Special to the News

03/07 at 12:54 AM

The No. 2 Auburn equestrian team defeated conference rival and No. 1 Georgia, 12-6, on Saturday at the Auburn Equestrian Center.

The Tigers improved to 11-2, while the Bulldogs fell to 9-2.

“There’s not much better than outriding another strong team,” said Auburn head coach Greg Williams. “Auburn, once again, proved themselves as national champion caliber, but all that is for the month of April to decide.“

In Hunt Seat Equitation on the Flat, the Tigers shut out the Bulldogs, 4-0, behind MVP Lindsey Portela. Portela defeated Georgia’s Emma Lipman 82-74. Other Tiger winners were Chelsea Anheuser over Grace Rogers, 65-49, Katie Breedlove over Katie Hagerty, 82-78, and Anna Becker over Carly Anthony, 79-74. Auburn’s Maggie McAlary and Georgia’s Michelle Morris tied at 74.

In Hunt Seat Equitation over Fences, the Tigers and Bulldogs tied at 2-2. Auburn’s Dottie Grubb defeated Morris, 83-82, and Grace Socha defeated Rogers, 84-77. Georgia winners were Anthony over MVP McAlary, 85-79, and Kacy Jenkins over Anna Schierholz 77-62. Auburn’s Ali Loprete and Georgia’s Emma Lipman tied at 80.

In Western Horsemanship, Auburn edged Georgia, 3-2, as Bailey Dymond defeated Maria Salazar, 73-70, Kristin Hansen defeated Ali Eidson, 71-67.5, and Jessica Jones defeated Lauren Love, 72.5-69.5. Georgia winners were MVP Michelle Fulcher over Indy Roper, 72-71, and Alisha Shrum over Kylie Miller, 68.5-62.5.

In Western Reining, Auburn again defeated Georgia, 3-2, behind MVP Lyndsay Jordan. Jordan defeated Sarah Locker, 70.5-68.5. Other Auburn winners were Jillian Fuller over Hannah Dyer, 71-69.5, and Paige Monfore over Diandra St. Hilaire, 68.5-68. Georgia winners were Kelly Truesdell over Roper, 67.5-66, and Becca Haaland over Kim Pope 71-70.

Auburn returns to action next Saturday against No. 10 Fresno State and next Sunday against No. 6 Kansas State in Fresno, Calif. The times for both meets have yet to be set.

Swimming and diving to host Invitational
The Auburn men’s swimming team is set to host the James E. Martin Invitational at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center today.

The invite is a last chance meet for those individuals who wish to improve on times to qualify for the upcoming NCAA Championships. The one-day meet will begin with prelims at 10 a.m. and follow with a 4 p.m. final.

A handful of individuals from Auburn, Alabama, Florida and Florida State will take part in the meet.

The men’s NCAA Championships will be held March 25-27 on the campus of the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

Softball tops Gardner-Webb
Auburn’s Lauren Guzman hit her first career home run and Elizabeth Eisterhold tied a career high with three RBI as the Tigers defeated Gardner-Webb, 8-0, in softball Saturday at the War Eagle Classic.

Auburn improved to 12-6 and will next play the final game of the War Eagle Classic at 2 p.m. today against Valparaiso. Gardner-Webb fell to 7-6 with the loss.

The Tigers recorded season highs in runs and hits in run-ruling Gardner-Webb in five innings. Jenee Loree (2-1) started and took the win for Auburn, holding Gardner-Webb to one hit in five innings. Loree walked one and struck out five.

Christine Murray (3-4) took the loss after giving up five runs, four earned, on six hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Auburn wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Kelley Smiley led off with a crisp single to left and moved to second on a sac bunt by Caitlin Stangl.

A wild pitch moved Smiley to third and Amber Harrison brought her home with a deep sacrifice fly to right for the first run of the game.

Lauren Guzman gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead with a two-out solo home run to left in the bottom of the second inning. It was Guzman’s first career home run and the seventh by the Tigers this season.

Harrison picked up her second RBI of the game with a line drive single to right that plated Stangl for a 3-0 Auburn lead in the third inning. Stangl doubled to left-center with two outs in the inning and moved to third on a passed ball to set up Harrison’s 20th RBI of the season.

Auburn increased its lead on the big fly again when catcher Elizabeth Eisterhold drilled her first home run of the season over the wall in left for a 4-0 Auburn lead. It came in the bottom of the fourth and sparked a two-run rally.

Guzman followed with a one-out single and moved to second on an errant throw to first. Katie Colton then laced a single through the left side to score Guzman for a 5-0 lead.

In the fifth, the Tigers got a two-run single from Eisterhold to push the lead to 7-0. Harrison and Kelsey Cartwright scored on the play.

After a single by pinch-hitter Caitlin Schultze and a walk to Guzman loaded the bases, Colton walked on four pitches to force Eisterhold home.

Men’s golf 5th, 2 Tigers in top 3
LAREDO, Texas — Auburn sophomores Kyle Kopsick (72-215) and Will McCurdy (73-216) placed second and third, leading the Tigers to a fifth-place finish Saturday at the Border Olympics in Laredo, Texas.

Senior Cole Moreland (74-218) also provided a top-10 finish, placing seventh at the Laredo Country Club.

Auburn was forced to play a four-man squad for Friday’s opening 36-holes as sophomore John Stembridge withdrew due to illness. Redshirt freshman Jackson Beindorf (79) arrived in Laredo on Friday evening to replace Stembridge for the final 18.

“It’s been a long couple of days for these guys,” said Auburn head golf coach Nick Clinard. “These guys played fantastic under the circumstances we found. We were tied for the lead coming down the stretch but we hit a tough couple of holes. For us to be within striking distance after playing a man down through two-thirds of this tournament is a testament to these guys’ maturity.”

Redshirt sophomore Cory Gilmer (76-234), making his first appearance of the season, tied for 66th.

As a team, the Tigers led the 15-team event in par-4 scoring, averaging just 4.10 strokes per hole. Auburn swept the top-three spots in the individual par-4 category as McCurdy (3.93) led the 88-player field followed by Kopsick (4.00) and Moreland (4.00) tied for second. Kopsick also tied for most pars (39) and was fourth in par-5 scoring, averaging 4.57 per attempt.

Baylor’s Joakim Mikkelson (75-213) edged out Kopsick for medalist honors after holding a five stroke advantage on the Chicago native after 36-holes.

Texas State (295-876) claimed the team title followed by Oklahoma (300-880), Lamar (308-881), UT-Arlington (298-882), Auburn, Arkansas (302-888), Washington State (301-888), Baylor (308-891), Notre Dame (304-901), North Texas (302-903), Air Force (305-903), Rice (303-907), New Mexico State (305-912), Houston (314-917), UTSA (309-926) and UTEP (312-926).

The Tigers return to action with the 2010 Tiger Shootout, held March 15 at the Auburn University Club.

Adams improves time
Four members of the Auburn track and field teams were in action this weekend at Last Chance Qualifying meets, attempting to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

With the field for the championship meet determined by an athlete’s standing on the national performance list, the four Tigers in competition were trying to move up the list and improve their chances of making the cut.

At the Virginia Tech Final Qualifier, redshirt freshman Harry Adams improved his season-best time in the 60 meters by just .01 seconds, but it was good enough to nearly guarantee his spot at the NCAA meet.

Adams entered the weekend ranked tied for 10th nationally with a time of 6.66 seconds, and after running a 6.68 in the first round, he clocked a 6.65 in the semifinals. With a spot in the NCAA Championships all but secured, Adams sat out the finals.

Also at Virginia Tech, freshman Maya Pressley tied for third in the high jump, but her mark of 1.77 meters (5-9.75) did not improve on her season-best mark of 1.81m (5-11.25). She is currently tied for 19th in the NCAA in that event.

Meanwhile, two Tiger distance runners competed at the Alex Wilson Invitational hosted by Notre Dame. Sophomore Ben Cheruiyot finished ninth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:03.72, but did not improve on his season best of 13:54.86 that ranks 19th in the NCAA, so he must wait to find out if it will be good enough to make the field.

Senior Felix Kiboiywo ran the mile for the first time this year, but his 12th-place time of 4:05.45 was not quite good enough to make him eligible for the NCAA Championships.

Women’s golf hosts Auburn Invitational
The No. 3 Auburn women’s golf team is set to host the one-day Auburn Invitational Sunday at the Auburn University Club, welcoming three other SEC opponents to the Plains.

The Tigers will play host to No. 11 Georgia, No. 17 Florida and No. 18 Vanderbilt.

“You never know with a one-day event,” Auburn head coach Kim Evans said. “We could get off to a really good start and have one of those great days or it could go slow, but this team is patient. We are going to take it one hole at a time and keep our minds set on this one day.

“We’re very excited to have some fun and play at home, especially in this nice weather.“

Auburn is coming off an eighth-place finish at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz., where the Tigers battled rough weather through two rounds, as the third was cancelled due to inclement weather.

“Last week, we got off to a rough start,” said Evans. “With it being cut to two rounds, I think we could have moved up a few spots.”

For the Auburn Invitational, the Tigers’ competing five will be Cydney Clanton, Candace Schepperle, Patricia Sanz, Haley Wilson and Carlie Yadloczky. Two individuals, Karlin Beck and Madison Overbey, will also be competing in the event.

Auburn’s top competitor, Clanton, tied for fourth place with a 2-over 144 at the Wildcat Invitational. This season, Clanton has finished within the top five in each tournament that she has competed in. The junior averages a team-best 70.42 on the links.

The Tigers will also look to Sanz for a big performance today. The Madrid native finished the Wildcat Invitational in a tie for 14th, her best finish of the 2010 season.

“Patty is finally getting acclimated to living in Auburn now and getting used to the types of golf courses we play,” Evans said. “She’s working hard and she’s a tough competitor. She is fiery and we look for her to have a really good spring.“

Freshman Yadloczky will make her way back into the Auburn lineup after competing as an individual in the spring opener. She finished in a tie for 27th with a 9-over-par 151 at the Wildcat Invitational. She also ranks third on the team in stroke average with a 74.25.

“Carlie played really well at the Wildcat Invitational, but she played as an individual so we are bringing her back into the lineup,” Evans said. “We feel like her being back in the lineup will bring some new chemistry.“

Also stepping in for Auburn will be Schepperle, the senior leader of the squad. She will be followed by Wilson to round out Auburn’s top five for the day.

Tee times will begin at 8:20 a.m. with Georgia and Vanderbilt taking the course first. The Bulldogs and Commodores will tee off in pairs every nine minutes. Auburn, Florida and individuals will begin at 9:05 a.m.

Women’s tennis falls at Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 36 Auburn women’s tennis team (6-3, 0-1 SEC) was defeated by No. 11 Tennessee (7-4, 1-0 SEC) by a 6-1 count Friday in the SEC opener for both squads.

Auburn’s lone win of the day came via forfeit in No. 6 singles as senior Jil Hastenrath picked up the win for the Tigers.

The match began at doubles, as the Lady Vols won No. 3 doubles via forfeit, while Caitlin Whoriskey and Maria Sorbello defeated Myrthe Molvenveld and Carolina Thonton 8-2 in the No. 1 position. The No. 33 doubles tandem in the country, Tennessee’s Rosalia Alda and Zsofia Zubor followed by defeating Auburn’s Fani Chifchieva and Jil Hastenrath by a narrow 8-6 margin.

Hastenrath won No. 6 singles via forfeit, while, as Chifchieva was defeated by Whoriskey 6-3, 6-1. Sorbello then made quick work of Molenveld, 6-0, 6-2. Sophomore Daniela Vukadinovic gave Alda all she could handle in the No. 3 spot, but fell 7-5, 6-4. Freshman Paulina Schippers pushed Tennessee’s Katie Lee to the limit, but was ultimately downed by a 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (10-7) count.

Auburn returns to action today to face No. 17 Georgia in Athens, Ga., at noon.