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Chifchieva Concludes her Career with a Loss to No. 3 Maria Sanchez in NCAA Championships Round of 32

By Lindsey Rodgers / Writer | May 28

Auburn tennis player Fani Chifchieva doesn't believe in rituals or superstitions before matches. She just takes a deep breath and thinks positively, knowing she will do everything she can to win the match.Chifchieva, a recently graduated senior with a degree in Spanish, finished her tennis career ranked No. 2 in Auburn's singles victories, with a record of 104-40.

Tigers Struggle Offensively in 7-1 Loss

By Nick Van Der Linden / Sports Editor | May 26

Despite an early morning start, fans quickly filled Regions Park to watch the No. 16 Auburn Tigers baseball team (39-18) take on the Alabama Crimson Tide (35-21) in the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament. The Tigers scored first but gave up seven unanswered runs in the 7-1 loss Wednesday morning.

Tigers Sweep Ole Miss and Prepare for the SEC Tournament

By Nick Van Der Linden / Sports Editor | May 23

Last weekend the No. 16 Auburn baseball team (39-17, 20-10 SEC) did what it failed to do last year, reach the Southeastern Conference Tournament. On Friday night, second year head coach John Pawlowski and the Auburn Tigers clinched the SEC Western Division, something the Tigers had not done since 1995, defeating No. 17 Ole Miss (36-20, 16-14 SEC) 18-4.

Newton Earns Top Spot

By Abby Albright / Sports Editor | April 29

Auburn Football coach Gene Chizik announced yesterday that junior Cameron Newton is the No. 1 quarterback after spring practice.This announcement does not secure Newton's spot for the fall, but gives him the advantage over senior Neil Caudle, sophomore Barrett Trotter and redshirt freshman Clint Moseley.

Tigers Tame the Bulldogs

By Crystal Cole / STAFF REPORTER | April 29

Junior Stephen Kohlscheen made his first start at Auburn (28-14, 10-8 SEC) Tuesday night as the baseball team beat Samford (23-17), 11-4, at home.Kohlscheen pitched two scoreless innings with a single in the first inning and a second-inning walk.Kohlscheen said it was a good day for his first start and the rest of the team performing well made his job easy."It's always good when you can get a start," Kohlscheen said.

Tate, McFadden Picked Up In Draft

By Abby Albright / Sports Editor | April 29

Two Tiger football players, seniors Ben Tate and Walter McFadden were picked up in the National Football League Draft over the weekend.Running back Tate was selected on Day Two by the Houston Texans in the second round."It was very emotional," Tate said.

Softball Overcomes JSU, 8-5

By Patrick Dever / ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR | April 29

The Auburn Softball team welcomed south the Jacksonville State University Gamecocks on a chilly Tuesday evening.Auburn's bats, however, were not cold, as the Tigers scored eight runs on eight hits, downing Jacksonville State, 8-5.Auburn coach Tina Deese said she was proud of the team's determination during the game."I'm really proud of the eight runs first and foremost," Deese said.Auburn got off to a quick start as sophomore designated hitter Amber Harrison hit a homerun that just cleared the right field wall.Redshirt sophomore Angel Bunner was in the pitcher's circle for the Tigers.The Gamecocks scored two runs in the top of the fifth inning, bringing Bunner's night to an end.Bunner pitched four and one-third innings, giving up six hits and two runs.Senior pitcher Anna Thompson came in to relieve Bunner.Thompson gave up a two-run home run to the first batter she faced, Jacksonville State freshman Kelci Johnston, bringing the score to4-4.Deese said she was hoping her team wouldn't falter and get past the inning."You can't get a big enough lead at this point," Deese said.

Round His Track With Rosen

By Derek Lacey / WRITER | April 29

Melvin "Mel" Rosen served as head track coach for the Auburn Tigers for 28 years and has had one of the most outstanding careers of any Auburn coach.After completing his master's degree in physical education at the University of Iowa in 1951, he joined the U.S.

Intramural Playoffs Come to Close

By Derek Lacey / WRITER | April 29

Starting Sunday, spring intramural sports began closing up for the end of the semester, just like spring classes.Except it's not tests and projects due for the end of intramural sports, but the final soccer and softball playoffs.With names like "Cheezeballs," "Drug Dealer" and "Abusement Park," teams fight for the chance to become intramural champions at Auburn.After the regular season of five or six games, teams are ranked and placed into an initial four-team bracket.The playoff system depends on which league and category a team belongs to, and a team's record is not all that counts in the playoffs.Referees assign a point value to each team's sportsmanship during each game, on a scale of one to five.At the end of the regular season, the average of this sportsmanship score is coupled with a team's win-loss record to see if they made it to the playoffs.The sportsmanship points average is also used as a tiebreaker for teams that end the regular season with the same record.The last round of the playoffs will be held tonight.Winning teams receive T-shirts and a trophy, not to mention bragging rights.Brett North, senior in civil engineering, is the captain of the undefeated softball team "Cheezeballs."Without regular practice, North said the thing he likes about softball is the competition, that he can compete in a way he hasn't since high school.Another softball team that made the playoffs are the "Toon Squad," which is mostly made up of members of Lakeview Baptist Church.Nathan Douthit is a member of "Toon Squad" and said the most important thing for him is the chance to spread the gospel after the game."The most important thing for us is telling people about Jesus," Douthit said.Fraternities are consistently well-represented in softball playoffs.

Track Runs At Prestigious Penn Relays

By Blake Hamilton / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | April 29

The Auburn Men's and Women's Track and Field teams racked up experience for the SEC Outdoor Championships and three second-place finishes at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia last Saturday.Sophomore Marcus Rowland, whose 10.03 time in the 100-meter dash ranks as the best in the country for juniors, finished second in the event at 10.36 seconds."It was definitely a great experience for me to be able to run in the Penn Relays," Rowland said.

Women Tee-Off At Regionals

By Derek Lacey / WRITER | April 29

The NCAA Women's Golf Championship Committee announced Monday that the No. 3 Auburn Tigers women's golf team will play as the No.

Men's Tennis Beats Arkansas, Georgia, Defeated By Florida

By Bree Bowen / WRITER | April 29

The No. 37 Auburn Men's Tennis team opened up the SEC Tournament with a win over No. 64 Arkansas Thursday.Arkansas opened the match with a win at No.

Women Knocked Out of SEC Tournament

By Bree Bowen / WRITER | April 29

The 2010 SEC Championship was cut short for the No. 55 Auburn Women's Tennis team after defeat by No.

Molenveld Brings Passion

By Ben Bartley / COPY EDITOR | April 29

Young Myrthe Molenveld was a soccer coach's daughter and potential soccer star living in the Netherlands.Now, she is a tennis player at a Division I school in Alabama.Her winding life path began at 7 when she discovered her athletic calling."I saw everybody playing tennis around me and on TV and in the newspaper, and I liked what the girls were wearing," Molenveld said.

Inniss Learns Valuable Lessons at Nationals

By Jessica Shaddix / WRITER | April 29

For Rachel Inniss, Auburn University gymnast, going to the NCAA Nationals in Gainesville, Fla., was an unforgettable experience.As for going by herself and competing individually in the floor exercise, she said she was excited, but wished her team could have gone with her.Inniss was teamed up with the University of Florida and placed 34th in section two of the championship."(Going to Nationals) was a bittersweet moment because I didn't have my team with me, but I was representing Auburn," Inniss said.She said going alone was weird because she hasn't competed by herself since high school."It wasn't odd though," Inniss said.

Baseball Defeats Wildcats in Series Opener

By Davis Potter / WRITER | April 24

The Auburn Baseball team's high-powered offense was on display once again Friday night, as the Tigers pounded out 12 hits en route to a 13-6 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats (22-16, 5-11 SEC) in front of 2,662 fans at Plainsman Park in the first game of three-game series.

Softball Loses to Mississippi State

By Bree Bowen / WRITER | April 22

The Auburn softball team fell short in a doubleheader against the Mississippi State Bulldogs Wednesday night. "They were close ball games, and those are the ball games you like to watch because both teams are fighting for the win," said sophomore infielder Amber Harrison.In game one, the Tigers tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning when junior infielder Kelley Smiley hit the ball to bring home sophomore catcher Elizabeth Eisterhold from third base.

Auburn Conquers Troy

By Blake Hamilton / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | April 22

The runs flowed as freely as the 50 cent hot dogs Tuesday night at Plainsman Park as the Auburn Baseball team defeated Troy 16-3.The Tigers slammed five home runs in the game, two of which came from junior infielder Hunter Morris. Morris was 4-5 against the Trojans and has 13 home runs on the season.