Special to the News

03/05 at 12:42 AM

The Auburn men’s golf team is set to return to action today at the two-day, 54-hole Border Olympics held at the Laredo Country Club in Laredo, Texas.

The 2010 edition of the Border Olympics, hosted by the University of Houston, marks Auburn’s first appearance at the event.

The Tigers will travel sophomore Kyle Kopsick, senior Cole Moreland, sophomore John Stembridge, sophomore Will McCurdy and redshirt sophomore Cory Gilmer. Kopsick currently leads all Tigers in 2009-10 scoring average (72.31), sub-par rounds (5) and rounds in the 60s (4). The Chicago native recently tied for 14th at the prestigious Jones Cup Invitational.

Moreland, selected for the No. 2 spot, leads the team with a perfect 10-of-10 rounds counted.

“This will be our second trip to Texas in the past month,” said Auburn head golf coach Nick Clinard. “We’re all excited to be heading to Laredo. It’s a fantastic tournament with a great field. Kyle Kopsick is coming off a strong performance at the Jones Cup while Will McCurdy led us with a top-five finish at the Rice Intercollegiate.“

Gilmer, who competed in three tournaments during his redshirt freshman season, carded back-to-back rounds of 69 to close out the 2008 Jerry Pate National for a top-20 finish.

Other schools accepting invitations to the Border Olympics were Air Force, Arkansas, Baylor, Lamar, New Mexico State, North Texas, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Rice, Texas State, UT Arlington, UTEP, UTSA and Washington State.

Also of note, tournament host Houston named former Auburn golfer Jonathan Dismuke as head coach prior to the 2009-10 season. As a four-year letterman and three-year team captain, Dismuke competed in four NCAA Regionals and three NCAA Championships and was a member of the Tigers’ 2002 SEC Championship squad.

Track sends 4 to Last Chance qualifiers
Four members of the Auburn track and field team will head to Last Chance NCAA qualifying meets this weekend to attempt to secure spots at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Two men’s distance runners will head to Notre Dame, where Ben Cheruiyot will compete in the 5,000 meters tonight and Felix Kiboiywo will run the mile Saturday afternoon. Also on Saturday at Virginia Tech, Harry Adams will compete in the men’s 60 meters and Maya Pressley will participate in the women’s high jump.

Several Tigers already have marks that rank high enough on the national performance list for them to earn spots at the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will be held March 12-13 in Fayetteville, Ark.

Those competing this weekend are trying to improve their season-best marks in an effort to move up the list and secure spots as well.
Typically 14-18 athletes make the field in each individual event.

Currently, Adams is tied for 10th in the 60 meters, but is hoping to improve on his season-best mark of 6.66 seconds to solidify his spot.

Cheruiyot is ranked 17th in the 5,000 meters with a season best of 13:54.86, and Pressley is tied for 19th in the women’s high jump with a mark of 1.81 meters (5-11.25). Kiboiywo has not yet run a mile during the indoor season.

That quartet is hoping to join other members of the Auburn teams who have either automatically qualified or likely rank high enough to have spots in the NCAA Championship field secured. From the men’s team, Marcus Rowland has automatically qualified with marks that rank tied for second in the 60 meters and fourth in the 200 meters, and Ryan Fleck is tied for ninth in the high jump.

From the women’s team, Sheniqua Ferguson has also automatically qualified in the 60 meters, where she ranks third, and in the 200 meters, where she owns the nation’s fourth-best time. Joanna Atkins is fifth in the 400 meters, and Nivea Smith is eighth in the 200 meters. In addition, the women’s 4x400-meter relay team is ranked eighth.

Women’s tennis opens SEC play at Tennessee
The No. 36 Auburn women’s tennis team (6-2, 0-0 SEC) is set to begin SEC play this weekend, as the Tigers will travel to No. 11 Tennessee today at 3 p.m., followed by a match at No. 17 Georgia on Sunday at noon.

“We have two tough matches coming up this weekend in Tennessee and Georgia. These two teams are at the top of the league every year. We have to come out ready to play this weekend,” said head coach Tim Gray. “Both teams are well coached and have hard working kids, so the matches will certainly be a challenge.”

No. 36 Auburn is lead by the No. 76 singles player in the nation, senior Fani Chifchieva, who is 6-1 on the season. As a team in singles play, Auburn is 31-11. Freshman Paulina Schippers and classmate Plamena Kurteva carry Auburn’s top doubles record, as the pair is 7-1. Auburn is a combined 17-7 in doubles action so far this season, and carry a four-match win streak into this weekend.

Tennessee (6-4, 0-0) currently sits in third place in the SEC Eastern division, and is led by the No. 10 singles player in the country, Caitlin Whoriskey (19-8). Additionally, the Lady Volunteers feature another player in the top 50 in Maria Sorbello (16-7), who is ranked No. 47.

Whoriskey is also a part of the top doubles team in the nation, as she and partner Natalie Pluskota hold the top spot in the latest ITA rankings. The pair is 7-0 in dual matches this season and 19-1 overall.

The pairing of Rosalia Alda and Zsofia Zubor are also in the top 35, as they are ranked No. 33 with a 18-5 overall record. Tennessee enters the weekend with a two-match losing streak after losing to No. 30 Indiana 5-1 and No. 3 Notre Dame 5-2. As a team, the Lady Vols are 79-63 in singles action, and an impressive 54-14 in doubles play.

Auburn trails in each all-time series, as the Volunteers hold a 27-6 advantage, taking the last 16 matches in a row. The Tigers have never defeated Tennessee under head coach Tim Gray, as the last time the Tigers knocked off the Lady Vols was April 23, 1994 when Auburn was under the guidance of former head coach Troy Porco.

Georgia is 4-3, and currently sit in third place. Prior to hosting Auburn, Alabama will travel to Athens to take on the Bulldogs, who hold a one-match losing streak after losing to No. 16 Miami (OH) 5-2 on Feb. 14. The Bulldogs feature a pair of top singles players in No. 6 Chelsey Gullickson and No. 23 Nadja Gilchrist, who are a combined 30-8 on the season.

The pair combine to rank as the No. 7 doubles tandem in the country, as they are a 11-3 and 7-0 in No.1 doubles play. As a team, Georgia is 58-48 in singles action and 29-15 in doubles play.

Georgia holds a four match win streak over Auburn, as the last time the Tigers knocked off the Bulldogs was on March 23, 2007 on The Plains.

Later that season, Georgia avenged the regular-season defeat by knocking off Auburn 4-1 in the SEC tournament and 4-0 in the NCAA Regional. In all, Georgia holds a 44-6 advantage over the Tigers.

“We need to focus on the things that we need to do, and if we do that, we can match up with anybody. Doubles will certainly be a key this weekend,” said Gray.

Men’s tennis to host UT, UGA
The 56th-ranked Auburn men’s tennis team hosts a pair of SEC rivals this weekend at the City of Auburn/Auburn University Yarbrough Tennis Center.

Auburn will play the Tennessee Volunteers today at 2 p.m. and the Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday at 1 p.m.

“This weekend is a big challenge for our young team,” head coach Eric Shore said. “Tennessee and Georgia are the two best teams in the SEC at this point and its going to be a hard test for us.”

The Volunteers hold a 30-15 all-time series mark over the Tigers (3-4). Last year, Tennessee beat Auburn in Knoxville, 4-1.

On Sunday, Auburn will look for its fourth all-time victory against Georgia. The Bulldogs, which hold a 45-3 record against the Tigers, eliminated Auburn from the SEC Tournament last year winning 4-1, while also taking the regular season matchup, 5-2.

The No. 2 Volunteers are currently 11-1 on the season and are coming off a come-from-behind victory against Wake Forest, capturing the last two singles matches to come away with the 4-3 win. 

Tennessee is led by junior John-Patrick Smith, who is ranked No. 4 in singles by ITA, is 25-5 on the year, and freshman Rhyne Williams, who is 22-5 on the season and the No. 51 singles player. The Volunteers have three doubles groups ranked in the top 10. Smith and Davey Sandgren are the second-ranked pair, while Boris Conkic and Williams are No. 5. Conkic and Smith are also ranked together, coming in at No. 6 in the country.

Georgia is currently ranked No. 11 and is coming off a 6-1 win over Furman to move them to 5-2 on the year. The Bulldogs are led by junior Javier Garrapiz, who is 20-9 this year and No. 29 in the country. Also leading the Bulldogs is Jamie Hunt. The senior is 12-4 and has won his last seven matches.  Drake Berstein and Garrapiz are the 34th-ranked doubles pair.