Special to the News

The defending Southeastern Conference champion Auburn swimming and diving teams return to action this weekend with a home dual meet against SEC rival Florida at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center. Diving is set to begin at 11 a.m. today followed by swimming events at noon.

“Florida is one of our biggest rivals,” said men’s co-head coach Brett Hawke. “The history goes back a long way. We have been working extremely hard and are taking them very seriously.”

Today’s meet pairs the No. 5-ranked Auburn women’s team against the No. 6 Gators. On the men’s side, it is No. 7 Auburn taking on sixth-ranked Florida.

Today is senior day for 12 student-athletes on the Auburn swimming & diving squads who will be honored prior to the swimming events.

Track & field set for weekend meets
The Auburn men’s and women’s track and field teams will send athletes to compete at a pair of meets this weekend. Most of the squad will travel to Gainesville, Fla., to compete in the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational today. Meanwhile, eight distance runners will compete in the Terrier Invitational
hosted by Boston University.

Equestrian opens spring season today
The top-ranked Auburn equestrian team opens its spring season against Delaware State at 11 a.m. today at the Auburn Equestrian Center. Admission is free.

The Tigers are undefeated (3-0) this season with wins over eighth-ranked Fresno State, seventh-ranked South Carolina and third-ranked Georgia. They are currently undefeated in both Hunt Seat and Western.

Riding for the Tigers in Hunt Seat Equitation on the Flat are Katie Breedlove, Liza Luker, Rebecca Rifkin, Anna Schierholz and Grace Socha with Rachel Cooper as the alternate. Riding in Hunt Seat Equitation over Fences are Chelsea Anheuser, Katie Breedlove, Dottie Grubb, Annie Loar and Elise Fraza with Rachel Cooper as the alternate.

Riding for the Tigers in Western Horsemanship are Anna Beck, Shannon Hinton, Jessica Jones, Courtney Kobak and Sarah Whitaker with Bailey Dymond on demo and Kim Pope as the alternate. Riding in Western Reining are Kelsey George, Paige Monfore, Kim Pope, Courtney Tidmore and Mary-Elsye Winchester with Jessica Jones as the alternate.

Women’s tennis picked to finish 2nd in West
The No. 27 Auburn women’s tennis team was predicted to finish second in the Southeastern Conference’s Western Division in 2009 in a preseason vote by league coaches, the conference office announced Thursday.

“I’m happy that we’ve been selected second in the Western Division by the coaches in the SEC, but our goals have been set very high and we want to compete for an SEC Championship,” head women’s tennis coach Tim Gray said. “This is, however, nice for the players, but I feel that we are striving for greater heights.”

Arkansas was tabbed to repeat as the Western Division champion. LSU came in third with Ole Miss in the fourth spot. Alabama and Mississippi State rounded out the list at fifth and sixth, respectively.