Special to the News

01/23 at 12:58 AM

The Auburn baseball team signed 15 players to National Letters of Intent during the fall signing period.

The 15 players consist of 10 high school seniors and five junior college players.

“The recruiting class of 2010-2011 will have an immediate impact when they step foot on campus at Auburn next fall,” Auburn head coach John Pawlowski said. “Recruiting coordinator Scott Foxhall, along with assistant coaches Link Jarrett and Ty Megahee, did an outstanding job of identifying and evaluating the type of ‘Championship Player’ we are looking for. It is our goal to not only recruit the best student-athletes in our state of Alabama, but on a national level. These players will help us continue to move forward as a program and represent Auburn University both on and off the field in a first-class manner.”

Auburn’s 2010 signees are:

RHP Brandon Allen (Milton, Fla.), IF Zach Alvord (Alpharetta, Ga.), C Blake Austin (Douglasville, Ga.), OF Brooks Beisner (St. Pete Junior College), IF/OF Stafford Booth (Madison), IF Tyler Dial (Phenix City), OF Jay Gonzalez (Orlando, Fla.), RHP Will Irvin (Itawamba CC), LHP Will Kendall (Marietta, Ga.), RHP Andrew Morris (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC), RHP Dillon Ortman (Huntsville), IF Mike Reed (Middleburg, Fla.), RHP Derek Varnadore (Chattahoochee Valley CC), and RHP Jay Wade (Bremen, Ga.), RHP Ethan Wallen (Northwest Shoals CC).

Gymnasts fall at LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. — The No. 11 Auburn gymnastics team fell to No. 16 LSU, 195.650-193.900, on Friday night at Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Auburn was led by senior Krissy Voss, who led Auburn in two events and scored career highs of 9.825 on bars and 39.200 in the all-around competition to place second.

Auburn (0-3, 0-2 SEC) opened up on bars in its first road meet of the season, an event that has been a strength through the first two meets.

Auburn’s seniors didn’t disappoint, as Krissy Voss led off the night with a career high on the apparatus with a 9.825. Classmate Carmen Nelms followed up Voss’ performance, tying her own career best with another 9.825. Sophomore Allyson Sandusky, who entered the meet as the No. 10 bars competitor in the country, turned a solid 9.8, as Auburn tallied a 48.325 in the first rotation.

LSU (3-2, 1-1 SEC) opened on vault, and were paced by 2009 NCAA Vault runner-up Susan Jackson, who scored a 9.875. Kayla Rogers also eclipsed the 9.8 mark, as she scored a 9.825. LSU led after one rotation after compiling a 48.975.

In rotation two, Auburn was on vault, while LSU took to the bars. Auburn hit all six routines, as Voss continued her solid night, hitting a season-high 9.8 in the second position, while a pair of freshmen Maya Wickus and Toi Garcia each hit 9.825’s. Sophomore Justine Foster turned in a 9.85 as the anchor, giving Auburn a season high 49.075 on the second rotation.

LSU had a trio of competitors scored at least a 9.85, as Summer Hubbard and Jackson hit 9.875’s. Sabrina Franceschelli scored a 9.85. Auburn benefitted from a pair of LSU falls on bars that gave LSU a 48.750 on the event. After two rotations, LSU held a slim .325 lead over Auburn.

Rotation three found Auburn on the floor, while LSU took to the beam.

Sophomore Kylie Shields led off for Auburn with a 9.75, which proved to be Auburn’s second-best score in the event. Rachel Inniss scored a 9.725 in the anchor spot, but Auburn was once again led by Voss, who eclipsed the 9.8 mark for the third-time in the meet with a 9.8 to lead in the exercise. Auburn suffered a trio of falls, resulting in a 47.750 on floor.

On beam, LSU was paced again by Jackson, who hit a 9.875, while Gloria Johnson marked a 9.775. LSU totaled a 48.650 to take a 146.375-145.150 lead into the fourth rotation.

Auburn was on beam in the fourth rotation, where Inniss led Auburn with a 9.875 winning the event for the first time in her career. Both Voss and Shields each scored 9.775’s to give Auburn a beam total of 48.700.

LSU was on floor in the final rotation, where LSU marked a pair of 9.9’s, courtesy of Kayla Rogers and Jackson to total a 49.275 floor score.

Voss placed second in the all-around to Jackson, the No. 1 all-around competitor in the country. Shields compiled a 39.050 to place fifth in the competition.

Auburn returns home next week to host the five-time defending national champion Georgia GymDogs next Friday at 7 p.m. from Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Swimming inks deal with Arena
Auburn athletics and Arena, one of the world’s leading sports swimwear companies, have reached an agreement which will provide the Auburn men’s and women’s swim programs with swimwear and other equipment for the next four years.

“Arena has been a leader in technological advancements in swimwear for many years,” head coach Brett Hawke said. “When I looked around the pool deck at the 2008 Olympics and 2009 World Championships, most of the great champions were wearing Arena. At that point, I decided there was only one company that was able to match the level of excellence that Auburn University has achieved in swimming.”

Arena is distributed in the United States by Arena Swim USA, controlled by the Gathering Storm Group, based in Carlsbad, Calif.

Since 1973, Arena has created and marketed swimwear products for competitive athletes and fans and is recognized as one of the premium brands for high quality swimwear and equipment. Over the last 36 years, Arena has products with particular focus on competitive swimming, while also expanding into leisure activity.

“This partnership represents an important step for Arena,” said Arena Marketing Director Guiseppe Musciacchio. “It confirms our strong commitment to be actively involved in various levels in the U.S. swimming movement. After having recruited international swimming champions in Aaron Peirsol, Eric Shanteau and Rebecca Soni to our Elite Team, we wanted to also be a protagonist in the collegiate environment and be close to those who are likely to be the big champions of tomorrow.”

The Auburn swimming program has won 13 NCAA Championships, including eight in men’s swimming (2009, 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002, 1999 and 1997) and five in women’s swimming (2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002).

The Tigers close out the SEC dual season at Florida today, beginning at 3 p.m.  The team competes in the SEC Championships in Athens, Ga., from Feb. 17-20.

Women’s tennis opens season today
The No. 35 Auburn women’s tennis team is set to open up the 2010 spring season this weekend, hosting Kennesaw St. today and No. 10 Georgia Tech on Sunday from City of Auburn/Auburn University Yarborough Tennis Center.

The Tigers enter the spring campaign following a successful fall season that saw Auburn’s nine players compile a 45-42 singles record and 7-29 in doubles record, a mark that will be surely improved as the team develops new doubles pairings for the spring season.

“We have an exciting group of new, young players who are getting better daily. I’m certain that this group will make some noise on the national scene very soon,” said head coach Tim Gray.

Four Tigers came away from the fall with winning records, highlighted by freshman Caroline Thornton’s team-high eight wins. Thornton, who was 8-4, was followed by Fani Chifchieva at 7-5 and senior Jil Hastenrath with a 7-4 mark. Another senior, Heather Bybee, wrapped up the fall with a 6-5 record.

“Heading into the spring season, we will be very young, but at the same time, we are very hungry. We also have unbelievable team chemistry right now. Our captains, Jil Hastenrath and Heather Bybee have done a great job in helping develop this bond. I’m confident that our hard work, both on and off the court, will pay off,” said Gray.

The weekend matchups will be the first of the spring for the Kennesaw State Owls, who were recently ranked No. 6 in the Atlantic Sun Preseason Coaches Poll. No. 10 Georgia Tech defeated Chattanooga, 7-0, on Monday. The Ramblin’ Wreck won every singles match in straight sets.

Today’s match begins at noon, followed by a 2 p.m. start on Sunday.

Men’s tennis picked 3rd in SEC West
The Auburn men’s tennis team was picked to finish third in the SEC Western Division by the league’s head coaches, the conference office announced Friday.

“The SEC is an extremely strong conference and every match is going to be tough,” head coach Eric Shore said. “Everyone is going to have to step up in order for us to have a great year.”

This year’s team enters the spring season ranked No. 23 by the Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings. Junior Tim Puetz and sophomore Alex Stamchev are the sixth-ranked doubles team in the country, while Puetz is No. 24 and Stamchev is No. 86 in the singles poll.

The 2009 squad finished the season with a 14-11 overall record and finished third in the SEC West. The team defeated South Florida in the first round of the NCAA Regional Tournament before falling to Florida State in the second round.

Tennessee was voted as the SEC East and overall champion, while Florida and Georgia tied for second in the East. Ole Miss was picked as SEC West champion, with LSU second.