Sports

Thompson Reaches Milestone

By Crystal Cole / STAFF REPORTER | April 8

Don't touch Anna Thompson's balls. The senior pitcher for the softball team said someone touching the ball before she gets to the mound is her biggest superstition. This weekend, No. 8 Alabama may have swept the series, but Thompson struck out her 1,000 career batter. "I'm glad I was blessed to have a talent where I could actually do that, but this is a team sport," Thompson said. "Everything I do when I go out there is for the team and it's doing my job, so if I got that many strike outs, I've been doing something right."

Baseball Blows Out Georgia State

By Jake Mastroianni / WRITER | April 8

The Auburn Tigers (19-10, 5-4 SEC) smashed 24 hits against the Georgia State Panthers (14-15, 2-4 CAA) Tuesday night, going on to win 22-5.Trent Mummey made his return to the diamond after sitting out seven weeks with an injury.

Tourney Should Stay At 65

By Patrick Dever / ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR | April 8

After watching the NCAA basketball tournament championship Monday night, I was left without the feeling of there being a national champion.Duke won the game, but I feel like Butler won the tournament.The tournament that had 65 teams.Talk has been circulating around the NCAA about expanding the tournament to include 96 teams.Why would the NCAA want to do that?College basketball already suffers enough by beginning the season while football season is still going on.The regular season is also usually looked over until February when people are looking up statistics for teams they think will be playing in late March.With the expansion to 96 teams, the tournament would lose the lore it has held since the previous expansions in 1985 to 64 and 2001 to 65.They say the tournament will keep the three-week format, but would add another round.The top 32 seeds would also get byes, negating any chance for a first-round upset of a No.

Men's Golf Heads To Kentucky

By Blake Hamilton / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | April 8

Mental preparation is the name of the game as the Auburn Men's Golf team prepares for the Bluegrass Invitational April 10-11 in Lexington, Ky.The Tigers finished seventh at the Hootie at Bulls Bay in Charleston, S.C., last weekend.

Friendly, But Fierce

By Blake Hamilton / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | April 8

Spring has sprung on The Plains, and warm-weather intramural sports are out in force. Tuesday night saw the third week of student softball and soccer teams in play, as various student organizations went head to head.Baby's Daddies, a coed team with a female pitcher, lost a close bout with the Pillsbury Bro-Boys 15-14."It's just always a good time when you come out here and play," said Baby's Daddies' Adam Furrer, senior in physical education.

Ancient Fitness With Modern Twist

By Jillian Clair / STAFF REPORTER | April 8

In Room 207 of the Student Activities Center, Auburn students, faculty and staff flock to yoga classes for flexibility, relaxation and centeredness, at no cost to them."I began teaching yoga for the Campus Recreation Lifetime Wellness and Fitness Program in 2009," said Pam Wiggins, a certified yoga instructor.

Women's Golf Places 12th at National Championship Tournament

By Nicole Emmett / WRITER | April 8

The No. 3 Auburn Women's Golf team finished in 12th place at the Bryan National Collegiate after a third-round score of 300.The team's tournament total was 36-over-par, 900 at the last competition of the regular season."If you look at the leader board, it doesn't look like we played that great," said coach Kim Evans.

Softball Swept, Looks To Learn From Mistakes

By Anna Schierholz / WRITER | April 8

Auburn Softball fell in three straight home games against the No. 8 Crimson Tide of Alabama this weekend, 5-1, 9-1 and 10-2.Auburn dropped to 20-15, 5-9 SEC, while Alabama moved to 27-9, 10-4 SEC."Alabama is a great team," said Anna Thompson, senior pitcher for the Tigers.

Clayton's Coaching Passion

By Davis Potter / WRITER | April 8

Church league basketball and Division I track and field usually don't go together.However, for assistant head track and field coach Jerry Clayton, an interest in the former helped pave the way to his current position in the latter."I started coaching church league basketball I think when I was about a freshman or sophomore in high school," Clayton said.

Volleyball Spikes Teams In Atlanta

By Ashley Marks / WRITER | April 8

In recent years, the Auburn Volleyball team has struggled during the regular season, but this off-season the team is working hard to change that.This past weekend, the team traveled to Atlanta for the to Atlanta Collegiate Invitational tournament.The Tigers took on Clemson University, Georgia Tech University, College of Charleston and the University of Georgia.The team began the tournament on Easter with impressive wins against Clemson, Georgia Tech and Charleston.Defeating the three teams moved Auburn to the final match vs.

Auburn Baseball Defeats South Alabama

By Patrick Dever / ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR | April 8

On a beautiful Wednesday evening on The Plains, the Auburn Tigers (20-10, 5-4 SEC) welcomed the South Alabama Jaguars (22-11, 10-2 SBC) to Plainsman Park.Red-shirt sophomore Cory Luckie took the mound looking for his second of the season, facing South Alabama junior Lance Brown (1-1).

Tigers Fall To Tide In Weekend Series

By Anna Schierholz / WRITER | April 6

After losing the first two games of the series, the Auburn softball team started off Game Three with a bang.Junior Kyndall White hit a bomb in straight-away center field to put the Tiger's up 1-0 on the first pitch in the bottom of the first inning.But The Tigers couldn't hold the lead for long. The Tide swept them, taking the third game 10-2.

Swimming Takes 6th at NCAAs

By Blake Hamilton / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | April 1

After three days of competition, the Auburn Men's Swimming and Diving team finished sixth at the 2010 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion at Ohio State University.The Tigers opened the first day on a high note, as sophomore Adam Brown, sophomore Christopher Fox, junior Kohlton Norys and senior Gideon Louw finished the 200-meter freestyle relay to qualify for the evening's final at 1:17.23.

Morris Swings for Major Leagues

By Anna Shierholz / WRITER | April 1

Nationally recognized and not superstitious: Hunter Morris is no ordinary college baseball player.

Teams Battle for Intramural Bragging Rights

By Abby Albright / Sports Editor | April 1

The co-rec soccer and softball intramural teams returned to the intramural fields Monday for the second week of play, The Dragons, also known as "The Real Beta Team," mercy-ruled Team Coker in three innings, 19-4.

Softball Sets Up For Bama

By Jake Mastroianni / WRITER | April 1

The Auburn softball team, with a 5-6 SEC record and a recent victory over South Carolina, will look to continue its win streak at home tomorrow against No.

Coming in From the Bullpen

By Patrick Dever / ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR | April 1

Auburn baseball has recently held the reputation of being a hitting team. There is another aspect to the game, however.

Tigers Drop Match to 'Dores

By Crystal Cole / STAFF REPORTER | April 1

The women's tennis team (7-5, 3-1 SEC) split this weekend's games, dominating unranked Kentucky (2-13, 0-5 SEC) at home Friday 5-2, but falling to No.

Tennis Defeats No. 23 Vanderbilt

By Abby Albright / Sports Editor | April 1

The No. 65 Auburn Men's Tennis team (6-9, 2-4 SEC) returned home this weekend after two weeks on the road and served up a 5-2 win over No.

Track and Field Wins in Atlanta, Prepares for Home Opener

By Blake Hamilton / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | April 1

Coming off a successful meet at last weekend's Yellow Jacket Invitational, the Auburn track and field teams have shifted focus to this week's Tiger Track Classic.The Tigers won three events in the Georgia Tech hosted event, with senior Felix Kiboiywo taking the 800-meter dash with a time of 1:53.22 and seniorLuke Gaines coming in first with a 61.47 meter javelin throw.