Special to the News

04/01 at 11:59 PM

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

Tigers head to Regionals

The No. 22 Auburn gymnastics team continues in post-season competition this weekend, as the Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa for the NCAA Regional beginning today at 6 p.m.

“My feeling is we need to go out and do our 24 routines as best we can and let the chips fall where they may because we don’t have any control over the scoring and the results,” Auburn head coach Jeff Graba said. “I do feel like we’re competitive with anybody out there if we can do our 24 routines and if we can do them sharply. The goal is to try to focus ourselves to do as good a job as we can. I feel we’re going to be in pretty good shape at the end of the day.”

The Tigers were selected as the No. 4 seed, and will take on a region that features the host school, No. 2 Alabama, as well as No. 11 Penn State, No. 14 Illinois, No. 25 Central Michigan and Kentucky. Auburn will face one of the toughest regionals in the country, as five of the six teams are ranked in the top 25.

This will be the eighth straight year that Auburn has advanced to an NCAA regional. The Tigers last competed at Alabama in an NCAA regional in 2005, finishing third with a score of 194.800. Two years prior to that meet, Auburn had its highest finish at a NCAA regional on April 6, 2003, in Tuscaloosa, placing second, with a score of 196.350. That same year the team went on to the NCAA Championship for the third time and placed 12th on April 24 in Lincoln, Neb.

WOMEN’S GOLF

AU in 4-way tie

Playing in its final regular-season tournament of the season, the No. 20/21 Auburn women’s golf team is in a four-way tie for sixth after the first round at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Ga.

The Tigers carded a 6-over 294 in the first round and are 10 strokes behind leader Purdue.

Clanton done at Kraft Nabisco

Auburn senior Cydney Clanton carded rounds of 77 and 76 to finish in a tie for 95th at the LPGA’s Kraft Nabisco Championship. Clanton was one of six amateurs competing in the LPGA major championship and finishes third among them.

In the first round, Clanton was at even-par through her first eight holes, but a triple-bogey on her ninth hole put her behind at the turn. She played the second nine at 2-over to finish the round with a 5-over 77.

Clanton, a native of Concord, N.C., was on pace to make the cut through most of the second round, playing the first 12 holes at 1-under-par, but closed out with five bogeys on the final six holes to card a second-round 76.

MEN’S TENNIS

Tigers upset by LSU

The No. 18 Auburn men’s tennis team was upset by No. 34 LSU, 5-2, on Friday night at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. With the loss, the Tigers dropped to 11-7 (3-4 SEC) on the year.

In doubles, Auburn won the first match on Court 2, as No. 45 Alex Stamchev and Andreas Mies defeated Roger Anderson and Stefan Szacinski, 8-4. LSU took the match in the No. 3 spot as Julien Gauthier and Olivier Borsos toppled Rafael Rondino and Lucas Lopasso, 8-6. LSU clinched the doubles point when No. 10 Sebastion Carlsson and Neal Skupski defeated Tim Puetz and Daniel Cochrane, 8-5.

Auburn fell in the first two singles matches as LSU gained a 3-0 lead. On court three, Auburn’s Tim Hewitt fell to Stefan Szacinsk, 6-2, 6-2, and in the No. 6 position, LSU’s Julien Gauthier topped Rafael Rondino, 7-5, 6-2.

Auburn’s Tim Puetz earned a two-set victory on court one over Oliver Borsos, 6-4, 6-2, for Auburn’s first point. Andreas Mies earned Auburn’s second point of the match by defeating LSU’s Mark Bowtell, 7-6, 6-2, in No. 5 singles.

LSU’s No. 82 Neal Skupski clinched the match for LSU by toppling No. 118 Alex Stamchev, 7-6, 6-2, in the No. 2 position. LSU won the fifth and final point of the match after No. 124 Sebastian Carlsson defeated Daniel Cochrane, 6-4, 6-4, on court four.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Auburn falls to 0-7

The Auburn women’s tennis team was looking for its first SEC win against No. 53 LSU Friday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center, but fell by a score of 5-2. Auburn is now 4–14 on the season and 0 –7 in the SEC.

“I thought we did great in the doubles and came out with good energy,” said head coach Tim Gray. “It looked like we were getting off to a good start in singles. At some point we have to start playing well under pressure and that is what hurt us today. I have to give credit to LSU. They stayed in it even though they went down early.”

In doubles, Auburn came up with two big wins to steal the doubles point. On court 3 Auburn’s Caroline Thornton and Taylor Cohen defeated LSU’s Kaitlin Burns and Ariel Morton, 8-5. In the No. 1 matchup LSU’s Whitney Wolf and Olivia Howlett made it past Auburn’s Paulina Schippers and Olivia Bennett, 8-6.

Auburn will be back in action on Sunday against No. 15 Arkansas. The match will start at 1 p.m. at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.