Special to the News

03/13 at 12:40 AM

The Auburn softball team will open Southeastern Conference play at home against the Kentucky Wildcats with a three-game series beginning with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Jane B. Moore Field.

The Tigers and Wildcats will play a single-game finale Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. Admission to Jane B. Moore Field is free.

“Our team is excited to begin SEC play,” Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. “It seems everything gets turned up a notch for conference play. The teams in the SEC are always tough and you have to be at your best each week.

“Kentucky is no exception, they beat No. 5 Arizona State in the first game of the year and we are going to have to bring it every pitch this weekend.”

Auburn enters the league opening series with a 13-6 record and is coming off a 4-0 performance in the War Eagle Classic tournament. Kentucky is 14-6 on the season and is coming off a 3-0 loss in eight innings to No. 18 Louisville on Wednesday.

The Tigers own a 24-12 record in the series against Kentucky, but have lost three straight after the Wildcats swept a three-game series from Auburn last season in Lexington.

Marx qualifies for NCAA Championships
ATLANTA — Senior Kelly Marx earned his way to the 2010 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday at the NCAA Zone B Championships in Atlanta at the
Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.

There are five zone meets taking place this weekend across the country and these meets give divers a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Zone B will qualify eight women and seven men for the national meet. The women’s NCAA Championships will be March 18-20 in West Lafayette, Ind., and the men will compete in Columbus, Ohio, March 25-27.

Marx qualified for the NCAA meet after he finished third on the 3-meter springboard with a score of 783.00. Duke’s Nick McCrory won the event with 843.55 points and Miami’s Reuben Ross was third with 820.15 points.

Competing in his first Zone competition was freshman Thad Ellis. The Atlanta product finished 12th overall with a score of 632.60.

Also competing today on the 1-meter were three sophomores in Anna Aguero, Vennie Dantin and Mary Catherine Cochran. Aguero took sixth with a score of 552.65, while Dantin was seventh with 546.50 points. Cochran competed in the preliminary round, finished 24th (216.85).

No. 2 equestrian set for busy weekend
The No. 2 ranked Auburn equestrian team will travel to Fresno, Calif., to face No. 10 Fresno State today and No. 6 Kansas State on Sunday.

“We are very excited about traveling to the West Coast,” said Auburn head coach Greg Williams. “The Auburn girls have been riding tough for weeks. Let’s see if they stay focused on the road. It will be another glimpse of how some of the younger riders look to perform in the postseason.“

Auburn is 11-2 on the season, including wins over No. 5 South Carolina, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 1 Georgia.

Against Fresno State, riding for the Tigers in Hunt Seat Equitation on the Flat are Chelsea Anheuser, Mallory Kolpin, Ali Loprete and Lindsay Portela with Katie Breedlove as the alternate. Riding in Hunt Seat Equitation over Fences are Anna Becker, Dottie Grubb, Ali Loprete and Maggie McAlary with Anna Schierholz as the
alternate.

Riding for the Tigers in Western Horsemanship are Kristin Hansen, Jessica Jones, Kylie Miller and Indy Roper with Bailey Dymond as the alternate. Riding in Western Reining are Jillian Fuller, Lyndsey Jordan, Paige Monfore and Kim Pope with Indy Roper as the alternate.

Women’s golf tied for 8th
NEW ORLEANS — Auburn junior Cydney Clanton carded a 1-over-par 73 Friday in the first round of the Tiger/Wave Classic at English Turn Golf Club in New Orleans, leading the Auburn women’s golf team to a tie for eighth after 18 holes of play.

Auburn carded a 17-over-par 305 in the first round, finishing the day 12 strokes behind first-place Alabama. The Tigers are currently tied for eighth with Tulane, Furman, Texas Christian and Tennessee heading into the second round.

Clanton played steady for the Tigers, carding three birdies along with two bogeys and a double bogey to finish at 1-over 73, placing herself in a tie for 11th.

Behind her is senior Candace Schepperle in a tie for 34th with a 4-over-par 76. Completing the scoring for the Tigers were sophomores Patricia Sanz and Haley Wilson. The pair carded 6-over 78s to finish the day in a tie for 60th. Freshman Carlie Yadloczky rounded out the lineup with a 9-over-par 81, finishing the day in a tie for 91st.

Also competing at the tournament is Auburn sophomore Madison Overbey. Competing as an individual, Overbey carded a 10-over 82 in the first round to tie for 104th.

Men’s tennis falls to No. 7 Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The No. 68 Auburn men’s tennis team continued its tough SEC schedule on the road, facing the No. 7 Florida Gators.

After a two-hour weather delay, the two teams squared off and saw the Gators come away with the 5-2 victory.

The win pushes Florida to 11-2 overall and 3-0 in SEC play, while Auburn is now 3-7 overall and 0-3 in the conference.

The Gators opened the afternoon with an 8-3 win at the No. 2 doubles spot as 43rd-ranked Sekou Bangoura Jr. and Joey Burkhardt topped Andreas Mies and Michel Monteiro by a score of 8-3. Florida took the doubles point when No. 16 Antoine Benneteau and Alexandre Lacroix defeated Auburn’s Tim Puetz and Alex Stamchev, 8-4, at No. 1 doubles.

Freshmen pair Tim Hewitt and Lucas Lopasso battled Florida’s Daniel Cash and Bob Van Overbeek in a tightly-contested No. 3 doubles spot. The Auburn duo picked up their second win of the season, defeating the Gator team by a score of 9-8 (5).

Florida took the first two singles points, seeing wins at the No. 5 and No. 6 singles spots. Stamchev, however, would put the Tigers on the board as the No. 89 singles player topped Benneteau in two sets (7-5, 6-3) at No. 3 singles.

A pair of top 30 players in Florida’s Lacroix (No. 6) and Auburn’s Puetz (No. 26) faced off at No. 1 singles. Lacroix took set one by a score of 7-5 and came out on top in set two by that same score to secure the Florida team victory.

Hewitt found himself down early at No. 2 singles, dropping the first set, 6-1, to Burkhardt. The London, England, product bounced back and captured a tough second set by a score of 7-5. Hewitt recorded his seventh win of the season after beating Burkhardt 6-1 in the third and final set.

The Tigers conclude the weekend in Columbia, S.C., facing No. 50 South Carolina on Sunday.