02/10 at 11:43 PM

Auburn sprinter Marcus Rowland has been named the Southeastern Conference’s Track and Field Male Freshman of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday.

It marks the second time this year that Rowland has earned a Freshman of the Week award from the league.

Rowland won two individual events with NCAA provisional qualifying times and helped a relay team also finish first at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup hosted by Penn State Feb. 6-7. He won the 60-meter dash on Friday with a time of 6.68 seconds, which is just shy of his season-best mark of 6.66 that ranks No. 2 in the SEC and tied for seventh nationally.

On Saturday, he won his first collegiate 200-meter race with a time of 21.10 seconds that ranks third in the SEC this year, 11th in the NCAA and third in Auburn indoor history. He finished his day by running the third leg on Auburn’s winning 4x400-meter relay that posted a time of 3:13.24.

The Auburn track and field teams will return to action this weekend, sending student-athletes to compete at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., and the Iowa State Classic.

Softball wins at Jax State
JACKSONVILLE — Kyndall White’s three-run home run in the fourth inning broke a tie game and lifted the Auburn softball team to a 5-2 victory over Jacksonville State on Tuesday night.

The Tigers improved to 5-1 with the victory, while JSU dropped to 3-2. Auburn returns to action tonight in its home opener against Georgia State. Game time is slated for 6 p.m.

“I’m proud of the way we came back tonight after letting the lead slip away,” Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. “Anna threw very well in relief and didn’t allow Jacksonville State to get anything going. Kyndall came through with the big hit when we needed it. It’s a good win.”

Anna Thompson earned the win in relief of starter Jenee Loree. Thompson improved to 2-1 after throwing four shutout innings. Thompson fanned three and did not surrender a hit.

Loree lasted three innings, allowing two runs, both earned, on four hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

Ashley Eliasson took the loss to fall to 1-1 on the year.

Eliasson allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits in 3 1/3 innings of work. Eliasson fanned four and walked three.

Myesha Finney gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with a leadoff home run in the top of the first inning. It was Finney’s first home run of the season, the seventh of her career and came on a 2-2 pitch.

White followed with a single to left, stole second and scored on Tatiana Fernandez’s double to right-center that pushed the AU lead to 2-0.

The Gamecocks got on the board in the bottom of the first when Courtney Underwood hit a solo home run to center that made it a 2-1 game. It was the first run off Loree this season and the first home run the Tigers have allowed this year.

JSU tied the game in the bottom of the third on Nikki Prier’s RBI double that scored Chrissy O’Neal.

The Tigers responded in the top of the fourth, however. Megan Mitchell was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a sac bunt by Lindsey Harrelson. Finney reached when O’Neal dropped her fly ball in left.

White then followed with a three-run home run to right-center that gave the Tigers a 5-2 edge. It was White’s first home run of the season and the fourth of her career.

That would cap the scoring as Thompson held JSU hitless over the final four innings of the game. The win was the 29th of Thompson’s career.

Mazzaferro scores well at selection camp
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Auburn junior Dan Mazzaferro scored a season-high mark of 445.95 for his second list of platform dives Tuesday at the 2009 USA Diving Selection Camp.

The Cheshire, Conn., native started the day with an opening list 342.00.

“Today I did pretty good,” said the 2008 SEC platform diving champion. “Unfortunately, on the first list I was trying a new dive I’ve never done in competition. I changed my style a little bit and ended up failing that dive.”

The top 12 from those competing today advance to today’s third and fourth list competition. Those selected by USA Diving at the completion of the camp will represent the United Stated at the 2009 World Championships in Rome, as well as a handful of other international competitions.

“I feel that I’m on the right track for the season,” said Mazzaferro. “My diving has been getting a lot more consistent. I feel like I’m on the road to peaking at NCAA’s.”

Mazzaferro earned All-America honors on all three boards at the NCAA Championships, finishing 16th on the 1-meter, eighth in the 3-meter and fifth on the platform.

The Auburn swimming and diving teams return to action Feb. 18-21 for the Southeastern Conference Championships at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn.