---

Water Ski Club Alumni Event Draws Faithful to Faith Lake

By Emily Beckett/ Staff Writer | October 22

Cloudy skies and cold temperatures did not stop student members and alumni of Auburn University's Water Ski Club from competing in the annual alumni tournament Saturday.The Water Ski Club hosted the event at Faith Lake in Shorter."We sent out letters and e-mails for the alumni to come," said Maegan Marcheggiani, a junior in industrial design and president of the club.

Diamond Dolls are back again, supporting baseball

By Crystal Cole / STAFF WRITER | October 22

Seventh-inning stretches have been lovelier since the return of the Diamond Dolls last season.This year, the group is back and bigger than ever.

Home Run Derby is a Big Hit for Fans and Charity

By Crystal Cole / STAFF WRITER | October 22

The sixth annual Home Run Derby Friday was a smash hit, bringing in more than $5,000 and 1,700 fans.Gabe Gross won the derby with 15 home runs in the first round and 11 in the second.The proceeds went to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Lee County.Scott Duval, director of baseball operations, said he is happy to be helping the organization."We picked the Boys and Girls Club that first year and it's turned into a good deal," Duval said.

Tigers Get a Taste of Fall Ball

By Andrew Sims / ONLINE EDITOR | October 22

Following Friday's Celebrity Home Run Derby, guests were treated to an intra-squad baseball team scrimmage.Before the game, head coach John Pawlowski said he was excited about seeing the work over in the summer on display."Our biggest focus was trying to improve our pitching staff," Pawlowski said.

Auburn Equestrian defeats Texas A&M 10-8

By Nick Van Der Linden / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | October 22

No. 3 Auburn Equestrian team (4-1) came home after last week's match against Tennessee-Martin and defeated Texas A&M Aggies (1-2) 10-8.

Tigers split with UF, USC

By Aubrie Davis/ Staff Writer | October 22

Auburn Tigers Volleyball team (12-8, 4-5 SEC) fell to No. 9 Florida Gators (14-3, 8-2 SEC) Friday and defeated South Carolina (11-8, 3-7 SEC) 3-1 Sunday.The Tigers fell to the Gators 3-0 with scores of 19-25, 22-25 and 21-25.Although the Tigers came short of victory, head coach Wade Benson said he is proud of how the girls played."We could have and should have beaten Florida," Benson said.

AU Golfer shines in fall tournament play

By Michael Hansberry/ Staff Writer | October 22

Sophomore Kyle Kopsick has accomplished a lot in his short two years at Auburn.Last week, the Chicago native competed in the 2009 Gary Koch Invitational in Tampa, Fla., last weekend where Auburn placed seventh, but Kopsick won the overall tournament."I didn't know I had it won until an hour after or so I got after the course," Kopsick said.

Auburn Football Tallies Second Loss of the Season

By Nick Van Der Linden / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | October 19

Ben Tate had a career high 31 carries and his 10th career 100-yard rushing game as Auburn (5-2) lost to Kentucky (3-3) 21-14.Auburn is now 24-6-1 all-time against Kentucky, and Saturday was the first time since 1966 the Tigers lost to the 'Cats.

Plans for Sports Complex Begin

By Brian Desarro/ Staff Writer | October 15

A $6.5 million soccer and track facility was added to the list of ongoing campus construction projects as the University broke ground Oct. 1.The new facility, scheduled to open July 1, 2010, will be directly between the existing soccer complex and the Hutsell-Rosen Track.The 22,000-square foot, two-story building will house nine coach's offices, locker rooms for each sport, training rooms, equipment rooms and team lounges.

Tigers Lose first, Prepare for Cats

By Abby Albright / Sports Editor | October 15

Auburn (5-1, 2-1 SEC) was handed its first loss Saturday against the Arkansas Razorbacks (3-2, 1-2 SEC), 44-23.Although the Tigers rushed for 242 yards, 21 yards more than the Razorbacks, they were unable to pull off a win."They are really good," said head coach Gene Chizik in a press conference before Saturday's match up.

Tigers prepare for final season in Beard-Eaves Memorial

By Nick Van Der Linden / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | October 15

Auburn's Men's Basketball team starts practice Friday in preparation for the 42nd and final season in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.The Tigers have a lot to look forward to with the return of senior guard and leading scorer DeWayne Reed, leading three-point shooter senior guard Tay Waller and senior forward Lucas Hargrove off a team that recorded the second most wins in Auburn history, going 24-12."We're very excited about the start of the new season," said head coach Jeff Lebo.

Auburn Volleyball 'Digs for the Cure' Friday

By Daniel Chesser/ Staff Writer | October 15

Auburn University Volleyball Team (11-7, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) fell to the University of Tennessee Volunteers (12-5, 5-2 SEC) and the 10th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats (16-1, 6-0 SEC) this past weekend, but the team's outlook is positive for the upcoming match against Florida (12-3, 6-2 SEC) Friday at 6 p.m."We are moving forward in the right direction," said head coach Wade Benson.

Tigers Suffer Losses to Gamecocks and Gators

By Crystal Cole / STAFF WRITER | October 15

Heartbreak was the name of the game for the women's soccer team this weekend as it suffered road losses to South Carolina (12-0-1, 4-0-1 SEC) and Florida (10-4-1, 4-1-1 SEC).The losses dropped Auburn's record to 5-6-3, 2-4-0 SEC.Auburn held South Carolina to zero goals throughout the game and into overtime.

Auburn Prepares for Kentucky This Weekend

By Nick Van Der Linden / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | October 15

The Auburn Tigers (5-1, 2-1 SEC) will return to Auburn this week after playing two games on the road to take on the Kentucky Wildcats (2-3.

Softball's Fall Season is up in Full Swing

By Andrew Sims / ONLINE EDITOR | October 15

Auburn Softball won both of its games in Thursday night's double header against Chattanooga State and Chipola Junior College out of Florida.The Tigers defeated Chattanooga 4-1 and Chipola 2-0.Sophomore catcher Elizabeth Eisterhold hit a home run to finish off Chattanooga State, and senior pitcher Anna Thompson recorded a shut out against Chipola.This is the team's second week of fall competition.The fall season is a time in which all the players finally get to see how each one of them meshes into one team."Fall ball is the most important part of the season in my opinion," Thompson said.

Auburn Equestrian Team Shoots Down Skyhawks, 12-7

By Nick Van Der Linden / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | October 15

No. 3 Auburn Equestrian team (3-1) defeated Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks (0-2) 12-7 last Friday. The Tigers posted a 6-4 score in Hunt Seat and 6-3 in Western while taking all four Most Valuable Player awards."As soon as we got there the entire team was ready to compete," said head coach Greg Williams.

The Reason They Call it 'Fayettenam'

By Patrick Dever / Assistant Sports Editor | October 15

The Auburn Tigers were handed their first loss Saturday at the place where winning streaks go to die.It's always tough to win a game after a game as physically and emotionally draining as the one against Tennessee.It's even harder when playing against three different opponents.The first opponent was the Razorbacks.The Razorbacks put up 495 yards of total offense behind their 6-foot-7 sophomore quarterback Ryan Mallett.Red-Shirt senior running back Michael Smith didn't have a rush go for negative yardage and averaged 8.1 yards per carry.Their defense was suffocating in the first half and played well enough in the second half to keep the Tigers normally potent offense at bay.Three Auburn fumbles added to the Razorbacks' defensive success.Second, the Tigers were playing against themselves.Auburn head coach Gene Chizik always talks about playing against impostors on the field.Those impostors were in full attendance in Fayetteville.The passing game wasn't clicking and the offensive line had trouble keeping senior quarterback Chris Todd out of trouble.Auburn allowed three sacks, one more than it allowed in the previous five games combined, bringing the season total to five.Todd was out of character too.Saturday was the first game this season Todd hasn't thrown for a touchdown.It was evident from early on that he was in a funk when he overthrew a wide open Terrell Zachary down the left sideline.No receivers had more than three receptions and the leading receiver only had 32 yards.On the whole, the offense only had 108 yards of total offense in the first half, but turned up the production in the third quarter.Senior running back Ben Tate was the only player who seemed awake for the 11 a.m.

Auburn anglers finish Top 5 in regional event

By Mary-Glenn Smith/ Staff Writer | October 15

Auburn University Bass Club anglers Sam Rochell and J.T. Murphy traveled to Lake Guntersville Saturday to represent Auburn in the National Guard FLW College Fishing Southeast Division event.Despite the adverse weather conditions on the lake, Rochell and Murphy managed to reel in six fish weighing a total of 14 pounds, 1 ounce."It was a pretty grueling day between the wind and rain; the weather just wasn't too good," said Murphy, a senior in exercise science.