April 5

In its last home game of the season, the No. 29 Auburn women's tennis team fell to the No. 13 Tennessee.Whitney Chappell and Alex Haney got the only doubles win of the match for Auburn, 9-8 (7-4), Sunday at the Yarborough Tennis Center.

Chizik springs into practice

By Wes Sinor / Associate Sports Editor | April 1

Football team, coaches round out first week of practice

Tigers avoid late rally, win Vanderbilt series

By Natalie Nettles / Assistant Intrigue Editor | April 1

Baseball team picks up second SEC series victory

Tennis falls to Wildcats

By Bridgette Bonner / Staff Writer | April 1

Men's tennis team drops to 10-6 overall

Equestrian headed to championship

By Amanda Irle / Staff Writer | April 1

The Auburn equestrian team's scheduled March 28 meet against Tennessee-Martin was cancelled because of expected severe weather.This was the Tigers' final home meet of the season, and it will not be made up.The team is 6-4 on the season going into the Southern Equestrian Championships this weekend."I actually feel very, very good about how we're going to be able to perform in the postseason," said equestrian head coach Greg Williams.Auburn's equestrian team started its 2008-2009 season strongly, remaining the top-ranked team and undefeated in its first four matches.The Tigers' first loss came in its Feb.

Eighth national title belongs to Auburn

By Allison Thompson / Staff Writer | March 30

Men's swimming and diving team wins big in College Station

Razorbacks sweep Tigers

By Patrick Dever / Staff Writer | March 25

It was a rough weekend for the Auburn baseball team (15-8, 2-4 SEC as of Tuesday) as it played a three game series against No.

Softball picks up 2 wins

By Loren Willis / Staff Writer | March 25

Auburn's softball team swept Tennessee State and Alabama State in a double header March 18.The Tigers beat TSU 10-0 and ASU 4-0.

No. 11 Auburn gymnastics finish middle of pack in Nashville

By Vicki Johnson / Staff Writer | March 25

The Auburn Tigers gymnastics team, ranked 11th in the nation, placed fifth in the SEC Championship in Nashville Saturday.

Women swim to lowest finish since 1999

By Kristen Bost / Staff Writer | March 25

The Auburn women's swimming and diving team took sixth place at the 2009 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships last weekend.The competition was hosted by Texas A&M.The Tigers accumulated a 281.5 point total, significantly trailing championship winner California (411.5), Georgia (400.5), Arizona (389), Stanford (312.5) and Texas (307).The sixth-place finish was the lowest for Auburn since placing 11th in the 1999 NCAA Championships.

On the bubble?

By Wes Sinor / Associate Sports Editor | March 25

Auburn beats LSU and makes case for NCAA Tournament

Tigers take 4 straight wins from Brown

By Blake Larsen / Sports Editor | March 25

It took extra innings, but the Tigers managed to put away Brown for the last time in the bottom of the 11th.Auburn freshman Case McElroy knocked in the game-winning run with a line drive to center field."There was a lot of tension in that last at bat," McElroy said.

Bonner, Fortner nab top SEC honor for women's basketball

By Natalie Wade / Copy Editor | March 25

The Auburn women's basketball team, regular season SEC champions, celebrated three more accomplishments before heading into last weekend's SEC Tournament, where Vanderbilt topped them in the finals.Coach Nell Fortner was named SEC coach of the year, DeWanna Bonner was named SEC player of the year and Whitney Boddie was named to the first team All-SEC, all announced March 3."That is such a team award and I am just surrounded by an outstanding staff and this team has worked so hard this year and bought into everything that we were wanting to accomplish and how to accomplish it," Fortner said, in an article on the official Web site of Auburn Athletics.

Divers prep for NCAAs

By Allison Clark / Staff Writer | March 25

Auburn University's divers will compete at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in Knoxville, Tenn., this weekend.Head diving coach Jeff Shaffer has been working with the divers to prepare them for the competition and hopes they can keep their focus on what is important."The athletes' goal is to compete against themselves." Shaffer said.