Special to the News

02/07 at 12:40 AM

The No. 5/8 Auburn swimming and diving team defeated Division III power Emory at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center on Saturday to close out the regular season.

The men topped the Eagles, 174-100, to finish with a 5-2 overall mark. The women improved to 4-4 on the year with a 172-102 win.

“Emory showed a lot of fight and are a great team,” head coach Brett Hawke said. “This meet provided us with a lot of fine tuning and was also a meet that everyone really enjoyed. It was nice to have a relaxed atmosphere before the ensuing championships.”

The Tigers took time before the meet to honor their 13 seniors: Maggie Bird, Alana Dillette, Abby MacGregor, Melissa Marik, Ava Ohlgren, Jordan Anderson, Will Dove, Gideon Louw, Kyle Maese, Kelly Marx, Tyler McGill, Michael Silva and Pascal Wollach.

“It was a very emotional meet because this group of seniors has been through a lot here at Auburn,” Hawke said. “This was a great way to send them out.”

Leading the women were Ohlgren and Marik, who each finished with three wins on the day. Ohlgren picked up victories in the 100 fly (54.67) and the 200 breast (2:17.43), while Marik won the 200 IM (2:05.23) and 100 free (51.16).

The pair, along with classmates MacGregor and Bird, closed out their final dual strong as the group of seniors finished first in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:34.94.

Individually, Bird came out on top in the 200 back, winning in 2:04.26. MacGregor also picked up a win, taking first in the 100 breast in 1:04.49.

Recording her first collegiate victory was freshman Sterling Wine, who captured the 1000 free with a time of 10:21.63. In the 500 free, Wine came from behind in the final laps to also take the win in 5:03.43.

Setting personal-best scores on both springboard events were sophomore divers Anna Aguero, Mary Catherine Cochran and Vennie Dantin. The trio finished 1-2-3 on the 1-meter, seeing Aguero win with a career-best score of 293.02. Cochran came in second (284.47) and Dantin in third (284.32).

Dantin won the 3-meter with a career-best score of 351.91, while Aguero was second (329.10) and Cochran third (300.38). All three recorded NCAA Zone scores in both springboard events.

“It was a great way to finish the regular season,” head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. “I’m very proud of all three of them. Their hard work is showing and they have put themselves in a confident position going into the championship season.”

Other individual winners for the women were freshman Hanna Riordan and sophomore Stephanie Horner. Riordan recorded her first collegiate win in the 100 back (56.90), while Horner touched first in the 200 free (1:50.27).

On the men’s side of competition, senior diver Kelly Marx put together two amazing performances in his final dual. Marx opened with a record-breaking score on the 1-meter, setting a new school mark with 395.47 points. He followed with a first-place finish on the 3-meter with a season-best score of 444.07.

“I wasn’t coming into the meet expecting to break any record,” Marx said. “Jeff continues to teach us consistency and to have great confidence. Every diver had a great meet and it was a crazy and exciting day for everyone.”

“I’m very proud of Kelly,” Shaffer said. “He continues to make great improvements and everything is starting to really come together for him.”

Freshman Thad Ellis also set personal-best scores and finished second on both springboards. He recorded a NCAA Zone score of 363.29 on the 1-meter and followed with another Zone score of 375.52 on the 3-meter.

Senior swimmers Dove, Silva and McGill recorded individual wins during the meet. Dove won the free in 1:39.39, while Silva took the 50 free (20.52) and McGill finished first in the 200 IM (1:49.95). Silva, along with seniors Anderson and Maese and sophomore Christopher Fox, closed out the meet with a win in the 200 free relay in a NCAA “B” cut time of 1:21.23.

Fox had another B time on the day, winning the 100 breast in 54.72.

Freshmen Tony Cox and Mason Chenier recorded their first collegiate wins, seeing Cox take the 100 back (49.55) and Chenier touching the wall first in the 100 free (46.78).

Other individual winners were Chris Kramer in the 1000 free (9:28.53), Robert Looney in the 200 fly (1:50.64), Max Murphy in the 200 back (1:49.26), Kyle Owens in the 500 free (4:38.70) and Adam Klein in the 200 breast (2:02.43).

The Tigers will begin preparing for the 2010 SEC Championships, which will be held Feb. 17-20 in Athens, Ga.

The men hope to win their 14th straight conference title, while the women will try to pick up their sixth conference championships.

Track wins 7 events at Penn State
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The Auburn men’s and women’s track and field teams wrapped up competition at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup hosted by Penn State on Saturday, winning seven events and posting seven more NCAA provisional qualifying marks.

The Tigers ended the two-day multi-team meet winning nine events and recording 12 NCAA provisional qualifying marks.

“Right now everything is going to plan,” said head coach Ralph Spry. “We were able to follow through today with where we left off after day one, and I’m excited about how we’re competing as a team. We just need to keep this momentum going next weekend in our last competition before the SEC championships.”

Of Auburn’s seven victories Saturday, junior Joanna Atkins’ victory in the women’s 400 meters may have been the most impressive. Atkins was running her first 400-meter race for Auburn since winning the 2009 NCAA outdoor championship, and posted a winning time of 52.79 seconds that is tied for third best in the NCAA this year. It marked the second time during her indoor career that she went below 53 seconds, and she is one of just two Tigers to go under that mark. She is now qualified for the NCAA championships in three events, having previously qualified in the 60 and the 200 meters.

Another impressive performance came in the men’s high jump, where sophomore Ryan Fleck’s won with a height of 2.21 meters (7-3) that ranks second in school history behind only former World Champion Donald Thomas, and is fourth best in the NCAA this year. Fleck’s clearance of 7-3, which came on his first attempt, was just three-quarters of an inch shy of the mark that earned him second place at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Auburn took the top two spots in both the men’s and women’s 200 meters.

In the men’s race, sophomore Marcus Rowland won with a new meet record of 20.93 seconds, missing his indoor personal best by just .01 seconds.

His time ranks fourth in the NCAA this year, putting him in the top four in two events, as he leads the nation in the 60 meters. Junior Michael DeHaven took second in 21.49 seconds.

In the women’s 200 meters, junior Sheniqua Ferguson sped to a provisional qualifying time of 23.66 seconds that ranks fifth in Auburn indoor history and sixth in the NCAA this year. Sophomore Nivea Smith was close behind, finishing second in 23.76 seconds, moving up to ninth in the NCAA while improving her season best by .03 seconds.

In addition, Cache Armbrister was sixth with a time of 24.48.

In the women’s triple jump, Amelia Anderson met the NCAA provisional standard in her second event in two days, winning with a personal-best mark of 12.70 meters (41-8). Her jump ranks her eighth in school indoor history and is tied for 15th in the NCAA this year.

Junior Ben Cheruiyot won the men’s 3,000 meters, clocking a time of 8:11.60. Also for Auburn, senior Scott Novack was seventh in 8:24.39 and sophomore Jeff Sanders finished eighth in 8:26.74.

Auburn’s final victory came from freshman Maya Pressley, who won the women’s high jump with a mark of 1.75 meters (5-8.75), which was just one centimeter shy of her season best.

The final provisional qualifying time for the Tigers came in the women’s 4x400-meter relay. The team of sophomore CeCe Williams, Armbrister, junior Latoya Parkinson and Atkins finished second with a time of 3:39.85 that just missed improving on their previous season best.

Other highlights for Auburn included junior Holly Knight taking third in the women’s 3,000 meters in 9:43.94, CeCe Williams finishing fifth in the women’s 400 meters in 55.12 seconds, and junior Gerard Brown placing seventh in the men’s triple jump with a leap of 14.24 meters (46-8.75).

“Everybody is clicking and we just have to take care of the things that we can take care of, and stay healthy,” said Spry. “If we can do that and we can get better again next weekend, I feel good about lining up two good teams aAuburn will resume its indoor schedule next weekend when the Tigers send athletes to both the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., and the Iowa State Classic.

Equestrian gets past South Carolina
BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — The No. 1 Auburn equestrian team (7-2) defeated No. 4 South Carolina (4-4) on the road Saturday, 10-9.

The Tigers tied the Gamecocks, 5-5, in Hunt Seat and defeated them, 5-4, in Western.

“To get a win on the road is always good. Against South Carolina, it’s extra good,” said Auburn head coach Greg Williams. “I think we had a lot of leadership from some of the upperclassmen today.“

South Carolina won Hunt Seat Equitation over Fences, 3-2, with Kimberly McCormack defeating Maggie McAlary, 83-82, and Nicole Bourgeois over Grace Socha, 81-79. Tiger winnders were MVP Dottie Grubb over Megan Massaro, 90-84, and Anna Schierholz over Eleanor Kunsman, 81-80.

Auburn won Hunt Seat Equitation on the Flat, 3-2, as Katie Breedlove defeated Paige Dekko, 71-65, and Lindsay Portela defeated Megan Massaro, 82-73. South Carolina winners were MVP Carly Babcock over Maggie McAlary, 88-77, and Alex Haskell over Chelsea Anheuser, 70-69.

Auburn won Western Horsemanship, 3-2, with Indy Roper defeating Maggie Fortune, 71.5-68.5. Other Tiger winners were Jessica Jones over Hailey Thornton, 73-68.5, and Kristin Hansen over Taylor Singmaster, 72.5-72. Gamecock winners were Amy Biffle over Bailey Dymond and MVP Emily Bookwalter over Amy Bohan, 73.5-72.

Auburn and South Carolina tied in Western Reining, 2-2. Tiger winners were Lyndsey Jordan over Amanda Pope, 68-64.5, and Jillian Fuller over Audrey Jewell, 66.5-65. South Carolina winners were Annie Laurie McDonald over Paige Monfore, 70-62.5, and Melissa Mull over Kim Pope, 62.5-59.5. South Carolina MVP Chloe Gray and Auburn’s Jessica Jones tied at 69.5.

Auburn returns to action against New Mexico State on Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. at the Auburn Equestrian Center.

Women’s tennis shuts out Alabama A&M
The No. 34 Auburn women’s tennis team defeated the Alabama A&M Bulldogs by a 7-0 count Saturday afternoon at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.

Auburn swept all nine matches on the afternoon en route to earning its third victory of the season.

“We tried to come out here today and pick up a win, and we did just that,” said head coach Tim Gray. “This was a nice win. We wanted to work on some things that we focused on this week and I think we saw some progress today, so it was a good day for us.”

The Tigers (3-2) began the day as seniors Fani Chifchieva and Jil Hastenrath defeated the Bulldog (0-2) tandem of Denise Cherry and Brittany Jelks 8-0 in No. 2 doubles, while senior Myrthe Molvenveld and freshman Caroline Thornton took the No. 1 doubles matchup by an 8-0 count over Te’Isha Mixon and Shannon Warner.

No. 3 doubles saw the freshman duo of Plamena Kurteva and Paulina Schippers improve to 5-0 on the season, downing Jasmine Cherry and Alison Gladness 8-1.

Auburn didn’t miss a beat in singles action, as Molenveld, No. 71 Chifchieva, sophomore Daniela Vukadinovic, Schippers and Hastenrath all defeated their opponents via straight-set shutouts, 6-0, 6-0.

“We’ve been putting a lot of time in on doubles play, and we want to see the girls implement the changes we make in competition. I feel like we’re seeing some progress that we can build on the rest of the season,” said Gray.

Auburn returns to action Feb. 13 as the Tigers play host to the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.

The match is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m..

Men’s tennis facing UAB today
The No. 28 Auburn men’s tennis team travels to Birmingham for a dual with in-state rival UAB on Sunday.

The match is set for noon at the Lakeshore Tennis Center.

The Tigers (0-2) hold a 19-7 series mark over the Blazers (2-1), seeing Auburn victorious in the last nine meetings between the two schools.

Last season, Auburn hosted UAB and came away with the 6-1 win.

“UAB is a team that we play every year and will always be a tough match for us at the start of the season,” head coach Eric Shore said. “We hope that our team can continue to gain experience and build more confidence and we’re hoping this weekend’s match with UAB will help us.”

The Blazers are currently 2-1 in the early season and are coming off a 7-0 win over North Alabama on Wednesday.

UAB freshmen Danny Manlow and David Zimmerman lead the squad, both holding a perfect 3-0 record in singles play.